..But should I BUY an iPad??

That's the other question most people seem to be asking me.

The simple answer is: it depends.

In my last post, I wrote about a lot of the negatives, so it's only fair to write about the positives.  This post takes for granted that you've read my previous posts so don't flame me for not mentioning the lack of Flash support. (There I said it ok?!)

First of all, this thing is mad sexy.  Seeing an iPad presents an almost irresistible urge to touch and interact with it - something no other laptop or netbook can achieve.  But the real point is that when you do interact, it's extremely enjoyable.

There's no way to overstate the benefits of an instant-on computer device.  No boot-ups, no messy "sleep/standby" issues, and with a battery that can handle it all makes the iPad the preferred device you will turn to when you need something done quickly and easily.

The screen is magnificent.  It's bright, clear, (a little too glossy) and makes images and video POP.

Browsing the web in general on the iPad for me has been of the most enjoyable mobile web browsing experiences I have ever had, period.  Aside from the speed (overall, and rendering) the general stability as well as the overall experience are just unmatched for a number of reasons.  For instance, the fact that you can turn the device and go from portrait to landscape at any time just makes so much sense.  For example, news sites and info heavy sites are best in portrait, while graphic rich sites usually work best in landscape.  Being able to switch on the fly is a great boon to browsing.

On that topic, I said I wasn't going to, but here comes the issue of Flash Video.  Yes, it's disruptive.  However! Many sites are now offering video in H.264 native (without a Flash wrapper) that works perfectly on the iPad. There's no issue of speed of videos or of the device itself like you can sometimes encounter on various websites with Flash Video. And I sort-of understand Jobs' point with this.  In-line video on websites on the iPad work so perfectly because they are standardized and built into the OS.  Once again, as I mentioned in a previous post, Apple is standardizing content and content delivery, allowing for an optimized experience.

Next, I'll talk about the iPhone - iPad crossover.  While text based apps don't look great at double size on the iPad, believe it or not, games actually look pretty good;  definitely acceptable in my opinion for a casual gamer.  In related functionality, going from Kindle iPad to Kindle iPhone and back is super convenient.  Going back and forth between We Rule by ngmoco iPad (free!) to We Rule for iPhone is smooth as silk.  I truly believe that as more developers connect their apps to sync between the 2 devices, every iPhone user is going to be hard pressed to not purchase an iPad.

There is much more I can write, but I'll end with reading.  While I mentioned that the iPad weight is somewhat restrictive to long reading, when it comes to books that are normally large, the iPad really shines.  I have 3 large, heavy manuals in my Kindle app and they look great.  Using Goodreader, I've downloaded many PDF's of texts that are normally large-format pages and the experience is unmatched.  It's not that I can't do it with a computer or a laptop.  It's the ability to easily carry and view the pages on a portrait-format device that happens to look great, that makes it so wonderful.

So the question remains: should you buy an iPad?  As you've read, there are many plusses and minuses.  In my humble opinion, I see no reason for existing iPod Touch/iPhone users to rush to purchase YET, at least until developers start lowering their app prices.  For others new to the platform and looking for a great way to do the things mentioned, I say go for it.  You won't regret it.