I bought one yesterday. I have to say, I had been warming up to it for a while (or I wouldn't have bought one, obviously) but after I got it home and played with it for a while, that's what really convinced me how useful this is going to be-- by all the use I got out of it in just a short time, never mind going forward.
Gambit37 wrote:what's hard to believe is why all the useful stuff was left out
I'm not sure where you get that. Fine, there's no camera, but do you really want to be hauling out your iPad every time you want to take a picture, anyway? To me, it's already very useful. You can browse the web from wherever, and do it on a screen that is much bigger and more comfortable than an iPod Touch/iPhone's. The whole "it's just a big, powerful iPod Touch" thing has some truth, but considering how much you can do on those platforms-- and how much they are sometimes hampered by a small screen-- is that really such a bad thing? I was able to sit on my couch reading a pdf, in much more comfort than I could've done sitting at my PC. It felt more like actual reading, instead of staring at a computer screen. It's a great platform for watching tv or movies, too. I can also carry on a casual IM conversation without having to feel glued to my PC, which is something else I liked to do with my iPod Touch, but now I can do it with an actual keyboard.
Gambit37 wrote:I guess it's just for content consumers, rather than creators
While I'll certainly agree there's a consumer focus to the thing, as there probably would have to be, considering how greatly creators are outnumbered by consumers, I also think that to say that there isn't a whole lot of creative potential on the iPad is misleading. With the optional keyboard add-on, the iPad was very comfortable and enjoyable for me to lie in bed and write, more writing than I have done in a long time, I think. There are a wide variety of drawing and sketching programs, too, which are great if you have a stylus. I haven't gotten much past doodling, but I am not a professional artist nor am I using the most high-end app (just something free) nor is my improvised stylus particularly high quality. I've seen some other pictures posted that are great. About the only people who are really left out in the cold at the moment are developers. I'm not terribly happy about that, either, but the technology is still new, and I believe there's a large difference between a complete lack of creative potential and simply not being suited for one certain creative task at the moment.
cowsmanaut wrote:It's not going to make their life better, or easier
In my case, it already has.