Wow, spirited discussion ...

I am concerned about processing speed - is browsing with Safari decent speed?

Very well said ^

Absolutely. The iPad has been designed with the user experience in mind...everything it does it does well. And the processor it has is quite good for a mobile device, I simply meant in my previous post that it isn't as powerful as what a netbook or notebook is using. The limitations of the iPhone OS ensure that you don't have performance issues...for example, multitasking is limited, so the iPad will always have plenty of power available for the app it's running. With a netbook you can run as many applications as you want. That's both a benefit and a drawback, since you can generally do more multitasking but you can also push the machine until the user experience degrades.

Also, keep in mind that the iPad doesn't support flash in the browser. Another simultaneous benefit and drawback

Flying with the iPad is nice since you don't have to take it out of your luggage when you go through TSA. I always hated removing my laptop from my carry on, putting it in a bin, and then zipping it back in.

Skip Safari, download Atomic, which I wrote about here : http://bit.ly/9YUkny


Atomic works for both the iPhone & iPad. Atomic is faster than Safari, as well it also has 'tabs' which makes using the App much easier than Safari. If you see pages you want to read while in a non-connected environment, you can use the off line viewing option to retrieve them once you're on a plane (non-wifi plane).

This really isn't much of an issue since the advent of checkpoint friendly bags.

If you have the money : absolutely. At work we've got eight of them (all wifi only) and when they come back into the office I immediately steal one. So I've had one for about 6 weeks (4 weeks straight and then the last 2 weeks or so (dates maybe a bit off)) and it is a great entertainment device.

I've got a Blackberry only and have never had an Apple product.

So many apps: 5-0 police scan (and ATC), Evernote, Zinio (mags), Echofan (twitter), Kayak flights, Kindle and iBooks, iHeartRadio, etc., etc., etc.

Its almost a device you cannot put down (i.e. its 100a and I'm getting to crash and I just know I'll be up for another hour in bed reading newspaper/youtube, etc., etc.).

Its not for typing, its not for replying with long emails, its not for taking notes. Its a reading device. I'm not a big video/photo person on the iPad yet but I'm sure it will be terrific with such a clear screen.

The battery time is amazingly long (10+ hours).

Summary:

If you have $500.00 to burn - absolutely go for it. BUT I would try and go for the ATT/wifi version just in case you decide you are addicted and want the ATT access.

And, for those who want/need to do all that typing, there is an attachable, 'proper' keyboard!

I don't have one yet, but I'm looking forward to the day...

DD

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

You reminded me of another thing I use it for, taking notes. I use a Pogo stylus and a note taking app, Note Taker HD. It works great.

I too am a BlackBerry fan (longtime) and have never owned an Apple product ... is Opera (the browser) available on the iPad?

I like mine quite a bit (WiFi only version). I've downloaded several books onto it, the entire first season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and (of course) a number of apps. It will replace my laptop as my computing device on my next trip.

(I should note that when I travel, I rarely do much on the laptop other than sending email and surfing the web.)

Whether it's "worth it" is up to you, really. You could ask the same question about any number of non-essential products.

Opera mini is available as an app - I have it on my iPhone but rarely use it since I have no real problem with Safari so I haven't tried it on the iPad yet.

Unless they've released it as a universal app, it's iPhone only -- which means it will work on the iPad, but either only on a screen the size of the iPhone or stretched to fill the iPad screen (and pixilated accordingly).

For me, the web surfing experience is the big one. I used it traveling pretty exclusively this past weekend and once I had activated 3G service, I found myself pulling it out just about everywhere. For me, surfing and doing other "consuming" tasks is far more pleasant on the iPad simply because of the size of the screen.

I haven't been brave enough to travel without my laptop (my company sells Windows software and I could be called on to support it at any time), but on vacation I know I will.

As others have said...YRMV

In my case I bought the wifi version on pre-order and haven't touched my personal pc since. Having my IT guy strip it today and giving to my kids for school.

I recently picked up the 3G version (early fathersday gift) to take advantage of the unlimited 3G plan before it expired June 7th. I have it with me everywhere and use it for both work and pleasure. I handle 50% of my company email on it, have all important documents on file with GoodReader and office2HD and am able to take notes in meetings fairly well. The keyboard takes a bit of getting use to and I don't care for the lack of a good spelling/grammar check function....which just makes me work a little harder at proper English. (not always successful)I have the Bluetooth keyboard but haven't found a reason to open it yet. I use the multi media dongle for ppt presentations and just run them off of the iPad. I for one love it and can't imagine doing without it. I am able to leave my pc at the office and run with just iPhone and iPad now saving about ~7 pounds in my briefcase.

As others have said, browsing and media interaction are fantastic. The speed is easily 2x faster than my laptop. On another note, I tried to give my wife the wifi model to replace her pc....she just couldn't do it. She didn't like the keyboard or having to hold it rather than lay it in her lap (viewing angle) So the device is not for everyone, but certainly does the trick for me.

Again....YRMV.

No.....

Yes.

(That's as useful a response. )