I have now been using the iPad for two weeks now, and I am very happy with the purchase and think that it really is a groundbreaking device. I use it on the train and the bus, which I do not do with a laptop, (I have never used my laptop on public transport). The "flatness" of the device means that it is much more comfortable to hold. I also catch myself walking with it around the apartment - from the couch to the bedroom, to the study, to the kitchen (but not into that other room - yet). I am sure that it will be heavily used on my next flight to SE Asia (continues after jump).

It has made the task of moderating comments so much easier. Instead of having to use the laptop I can just pick up the iPad and perform the moderating. I do have an issue with writing a new post, but that is mainly around the formatting of the detail.

Web browsing is really cool. Navigating through pages is easy, with the ability to finger resize the text and images. The lack of tabbed browsing in Safari is a bit of a let down, but other browser apps support tabbed browsing.

Although the iBoookstore is not up and running in Australia, the Kindle App will allow you to buy and download books onto the iPad. I have bought a couple of books and reading is OK. The font size can be adjusted as well as the brightness of the screen. Very comfortable to read in bed.

Movies (including TV shows and vodcasts) are just fantastic. Last night I watched the F1 race using the Eye TV app with the video streaming from my Macbook Pro. The 4:3 ratio of the screen is not too much of a bother, as you have the device close to you that you do not notice the black lines when watching a movie in 16:9 ratio.

Apart from games, email, calendar etc, the other thing I am using the iPad for is PDF documents. As part of my job (and blogging) means that I need to have quite a few PDF documents as reference and for reading I am finding that the device fits my needs perfectly. I use Dropbox to get the PDF's onto the iPad and then use GoodReader. The two applications work seamlessly and I find that navigating and reading the documents means that I am referring to it more than I would if they were on a laptop.

So - I am primarily using it as a media consumption device, with the laptop being the data entry device. The two complement each other.

I can see this type of device becoming commonplace. It might mean that my next mobile is a simple device that just makes/takes calls - instead of the multifunction device that it has become, with the iPad being used for the consumption of media.

As Molly would say, do yourself a favour and have a play with one. I reckon you will find it a pretty cool device.

Update: Here is a photo of mine to give an idea of the size (face hidden to avoid scaring the children).