Well I succumbed and purchased an iPad, I do have a business requirement for one due to us developing apps on the AppStore for the iphone which do run on the iPad but not in native mode.
I phoned PcWorld in Exeter and asked if they had any in stock, to which the reply was yes so off I drove. upon arrival though the only model left was the 64Gb WIFi+3G whereas my gut decision had all the models been available would have been the 32GB WiFi only model (which according to some online research appears to have also been the dominant purchasing model that others had selected).
I opted for the O2 network carrier version purely because it was PAYG and I don’t foresee me being a large mobile iPad user (note the 3 network seemed to be the best value for money version if you envisaged being away from WiFi a lot with a 10GB per month allowance for £15 per monh)
Upon unpacking the first screen you are presented with is the standard iTunes activation screen so a quick connection to the office pc later and we are ready for the off.
As an iPhone user the interface is second nature and the main 2 aspects of improvement in the iPad form factor are the vivid screen presentation (due to the much higher spec screen and resolution) and the onscreen keyboard is so much easier to use without numerous typos due to miskeying the small key icons on screen)
Another big plus point which I wasn’t aware of pre-purchase is that you can install for free on the ipad any apps already purchased for your iPhone although some developers have bypassed this with the specific release of iPad apps which have been tweaked as a separate new binary and appended with “HD”.
The number of apps that are available for the iPad is growing constantly with some notable exceptions such as the ubiquitous Facebook native iPad app (you can use the iPhone app version in the interim)
The best iPad apps that I have found thus far are documented below:
1. Tweetdeck – My favourite of the numerous Twitter apps around and even easier on eye with the larger screen space afforded to it on the iPad.
2. iBooks – Apples foray into the ebook market gives an insight into what the iPad is truly good vat I.e. Presenting information in sumptuous high res !
3. Ebay – Monitor your online auctioneering with this official app.
4. F1 Timing App – Again another iPhone app that is much better on the ipads greater screen space.
5. The Times – smooth and well thought out iPad version of UK newspaper although it is missing the crosswords and Sunday times edition.
6. WeatherProHd – gloriously colourful interface with enough info to keep any aspiring weather fan happy
7. iTap Rdp – utilises the largest screen estate of the iPad to good effect to remotely control windows pc
8. WordPress – This blog entry was created on it 
9. Toodledo – iPad version of the superb iPhone app
10. Atomic Web Browser – much better browser than the built in Safari offering tabbed browsing
11. Pulse News. – News feed aggregator with a well designed interface
12. RealRacingHD – Car racer that aptly demonstrates how slickly the iPad can perform as a handheld console.
