What do we (the interlectual design and engineering community) think?

I need to replace my laptop in the next 12 months - it's just not coping well with the stresses and strains of having to be turned on and off (!), and i was thinking - i only ever use it for e-mailing, web surfing and itunes.

So i put it to you the great collective:

ipad or laptop?

 

Seems obvious to me - iPad. As long as the above statement is true AND the capacity of an iPad will hold enough (subjective) of your iTunes music (it SHOULD, but...). I did hear though that you should wait for the 2nd Gen model that is rumored to be released this coming April, FWIW.

 

That's what i wanted to hear

I think you could be right about waiting for version 2 though - let the earily adopters discover any niggles in the software/hardware!

 

The biggest problem I see with the iPad (other than the price and Apple's "we know what you want better than you do" mentality) is the lack of a keyboard. Sure, you can have a virtual keyboard on the touchscreen, but it'll never be as easy to type on as a real keyboard, which (for me at least) limits its usefulness for email... except for occasional use... which limits what I'd be willing to spend...

Still, I need something like this. A laptop is big, heavy, and hot on my lap. I use an old iPaq PDA as an ebook reader, but the screen is small and battery life horrible... but it has a built in backlight unlike the Kindles and other eink readers. I also have a cheap Chinese 7" netbook running Windows CE for taking on the road... I love the form factor, battery life is reasonable, but the slow speed and archaic browser limit its usefulness.

At this point it looks like a Droid phone to replace both the PDA and my flip cellphone short term, and an as yet to be determined tablet... there are a bunch of new Droid-OS tablets / ebook readers now competing with (and cheaper than) the iPad. Add a removable keyboard/case to a tablet and you might have the best of both worlds,

 

Funnily enough, i've heard the exact same argument used in favour of the Kildles - the screen allows you to read at any angle and in bright sunlight because it's not back lit.

But as you said, Apple are happy to point out that you can't read a Kindle in the dark!

 

Yes the eInk screen used on the Kindle and some others is great for reading in bright sunlight. You can buy a leather case for the kindle which includes a little light on a stalk... but what you still have is a dedicated book reader. I'd rather accept a hit in battery life to get a color device that's usable for email, web surfing, and looking at pictures and video, as well.

One attractive option looks like the Nook Color... sold as an e-reader, it's actually a crippled Android tablet, smaller than the iPad, for half the price of other Android tablets... but it can apparently be "rooted" or hacked so you can use any Android app on it.