jarandhel

Judging by everything I've seen, quite a lot.  Here's what I'm planning to use it for:

1) Reading (books, most often in pdf format, and the internet primarily, though also email correspondance.)  Particularly in the Apple-designed iPad case, which resembles the cover of a regular book, I think the experience of curling up with the iPad to read will be far closer to the experience of curling up with a good book than reading on a netbook, laptop, or desktop has ever been.  It will also take up much less room, roughly the size of a graphic novel or a regular spiral-bound notebook, making it far easier to use on-the-go than even the smallest netbooks once they have been folded open.

2) Writing (personal notes, email, articles for my website, journal entries, etc.)  I really can't even begin to categorize all of the writing I could do on this, especially with a native version of Pages (Apple's answer to Microsoft Word) going for a mere $10.  And with the size and general feel of an actual spiral-bound notebook, it seems to me that it may be more utilitarian for writing than pulling out a netbook and setting it up on the nearest flat surface.  My main reservation is seeing how the virtual keyboard works in actual practice, after years of touch-typing on regular keyboards.  I will note that I am not at all a fan of the "Virtually Indestructable Keyboard" where the tactile experience of using it is vastly different from that of a regular keyboard.  But, worst case scenario, I should be able to use existing bluetooth keyboards with it or apple's new keyboard-dock and still use the virtula keyboard on the go at a somewhat slower rate.  I'll probably also be able to adapt to the virtual keyboard given enough time to get used to it.  For a long time I thought I would never adapt to laptop or netbook sized keyboards either.

3) Chatting.  From checking to see if people are online, to actually holding conversations with them, sometimes I really don't need all the power of my computer at my fingertips.  And as with reading and writing, curling up on the couch with something the size and shape of an actual book seems far more comfortable to me than holding a full laptop computer in my lap for the same purpose.  It's also less distracting for anyone I'm with.

4) Watching videos.  I have a lot of videos in digital format that I enjoy watching.  Sometimes, I really don't feel like hanging out in my room to do so, and I can't always commandeer the TV in the living room either.  Sometimes I also want to be able to watch videos on the go, like at a friend's house, and not have to worry about burning them onto a DVD or otherwise transporting them via some form of digital media.  The iPad seems like it would be ideal for this, especially if I pair it with a nice headset (possibly bluetooth) so that others don't have to be disturbed by me watching the video.  Finally, a device that makes watching media no more intrusive on others than curling up with a book.

5) Gaming?  Still not fully sold on this, I rather enjoy the full keyboard interface of computer games or the control pad interfaces of modern videogames.  Direct feedback via a touchscreen can actually get in the way of viewing the screen itself, and control via accelerometer is something I'm still getting used to with the Wiimote and nunchuck, much less with a device that also functions as the display.   That said, there are at least a few games that tempt me.  Song Summoner, from Square Enix, is one that intrigues me.  It transforms iPod songs into warriors.  I really can't wait to see what it will make of my filk collection.  I'm not sure what else is currently out, so here's what I speculate would work well if people develop them:  Some old gameboy classic or Nintendo type games may work well on the iPad, such as games in the style of the Final Fantasy Legend series or games in the style of Ultima Exodus and Ultima Quest of the Avatar.  Maybe also semi-text adventures like Quest for Glory 1-3  Also possibly some games in the point-and-click style such as Loom or Quest for Glory 4&5.  I look forward to seeing what has already been developed for the iPod Touch/iPhone in the way of RPGs and what will be developed in the future for the iPad exclusively.

What else?  I really don't know yet.  I'll need to get a really good look at the App Store to see what is available, as well as playing around directly with the iPad to see how it works as an interface for various purposes.  But for me, what I've just listed is more than enough.  Even without any gaming ability at all.  Even the lack of multitasking really doesn't bother me, since on a small device meant to be mobile (in other words, to use limited power and not always have access to a charger or place to charge) multitasking would degrade it's already inferior performance (in comparison to a standard computer or laptop).  Saving program states and making them inactive while you switch to other programs seems like a truly elegant solution, especially with the ability to receive notifications in the background from apps like mail or instant message clients.  I've pretty much decided that I will be using my tax refund to purchase this as soon as it's available.  My only remaining question is what size is best for what I actually need... 16 Gigs, 32 Gigs, or 64 Gigs.  I'm currently inclined to spend the extra 200 to quadruple my storage capacity, just in case, but we'll see how I and my bank account feel when the product actually comes out.  I already know I'll be getting the version with WiFi only, I'm not such a geek that I need continual internet connection via 3G, even with a fairly cheap monthly data plan.  There are more than enough open hotspots available (intentional and otherwise) should I need to get online in a hurry on the go.  Though I think one of the first things I'll do when I get one is download a copy of a good default password list for various hardware and save it on the iPad, just in case.  Could come in handy for other things too.

And it's STILL the closest thing to a Star Fleet PADD I'm ever likely to lay my hands on. ;-)