iPad vs. Netbook

First, not everyone wants one...if someone gave me one for free, with no 3G contract, I would take it...but that is about the only way I would want one; and even then, it would only be to install Android, or maybe even to pull it apart and use the screen for something else.

If you love your ipod touch, but you want the exact same unit with a larger screen, then the iPad is perfect for you...because that is all an iPad is...an overgrown iPod (not even an overgrown iPhone). Sure, it is a bit faster, but that matters very little when apple blocks any app that uses any power (they even blocked flash because it uses too much power...and the iPhone 3GS has enough power for flash). Obviously the screen is larger, and you have netflix and iBooks support, but you have all of these things on a netbook that costs 1/2 as much...and iBooks suck...if you want DRM'd books, Kindle is better in every way.

In short, an iPad is an oversized iPod, and a netbook is an undersized PC...the iPad is a toy (in the sense that it isn't very useful; not in the sense that it is fun)...a netbook is a tool...a shrunken tool, but still a tool. Oh, and if you want to have a touchscreen plus a keyboard, all in a clamshell that won't let the screen get all scratched up, then there are netbooks for that.