Actually no. I am not that excited by the iPad. Not as a thing, a fashion accessory or the fad.
Technically it has little interest - like an iPhone but bigger and no phone. It's quite thin, and beautifully executed as a piece of industrial design (barring concerns with scratch and fingermark resistance). The virtual keyboard is definite too annoying to be seriously usable for me - not that serious typing is the point of the device. As for the sealed in battery – deal breaker. As is the lack of physical connectivity. Instant-on is amazing - love it. The UI is pretty. The UX is smooth and creamy. Though by no means “magical.” The shiny screen gives me a headache. There were more moments of confusion with the interface than I would have expected – I have a suspicion that Apple has departed for good from being the champions of good UI to the champion of bling UI (yes, pretty bling is still bling).
But as a potential behaviour-changing or behaviour enabling device? I am absolutely interested! For making touch and gestural (haptic) interfaces mainstream, yes thank you Apple.
The iPad, or rather subsequent less-crippled models, is set to open up new opportunities for content and application delivery, assuming the fan-base continues its growth and cult-like commitment to purchasing everything Apple.
The paranoid and alienating developer policies, the my-way-or-the-highway and highly arbitrary and unpredictable approach to controlling who gets to release what apps is a worry though.
