Before you guys all get wrung up in your lederhosen, let's think about what everyone here is saying for second.

I still remember when the first iPod's were released... people were like, "Why would I want to commit to some proprietary music player that doesn't have any integrated memory slot and no radio or recording functions? I can download music for free online or from other stores. Why would I want to buy from an Apple iTunes store? The Rio Nomad is so much better, I'm not stuck with one hard drive. Ipod's suck lol."

Hopefully now that your head is clear, lets think about the developer SDK that was released with this iPad and why it doesn't just use the iPhone SDK. Let's also all try to remember that even though it looks like an iPhone or an iPod touch... it is neither. It is also no e-reader, netbook or notebook. Therefore drawing conclusions from any at the moment, is rather infantile at best. One might also note the failures currently of tablet systems in the general market. The old tablet PC were clearly able to do everything each of the previous devices could do etc, but why did they not sell? Surely Apple is stupid to jump into this dying niche? And yet why is EVERYONE IN THE INDUSTRY watching how this product plays out?

Finally your initial conclusions aren't anything new. So stop acting like you know anything abut this product or its serviceable niche. Steve Jobs himself famously said [paraphrased], "Short of net surfing on the crapper, what would i need this [tablet] for?" Back then, he saw no reason why anyone would need a tablet system. This was like 3-5 years ago.

Guess what? Apple's probably discovered a niche. The fact that we can't think of what... is what Apple is hoping to make millions or billions on. Instead of being a naysayer shooting of your mouth and potentially blowing off your foot, why not think about it? Yeah outside of that "box" you live in? It might help you make your first million when the iPad store opens.

Well, I don't know if people saying it's got no point to them shows them to be idiots, not really anyway, I mean I'm still confused by why people want an iPhone and even more ovcer why they would want an iPod touch and I've had one of each myself!

Seriously, I've bought a ton of apps and games for my iPhone and haven't ever played with anything for more than an hopur or two in total and just glaze over when people say they prefer theirs to a DS or PSP so why anyone would desire this when, as far as I can see, a decent small lappy or netbook is better for just about every purpose I can imagine-including surfing on the crapper as a keyboard is a million times more useful than a touchscreen in that situation AND you'd have Flash support anyway.

Maybe I'm even more stupid for not understanding(or agreeing )with why people say their iPhones are so great so would never get why this iPad was something I'd want. Anyway, twice bitten and thrice shy for me and unless there's something better than playing games with controls that obscure the screen and have zero tactile feedback then I doubt I'll be jumping on board this time round. I like Apple designs and usually had a Mac for a long time but, really, the craze behind all this has passed me by even though I purposely tried to see if I was missing out. The iPhone wasn't , or hasn't been, a great phone for me either and I've ended up back with my Samsung in anycase.

Though I don't "get" the iPhone at all I can accept that others do but, to me, it's a struggle to see what having a bigger screen offers and there's very little difference apart from that from all I've read about this. As it's also dearer for what it is than a comparably sized screen laptop I see this one being more of a struggle for Apple as, though I think it's stylish, it isn't portable and isn't replacing one or two possible devices as the iPhone could claim to. Maybe people will find that, this time, Aplle got it wrong, who knows? Thing is they aren't always right even if they have jhad an amazing run since starting the iPod revolution and iTunes.

The place I CAN see it being useful is either on holiday or on car journeys for the kids to pass around as a decent alternative(and more portable)one than taking a home console with you and would leave the laptop free for mum and dad. It's a stretch even then but the bigger screen than an iPhone does give it a better chance if people are playing a "pass the pad" style game. Seriously, I've tried to imagine why and where thios would be a better bet than anything we alredy have and none of the answers I found were worth the price tag it has.

Hell, if I'm wrong then fair play to Apple and enjoy your billions fellas but just because they were right the last few times doesn't automatically make any criticism of them incorrect as a matter of course.

I was bit miffed reading some of the more puerile posts earlier, since it seemed everyone just took turns stating the obvious. But I've recanted my fouler assessments since. Truth be told I don't even own an iPhone. I don't need the features, but not only that, I want a very small phone strictly for calling so I don't have a bulky lump in my pocket. I don't want to watch movies on a phone (more for teen mindset) and drain my battery for calls that I do need.

Perhaps that makes me a potential iPad user. Most notebook applications I use are strictly MS office related. I like writing down notes as much as I like typing and sometimes when I need to note something quick, waiting for a notebook/netbook to come out of sleep ... sucks. I like the idea of working just off one machine when taking a call while in the middle of an email or chat .

Its a big Ipod Touch - since the iphone can actually do things the pad cant (E.g Camera, make calls etc).

I would buy this if it had a front facing cam built in for video calls, Flash for Web Browser, Multi-tasking for background apps etc and more ports for SD cards and maybe USB port.

It really does nothing more than what an Ipod Touch can do, with a bigger screen and some new apps (Calander? - not worth hundreds of $ for the upgrade!)

Edit: O, and obv the flash thing isnt because of resource drain, since their Macs seem to handle it ok with great Batt life, but then again, they arent getting $ from Macs using the App store, only the ipods/iphones (which funny enough are the only ones that "cant" use Flash?)

well, looking forward to having you back in the gamer zone. you're one of the good guys. bubble for ya