A Week with the iPad Wifi + 3G

It has now been a little over a week since I received my iPad (a Wifi + 3G model), and I have had it with me almost constantly since then. This seemed like a good time to sit down and put down some thoughts.

• The iPad is your real "notebook computer". Steve Jobs wanted to position the iPad between your cell phone and your laptop or desktop computer. And it really is excellent for the sweet spot where until now you have been carrying around a paper notebook or clipboard. With tools like Evernote, you can take notes at meetings, classes, or in church and have them ready to access anywhere. With apps like Kindle or iBooks, you have a library of reference or fiction books. With apps like Paperdek, you can even capture sketches or your new ideas.
• The lack of multitasking makes the iPad a tool, instead of a toy. While there are plenty of great games for the iPad, but its lack of multitasking actually makes is a better productivity tool than would otherwise be possible. If you're taking notes on it, you can't quickly jump off in the middle of a meeting to chat on AIM, post to Facebook, or play a round of golf without losing your place in the notes. This encourages focus, and actually means less distraction than using a normal laptop for the same job.
• The battery life transforms the experience. My first workday with the iPad - without a plug available - I was on 3G checking e-mail, surfing the web, and using apps literally from 5:30 AM to 4:30 PM and still had 20% of my battery left at the end of the day. This kind of freedom is absolutely distinct from any of my laptops, or even my iPhone. It means I never have to worry about the current state of my iPad's battery. Amazingly freeing.
• 3G is worth the price of admission. I have friends with Wifi-Only iPads, and they love them. But it is impossible to overstate the utility of having always-on, always-there internet at all times. I am always connected, always able to look up the info I need, always able to get that important e-mail. And yet, the fact that the contract is month-to-month means I am not locked into it, if my financial situation changes. I'll be traveling next weekend and staying in a hotel without internet... and yet will stay fully connected to my friends and family.
• Yes, it's "just a big iPhone" and that's a good thing. The iPad can run almost any iPhone app, but give a larger space for that app to work. But the well-developed user interface is intuitive and well-defined. Even the new iWork apps feel familiar due to the established standards of the iPhoneOS. And being built from the ground up for security, stability, and connectivity means it has none of the legacy problems of Windows or the MacOS X systems.

Those are just a few of my thoughts, so far. I'm interested in the impression of other Mod-Bloggers, both with and without iPads.