Slim majority of users would rather have a netbook or laptop over an iPad

Didn't take your poll, as I couldn't agree with any of the options:

The only reason that I won't be buying an iPad as soon as it comes out in the UK is that it's a 'Version 1' product, with all the baggage that comes with that.

Those friends that I've spoken to who are likely to be interested in the iPad say the same - looks great, will wait one iteration, partially for the feature bump and price drop, but mainly for the extra reliability and product maturity.

I bought a $250 Dell Mini 10v & installed os x Snow Leopard on it in less than 1.5 hrs. & everything works perfectly, even the updates download & install just fine. I wanted something that's really useful without any shortcomings (even supports bluetooth & has a web cam). Plus, I don't need another pc to connect it to, I have something that supports flash, has 2gb of ram & a 160 gig hdd. The $499 ipad with only 14.5 gig of useable storage is a rip-off, especially when you add in all the extra's that you'll have to buy that brings the retail to over $600. All the hype about the iPad really has me stumped, I like Apple stuff as much as the next guy but I can't see the appeal in something that will require a backpack full of peripherals. I never thought they'd release this iPad with less storage than my ipod classic or even my iPhone GS.

I was waiting to see what Apple was going to release. Once the iPad details were known, I bought a netbook. I have a Macbook Pro and an iPhone. I just couldn't see the $500 iPad fitting. I'm sure it will work great for some people, but at this point a netbook fit my needs better.

I think the iPad is neat. I may even pick one up for Rev 2 or 3 when the price is $300 or less.

Just a guess but I think it pays to wait and see what new features will be included in the next generation ipad.
As it stands now I'd like one but I am not in love with what it does not have.

I don't care what other people want. I care what *I* want.

And for those that want Photoshop on the iPad, it's not going to happen. Why? Because that's not the target market for this device.

The one choice I would add to that survey is "I'd rather put that money toward a new Macbook." At this point, I could sell my first-gen Macbook for a decent amount and use the cost of the iPad to get the 13" Macbook Pro...I'd be elated.

I would like to have an easy to use, multitouch-centric tablet computer that features WebOS-like multitasking capabilities, a webcam, a secondary webcam on the back for AR and a Wacom digitizer for drawing. Unfortunately, such a thing doesn't exist. From all the devices available, the iPad comes closest to it, though. It's the only tablet computer that features a really multitouch-optimized operating system.

So to answer the question, the iPad definitely does not fulfill all my desires, but it's the best I can get. Yeah, I will buy one when they will be released in late April in Europe.

I need a tablet PC I can sketch on in Photoshop, not an ebook reader.

I'd love something like an iPad, but :

- I have issues with Apple wanting to control 100% of the experience. I've had an iPhone since the day it was unlockable, and have been getting more out of my iPhones that 90% of users. Some things I can do since 2.5 years still aren't available to iPhone users, and although I appreciate strong guidelines and Apple showing the way on user interfaces, I still favor some flexibility.

- The screen is a letdown. They chose an IPS panel, which is great, really... Also I appreciate they didn't go for an ultra-wide format (like 16:9) because it would be unusable in portrait. But 1024x768 pixels at 132 ppi density is a let-down. It can't play HD (720p, I'm not asking for 1080p here) at native resolutions, and we're losing ppi vs the iPhone screen (where AMOLED screens on many recent smartphones are already doing better)

- Not having a webcam on this thing means no video-conferencing with Skype or other similar apps... I can't believe this to be anything but a deliberate decision to get people to switch to rev B in a year.

So although I'm pretty sure OS revisions and a future web-cam addition will dissipate most of my gripes, I don't see Apple releasing an iPad with a better screen resolution before some time (no change in resolution for 3 years on the iPhone means app developers don't have too many revisions to target their applications for)

Erm, have I missed something here? So 49% of its target market would prefer to own an iPad than ANY other netbook or laptop. And the headline writers turn that into negative spin? If I was Apple I'd be pretty happy with those numbers.