They are a fun toy but thats all they are: a toy, not a tool.

my friend got one and its the wifi-only version. he loves it, but again, its a toy...

but when the wife's happy, everyone's happy :-)

good luck man
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Yes, I often read PDFs, find recipes, get directions, read the news, answer emails, etc with all my toys. I guess by that logic a blackberry isn't a tool either.... heck you could even stretch it to say a netbook is mostly a toy.

I think you are understating its capabilities just a tad.
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It's a lot of fun to play with. The flight simulators and mini flash games are a blast. The touch screen keyboard is difficult to use, but you can always plug in a real keyboard. It is essentially a giant iPhone, but it can be used as a macbook. It has all the programs. I wouldn't go as far to say its a toy, but I wouldn't say its a tool either. It's a happy medium. I would much rather have a different tablet that supported Windows 7 and had a lot more flash memory. AT&T realllly needs to lower the monthly cost of their 3G services. It's a tad high considering how many people use it.
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The iPad is a media and information consumption device, nothing more nothing less, and as such it's not really comparable to either a netbook or a laptop since those are computers. However, like others have said, if all she really wants is an eBook reader for the gym there are better and cheaper options that just aren't as flashy and "Apple-y". So the answer to cost benefit as an e-reader is no it's not worth the $$$. However when taken in the context of "a happy wife is a happy life", $500 is pretty cheap :-)
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ixnay on the igarsay there mean D! EVERY cigar box I own was bombed to me :-)

at least thats what I told her when I bought my first Tower Cabinet :-)
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she actually said either an iPad or nook. But the nook seems too much of a unitasker for me. At least the iPad, while double the money has some other functionality.

Gonna let her try out both, and see which one she likes better.
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:-)
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Like Peter said, if she want's something solely for ebooks than an iPad is not the best option - beyond the price I could that glossy screen being pretty fatiguing on the eyes after a while.
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The eReaders are extremely easy on the eyes and are much more easily read outdoors than a backlit computer screen.
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I have to agree with Peter, which hurts. :-)

However, have you seen the eReader application for the iPad? It's pretty nice.
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I bought my second one and it comes tomorrow
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Peter, if you get a chance to use an iPad for reading, I promise you'd be thrilled. I've tried the Sony and Kindle. There is no comparison.
I read on my iPad constantly because it is so pleasant.
The fact that it's backlit and the fonts can be changed to whatever I like and any size, it's so easy on my old eyeballs.
I wish I could spare mine for a minute so you could try it, but I'd be lost. :-)
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