i think apple has become a victim of its own 'greatness'...in a way. whenever there's a new product launch, people will anticipate and expect apple to deliver OUT OF THIS WORLD product. but for iPad, i see it more like a necessity, more than OUT OF THIS WORLD.

i'm from the publishing n printing industry (but i'm IT guy la) and i can see where the trend is moving - it's moving away from prints and papers. so Apple with this iPad and the new online book store, is gonna be the pioneer. Sure, Kindle is already there but....seriously....i feel like i gonna sleep when i look at Kindle.

Also, there are a lot of things that iPad can do even by using the existing iPhone SDK (3.2 of course). imagine having an interactive book. yes, there's 1 company doing that already in the States.

so to say i'm disappointed with this iPad...not really. i'm quite happy with what it has to offer and quite okay with the price (it's IPS panel..not cheap also). and most importantly, i see this as a shift in the publishing industry and a push for more contents in the future...which is good for consumers like us.

just my 2 cent

donno why the thread in AppleByte is always about ppl flaming each other :T
iPad is a good product. but how is it going to evolve, we can only know once it's out and also, its up to the developers who are busy pushing out the applications now.

kindle? yes, it's sleepy and yes, it's supposed to look that way because of how Amazon wans people to think that they are reading a book. it can't do anything more than ebooks. and who says the publishing industry is going to remain the same for years to come? i do foresee a change in trend - as in something which can enhance the readers' reading experience.

jz my 2 sen.

and seriously guys, there's no need to finger point at one another just because of 1 single product. everyone has their own opinions 1 la. no right or wrong. if like, go get the ipad lo. if don like, then don get lo. simple.

man...somehow i feel quite down when i read this thread. hahaa. i'm not a rich person (most of us here are not) so i really think for VERY VERY LONG TIME (er...i bought my first mac after considering it for > 1 year). so i must admit i have not seen or use kindle before but i do know reading on LED can be quite straining for the eyes after a while.

donno why people wanna keep saying "have u use before? have u use before?" it's like if u havent, then shut up. :T maybe that's not flaming la...but by pinpointing at the YOU who has not used Kindle...i kinda 'feel it'.

and to that string fella --- what is that "china thingy" you talk about and communism lagi. :|

i think some of you mentioned that ipad is relatively new and most of us here are clueless about it besides what the press/web/bla bla have told us so far. so, just wait for the product to be released first lor.

last but not least, i love Apple products but i wont simply buy just because i'm a fan since their stuff r not cheap at all. i'll only buy something which i feel is useful for me (yes, i'm quite kedekut 1).