iPad - iPod Touch for visually impaired or revolutionary Appleware?

When the iPad came out, I didn't jump on the bandwagon for two reasons - 1) a major purchase like the top-of-the-line iPad (which is what I would buy) is considered only for birthdays and Christmas. (A replacement computer is another issue - it's my livelihood.); 2) the iPad seemed like a bigger iPod Touch, which I have. (Below, I refer to the "Touch" but that goes for the iPhone as well.)

What began to change my mind was reading a number of articles in Mac magazines and on the web, written by computer journalists and other business travelers who rely on laptops - the bottom line was that the authors found the iPad an ideal replacement for their laptops during business trips or meetings. I don't recall the exact arguments in favor of the iPad, but these formed the tipping point for me. The authors basically said they could now leave the laptops at home/office and rely on the iPad.

I now have my new iPad in the closet awaiting wrapping by my wife for Christmas, but I have sneaked in on a number of occasions to register it, sync and configure it - I didn't want to do that on Christmas morning, abandoning the family for several hours (how's that for a rationalization!). I have now realized that I made the right decision due to these "test trials" and a few other reasons -

1) Lately, I've used the Touch to read a host of newspapers and magazines on a daily basis (along with the books I read - been reading "ebooks" for 9 years, starting on my Palm PDA). It's okay for that, but when I began looking at the NY Times, etc. on the iPad, the experience was far better - getting that expansive view of the pages was just infinitely better for me. Also the pictures integrate better with the text.

2) PDF files. Frequently a pain to view on the Touch, a lot of horizontal scrolling as well as the usual vertical scrolling. On the iPad, no problems at all.

3) Web sites - for most, like the PDF issue, if I want to be able to read the content, it's a lot of horizontal scrolling (especially forums on the web, which I view daily).

4) iPad versions of apps - these can be far superior to those on the Touch. Also, there are now more and more new apps that specifically target the iPad, not the Touch.

5) Being able to do reasonable word processing, Pages, (and I think spreadsheeting - haven't tried Numbers on the iPad yet) - which goes back to the articles I mention above; doing "lite" work on the iPad during trips or out of the office. I write program code and there are now some code editors for the iPad which look good. Doing a bit of coding at odd times without having to lug my laptop case full of accessories is attractive to me. Coding on the Touch is not desirable for me.

6) Some new iPad apps come from the makers of Mac software that are critical to me (I am awaiting the arrival of Circus Ponies Notebook for iPad; I use the Mac version every day for lectures and other content for my computer science courses). Speaking of the Mac-iPad versions of software, there are now some companies making iPad apps to complement their Mac versions in which there is no Touch version or the Touch version leaves a lot to be desired. With syncing options becoming easier to do, I'll rely on the iPad to do some of the work and then sync the documents/files to my iDisk on MobileMe and get them down to my MacBook Pro, or just do a wifi sync directly to the laptop.

7) The bigger keyboard is easier to use on the iPad than the Touch. Will be able to do more work that way.

It seems every week I hear of another major app to appear on the iPad (not Touch). Rupert Murdock (News Corp) has recently announced an iPad-only app that will integrate content from a number of his publications for viewing on the iPad. I think the critical mass has occurred for the iPad.

Hope this helps.

I have no clue why YOU might want one. To me, it's an extremely portable, albeit limited, laptop.