Hey "DOC" If you got some time on your hands you could shoot a music video.
Check it out This Music Video Was Shot Entirely On An iPad 2 :: App Advice

__________________
"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

I still have not found a good rational to buy a tablet computer beside just feeling like having a new toy. I still may end up buying the new Ipad because it is just a really cool toy to play with but I gave up trying to find a good excuse for it. I already have 5 laptops at home and between my everyday company thinkpad laptop and my jailbroken Iphone and all its apps I really have all the tools I need for everyday use. It is true that a tablet would be a bit smaller to carry around and battery would last longer than my 3.30h Thinkpad battery but I like having the power of a laptop when I need it and I do prefer a real keyboard, at least for now.

The old adage use to be "buy the hardware to suit your needs". With the iPad it's "look for a need to suit the hardware". Seems ass backward to me.

I'm about to buy a netbook/mini notebook for vacation because my wife's iPad just doesn't cut it for what we need. I can't download pictures and videos off our cameras (no card reader). I can't hook it up to the TV to view videos (no HDMI). I can't Skype to do video calls (no camera). I can't use my encrypted USB flash drive where I keep my password safe and other documents (no USB). I can't charge it with the same USB charger as our phones and mp3 players (non-standard USB). Can't effectively work when remotely accessing the office (no keyboard). Too many can'ts. I know what I need. Now I'm buying hardware to suit it. Call me old school.

Edit: Just found out our airline's website for online check-in doesn't work on the iPad.

__________________
Wake up every day that would be a start.

That pretty much sums up why I bought a Lenovo X200 to complement an older heavier Lenovo and an HP desktop. I still need things that a laptop has, but I can get by with a very small and light laptop.

__________________
2007 X3 3.0si, 6 MT, Premium, White

Retired:
2008 535i, 6 MT, M Sport, Premium, Space Grey
2003 X5 3.0 Steptronic, Premium, Titanium Silver
2002 325xi 5 MT, Steel Grey
2004 Z4 3.0 Premium, Sport, SMG, Maldives Blue

Very good step by step analysis. I think my wants and needs fit right into what you just wrote. When my wife's last laptop died, I bought her an HP netbook. Great little device for light usage, has a real keyboard, and all the standard computer stuff. I already had a USB DVD/CD drive to install programs and such. I think if I decided to buy a "travel device", it would be another little netbook.

__________________

rayxi;

Different strokes for different folks. However there are just a few errors in your can't list

#1 You can download photos and movies directly from your camera

#2 It does have HDMI-Out to HDTV

#3 You can indeed make Skype video calls on Apple's iPad 2

I didn't bother to look up the rest of the Cant's but there's prob
a way to get those done as well.

__________________
"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

I'm interested in any info you may have Barry.
#1 How do I get photos off my Canon 20D that uses a Compact Flash card to the iPad?

#2 Where is the HDMI port on the iPad (not iPad 2 as I don't have one of those)

#3 Where is the camera on the iPad (not iPad 2 as I don't have one of those)

I'm sure I could probably buy an overpriced dongle do-hickey thingy or go through some intermediate device to do some of these but really, those are just band-aids not solutions.

Edit: As for "different strokes", I don't think my needs for a computing device for travel are that different than most people's.

__________________
Wake up every day that would be a start.

#1 You can buy Apple's Camera connection adaptor for iPad/iPad 2...it comes with an adaptor to attach your Canon to iPad via Canon's usb cable since your Canon camera uses CF card. The Apple connection adaptor also comes with adaptor to plug in a SD card.

#2 You can now buy Apple's Digital AV adaptor to plug in HDMI cable to iPad or iPad 2.

#3 iPad does NOT have a camera. iPad 2 has a front facing camera for video chat (probably VGA resolution) and rear facing camera to do 720p video and also simple camera (probably no higher than 1 megapixel).

You can read all the specs at Apple

I agree iPad is not for everyone...it started as mainly a consumption device, but I also use it for work. I store important documents (multiple PDF files) for viewing and I can access articles/information fast. I can use Dropbox to transfer and share files among iPad, smartphone, and Mac. I can retreive info over the 'net and share with clients instantly. There is NO bootup time with iPad vs. laptop. Battery lasts forever on iPad, unlike my IBM thinkpad tablet which only lasts for 5 hours running Windows 7. Some of the things I can do already with smartphone, but need larger screen to share info with other people.

If you need to do alot of typing, then you may want to consider a smaller, lightweight laptop like Mac Book Air which has set the standard with built-in SSD and quick wake up from sleep vs. PC laptops/netbooks. I have typed articles with bluetooth keyboard paired with iPad for short stuff.

iPad 2 with iMovie makes it more than just a consumption device now...the technology will get better and iPad/netbook interface will start merging.

__________________

So, your telling them...in lue of buying the iPad.
1) you have to buy an extra part to transfer your photo. Which you have to keep up with.
2) You have to buy another extra part to connect to an HDMI, another part to keep up with.
3) Okay - the iPad 2 have a camera...I will give you that.

For the record - I do own a few mac products...(MacMini, 15 Macbook Pro, and others). It is just I am not sold on the iPad...yet. Will wait until the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 with card reader/HDMI output/camera as standard hardware comes out this summer, June. I will wait to compare both the iPad vs Galaxy to make a better choice.

Opps...I maybe wrong on the HDMI...will have to wait to actually see the "real" tablet to be better informed. There is one good thing about the iPad...it is out and you can buy it right now.

__________________