Reasons to Hold Off:
1. There is no subsidy on the 3G version. Apple wants you to pay $829 for the 64GB device, plus monthly wireless fees for AT&T’s 3G. The first year total: $1,189.
2. The wrong screen. It’s not clear why Apple didn’t choose a 16:9 aspect ratio, the standard for widescreen entertainment, but not doing so makes the iPad much less interesting for watching movies.
3. It’s not much of a work machine. New applications may hammer away at the iPad’s limitations, but the truth is that a notebook or netbook or even (in many circumstances) an iPhone is much more useful. Maybe it isn’t even fair to ask a device so well-tuned for entertainment to work at the office too, but Apple is promoting the iPad as a work tool. And right now, I have to respond, “No” in most circumstances.
4. If you don’t need all the other features, a Kindle or Nook offer better battery life for e-reading, but lack the color screen.
5. The iPad is a “tweener,” in the bad sense of the word. Not a computer, but not a smartphone, the iPad lacks the functionality of a notebook and the convenience of an iPhone or Droid. The iPad may be just one more thing to haul around if you already carry a notebook, which it doesn’t come close to replacing.
6. By the time the iPad ships, the excitement may be over. Perhaps helping lots of people save money.
There are many more reasons, both pro and con, regarding an iPad purchase but the best one may be the simplest: You’ve either got to have one (and have the spare cash) or the iPad doesn’t do much for you.
