| I pre-ordered mine (64GB 3G) when they became available for pre-order in Canada. It has very nearly replaced my computer for casual computer use, leaving my computer for work, occasions where I need to do especially tab-heavy surfing, and the odd bit of Flash usage. My hours of daily casual computing have moved from the office to the living room, kitchen, and deck, something that hasn't happened before even with both a 15 inch and an 11 inch laptop in the home. My girlfriend loves it too, and will grab it from me to pull up a recipe, do a quick search, etc. It has also proven to be a more-than-capable gaming device running everything from casual match 3 games through light strategy (Strategery is a must) on to board games we can play together (Small World and Carcassone are also musts.) On the work side, I use it often for background reading (the Apple HIG from front to back, for example, and that isn't a short document), quick bits of research, etc. whether at the desk or as a chance to get away from it for a little while. One of the best things about it has to be its ability to disappear during use, leaving you sitting or standing with the application in your hands, not a device. Or at least it seems that way, and that is certainly not something that laptops or desktops (or even handheld or living-room-bound game consoles) do particularly well if at all. That you can then set that application down on a table for a moment or hand it to someone else so naturally is something that you will have heard about the iPad but really must experience for yourself a few times to truly understand it. It seems like a small thing but it fundamentally changes one's relationship with computing and the computer. The iPad can't and won't replace traditional computers for everyone, but from what I have seen and have heard from other purchasers it is certainly proving itself as a device that can replace most 'casual'/'personal' usage of traditional computers for most people most of the time. |