I spent a little time with the iPad at Best Buy recently and wanted to pass on my thoughts.

1) It's a fun gadget. Don't mistake that for a recommendation however. There will be some very specific uses for some people, but it's not a must have device for sure.

2) Google Maps was great to play with on such a large screen and touch interface.

3) The iBooks app looked great. The ability to drag pages in a way where you can "peek" back at the last page without actually changing the page makes it feel more like a real book. Books look great on the large color screen. However, this is an LCD which means there is a backlight which could lead to eyestrain. Other e-reader devices such as the Kindle use an e-ink screen which mimics paper and is easy on the eyes.

4) This is not a laptop replacement. This device falls somewhere in between a smartphone and a laptop. The larger screen allows you to do more than you might on a smartphone, but the lack of multitasking and physical keyboard limits its use as a productivity device. This is more for just casual web browsing, checking email, looking at pictures, watching videos, or playing games.