any plans for a subscriber iPad version of Word? I'd swap my subscription to iPad from paper if given option.

you need flash to view the online version which is not iPad friendly.

I mostly use mine for browsing web and emails when watching tv.
Use Osfoora as my Twitter App.

Can't be used as an e-reader outside as screen too reflective.

That's one of the reasons we're interested in what people already do. In these early days there's a tendency to make assumptions which may not be borne out by experience. Does anyone use theirs for reading and if so how?

I use mine as a very portable portfolio and for reading comics and books. Tried a couple of magazines via Zinio, but a little too small to read comfortably.

I still find backlit displays uncomfortable for prolonged reading for pleasure, so would never read novels or magazines on my iPad - I live in hope that they'll eventually ditch this type of display and switch to a non-backlit full-colour equivalent of the passive "liquid paper" displays used by the likes of Kindle (whose main downside is it's monochromatic). On the other hand, reference books come into their own on the iPad in many respects e.g. searchability, which beats ANY indexing system hands-down. On the third hand, the inability to annotate and highlight reference works limits the wonderfulness. But it's undeniably great to be able to carry around an entire technical reference library with me, wherever I go (with a magazine and a book or two tucked alongside it in my briefcase!).

I've found I'm actually using it a lot.

I use for work for doing both emails (when in a meeting / away from my desk etc) and taking notes of day to day stuff, I have now gotten into the mode of not using my paper diary at all now (environmentally friendly as well !) and use an app called Daily Notes to jot down day to day stuff and Penultimate to scribble fast notes when I'm on a call etc. I also have a pogoplug enabled hard drive that stores and shares virtually all the documents I may ever need, which can be accessed instantly via the free pogoplug iPad application - great for suddenly pulling up info when in a meeting......

At home I tend to use mainly for browsing the web when sat on the sofa - when I can keep it out of the hands of the kids playing Plants vs Zombies !

As a technology demo, the Elements app which shows the periodic table in all its detail is wonderful - can't really say that I need such info, but its nice.. I'm sure my kids will use it for study when they are a little older. Similarly with the Star Walk app which gives you the night sky "live" when you point the iPad at it.

I have a couple of magazines in pdf format on there and find that I tend to read those more than the print version. I find books easy to read on the iPad and can see that growing to be a major usage - just at the moment some of the books I want are not available......

I've found it a bit pointless. It's a great bit of technology and has a few things that make you go "Ooooo" the first few times you use them but I can't find anything significant that my MacBook can't already do.

In fact, there's plenty of stuff the iPad can't do - Applescript, connect to an OSX server, multiple user accounts, run 'proper' OSX software, etc etc.

Personally, I'm not interested it using it as an eBook reader; that just doesn't appeal.

So, mine is already just being used as an ad hoc Internet browsing device on the sofa.

Browsing & reading mags mainly. Doesn't replace my ereader for books, but I'm finding it perfect for browsing the web, and reading magazines and news articles. The Wired app is excellent. Found that through Zinio the Uk magazines have priced themselves out of the market, but have taken out yearly subs to Rolling Stone and US Macworld for £13 each.

I'm buying less physical mags, including Word, as a result. Would subscribe to Word in an instant as long as it was reasonably priced.(£2.50 per issue max).

That plus Newsrack for my rss reader. I don't miss flash as I rarely use flash sites.

at latitude feel he may need to think about his life choices. That a side "the downstairs" use you describe seems perfect from how I know myself and friends increasingly use laptops ie for tweeting looking stuff up, showing photos if you can controlthe stream of Iplayer or music to a bigger screen from it seems very useable. Not sure about outside the home think laptops more robust and better for typing and spreadsheets etc.

with it's own language, that kinda sounds like english but makes no sense to me.

Can it make a good cup of tea?

At £109 for a reading device it is priced sensibly and the reviews on the screen and speed seem to suggest its the most book like reading experience.

The iPad is a great looking bit of kit but I don't feel that it is complete yet. It should have an SD card port (or similar) to enable easy media/file transfer. It needs to be £100 - 150 cheaper. And they need to finish of the OS to make sure that printing and file sharing works out of the box.

Being used to play solitaire for a 3 hour journey. Owner of said IPad had a smartphone next to it that would have done the trick probably, and a laptop in it's case.

Seemed kind of pointless...

Can't speak for the IPad, but I've recently had computer problems so my only link to the online world was my Sony X10 smartphone. And even though my computer is fixed now, I've yet to go back to it like I used it before. I surf on the phone, read books (thanks to the Kindle app) and even write my blog. It has an amazing camera on it, and having that in the same digital location as my online world is a fantastic experience.

I only really go onto my comp to move files around these days. What I want is a slightly larger version of my phone so that reading is an easier on the eye experience, but that digital mixing and matching in one device is something I'm not likely to go backwards on now.

Does the IPad give me all the choices I've just detailed, including an amazing camera?

I went for the range-topping, all-singing, all-dancing iPad, having learned my lesson after getting the iPhone 3G with 8GB (so I had to constantly update the playlist to add the last music I'd purchased).

I justified to myself (and my wife) by saying it was for work, but in all fairness, I have used it a lot for that. I'm a journalist and I travel a couple of times a month for work, so the iPad is much lighter than my MacBook Pro for lugging around. It also starts up quicker (useful on short-haul flights when you have a limited time when the seatbelt light is off) and I can use it to watch films/TV, play games or listen to music. While away I can also pick up email, etc, and on my flight back, I can also use iWork to start writing up my features.

I've also just discovered a great app called Soundpaper, that allows you to take notes when interviewing someone and record the interview while you're doing it, so you don't miss anything. Absolutely superb for a journalist, student, or anyone who wants a verbatim record of a meeting.

I also use it as a 'downstairs' computer for emailing, tweeting, Facebooking and surfing while watching TV. It's very handy if you want to buy tickets, CDs, books, etc online while they're fresh in your mind.

Is it vital to one's life? Probably not, but it's the laptop's death knell, I reckon, and what we'll all be using within a decade. And it's only going to get better when iOS 4.2 arrives in November (streaming films to your TV?) and apps continue to be developed.

We're looking at the future, people.

People at work who have them seem to spend most of the time frowning at the greasy finger print covered screen whilst I jot notes into a notebook. Doubtless a good toy and obvious pose value (if you're impressed with that kind of thing) but beyond some of the specialist apps discussed here I wonder why you would want to spend that much money on one. I spend enough time staring at a screen quite honestly.

I'm really tempted by the iPad, not because I have any use for it, but because it seems to be one of the clearest indications so far that we are living in the future.

A hand-held tablet with a big interactive screen that has countless functions is the stuff of science fiction, and to own one would be to inhabit a little corner of that world. Now all we need is silvery clothing with fins on the shoulders and hover cars with bubble windscreens.

One thing, though - it is not environmentally friendly. Assuming that the iPad doesn't run off in-built solar panels, you will have to charge it now and again. This uses electricity which, on the whole, is generated from smelly old coal-fired power stations.

A book may be made of trees, but a book can be pulped and recycled, and is not constructed of highly specialised materials, some of which are manufactured using environmentally-destructive processes, not to mention the whole coltan issue.

Embrace the iPad and its like because it represents the gleaming horizon of our science fiction fantasies, but please don't think that it's saving the planet from filthy paper. Please feel free to prove me wrong on this, though - as it would move me a step closer to getting my mitts on one.

....aspects of reading magazines should do one simple thing.

Subscribe.

Magazine publishers have to waste fortunes on unsold copies which enter the supply chain and never come back. If we want to reach one reader at retail we have to print two copies. If we want to reach one subscriber, we only have to print one copy.

reading about suicides at a major Apple component factory allegedly due to the sweatshop-like conditions.

I'm not getting all pious - in fact my laptop was made by HP which sources components from the same plant. God knows how many other unethically sourced things I consume.

In fact I don't really know where I'm going with this. As you were.

....but what I'm most interested is not so much what people might do as what people are already doing. The people I meet divide into two camps: those who think in the near future all magazines will be primarily available in devices like this and those who don't. Obviously it's early days but I've yet to meet anyone who has a history of regularly reading magazines on an iPad or an iPhone.

...I need something to edit and change contracts/proposals and presentations. I quite like the idea of the iPad but it really isn't on top of the pile at the moment. And if it don't run Audacity not much fun for leisure.
It's very popular in my clients' marketing departments BTW.

Checking and responding to email is fast. The thing just fires up and your off. Browsing's a doddle. A good selection of apps to explore, although I've not bought many. I've invested in Pages; Scrabble is well worth having! Photos look great on it (films too). You can read comfortably too. The one disadvantage is only being able to do one thing at a time, but I've not really been bothered by that.

This may be the beginning of the end of the laptop. It's not there yet. I'm using my laptop less and my iPad more - I wonder if others are doing likewise?

...on email. Blindingly quick on my iPod Touch.

I also go along with you on using it more and more on a substitution basis - especially for internet and email.

Anyone else using TVCatchup? Live TV on your Pod/Pad/Computer for free - terrestrials only at the moment though. Great for surreptitiously following the footie whilst the wife watches some drama or other.

It's amazing. Can do most things an iPad can do (and some it can't) and fits in my pocket. I just downloaded a GPS (Sat Nav) program for 99 cents which seems to work very well. I like the idea of the iPad but it's just a big iPod Touch really.

...mainly surfing, book reading (which I don't have problem with ) and forever changing the theme via Winterboard!
Nice to have The Times ready and waiting with my cornflakes, and they keep extending my sub for nowt.....result.

I don't think the iPad is the death of the laptop. It's a device for consuming things (and time) and not especially good for creating stuff (unless you are finger sketcher).

First thing I did with mine was load the first two hundred issues of 2000AD on it and devour them. It is the best electronic comics reader I have ever used.

iBooks are way too expensive for me to bother with but Good Reader is a godsend of an app for all your old PDF novels.

I am addicted to longform.org via iPad.

I doubt whether I will ever write coherently by means of this awful touch keyboard.

I got mine jointly with my wife, which makes the price much more palatable. (If you'll excuse the shill, I wrote a piece on the logistics of joint ownership here: http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2010/08/17/five-tips-for-sharing-an-ipad)

For me, the iPad isn't something you need until you've got one. It's not a straight replacement for any one device, but does many things well. What makes it work so well is that it really does flick on and off in an instant, have a battery that lasts seemingly forever, and is utterly silent. It's at this perfect sweet spot of being big enough that it presents the web in "full size", but small enough that its unobtrusive and can be carried anywhere without a thought.

Among the functions it fulfills in our house:

* Web browser. Or specifically, "thing that sits on the coffee table and is used either to check if everyone else agrees that guy on Question Time is talking piffle, or to find out where you remember that guy in the film from."

* e-book Reader: It does the job fine for me, and looking at the size of my Amazon wishlist and the lack of space on our bookshelves, I can see it getting some use. It's also ideal for lengthy PDF documents, both legal and otherwise. I'm sure the Kindle is better if you are reading for hours on end, but if I were doing that, I'd probably take the book with me anyway.

* Portable TV: Between the iPlayer and the TVCatchup link, it takes the place of a second/third/eleventh TV set in our house. Because it's so portable, you can watch TV in the bedroom/dining room/kitchen/bathroom/garden without the need for multiple sets.

* Downloadable TV: The AirVideo app streams stuff straight from your computer to the iPad with no need to mess about converting files into the right format or setting up streaming to a box connected to a TV or any such palava.

* Cookbook: Much as I love my Nigella Lawson/I Can Cook/etc, sometimes you just want to search for a recipe online (though the web or apps such as Epicurious). The size of the iPad means its ideal to stick on a countertop (well away from splashes!) rather than squint at a tiny phone screen or print a recipe onto a sheet of paper that's destined to end up in the bin, a sauce and oil covered mess, the same night.

* Work computer: For my work (writing), the iPad is a machine that can technically and theoretically be a work tool, but I wouldn't use it by choice. For my wife, though, it's ideal: when she's on train trips it's small enough to fit on the back of a seat, but big enough that she can do what she needs to -- ie dealing with e-mail and typing/editing the odd report -- in a much more comfortable manner than with a phone.

* Games machine: OK, it's no next-gen console, but Angry Birds on a larger screen keeps the missus quiet, a £1.79 Trivial Pursuit app dealt with a Bank Holiday visit by relatives when the sun had disappeared, and there's something wonderfully stupid about using a £400+ machine to play Air Hocket.

* News reader: I'm not yet subscribing to any magazines, but I can certainly say that I wouldn't dream of scrolling through the New York Times website every day, but I regularly find stuff worth a read through its app.

... used mainly for surfing, e-mailing, tweeting and iTunes. It's very portable and starts up quickly. Oh and the screen looks good. Now, if they could only enable Adobe Flash Player we'd have everything.

My wife mainly uses it to play Angry Birds.

Mrs Law is lusting after one. Then my new associate at work turned up with one, running a lovely app which demonstrates dental procedures. You can sit down with it, with the patient, walk them through a procedure, show pictures / x-rays / videos.. It's fantastic. Much better than sitting in front of a monitor.

I'm investing.

Do I want 3G, though? What do users think?

My issue is, you could buy a wifi Kindle for GBP 109 and a decent 10" netbook (such as an Acer D260) for GBP 249.

Which would still leave you GBP 71 change compared to the cheapest iPad available.

I just had to have one because I already have all manner of iPods and the large iMac at home, and have a rather bad Apple habit.

Like most of you it's primary function for me has been web surfing away from the fixed point of my iMac, and the ease of switching on and everything just being there is a huge plus.

I would like to read more newspapers via the iPad, however pricing is a switch off at the moment. I had a free subscription to the FT for a month and it was a brilliant interface, but at the current pricing I would not get sufficient value out of it.

I think I would be drawn to magazines in this format though. I have a major character flaw in that I retain all copies of old music magazines (I found Word edition 1 the other day), and all they do is take up room, deteriorate and gather dust. I think to myself that one day I'll refer back to them, but of course never do. if I could keep them as accessible files on my iPad that would be great.

I use my 160gig iPod less and less. I went through my iTunes library and selected a personal top albums of each year (maximum 10) set up a playlist by year and synced to my iPad. It spans from the 60's to date, and means I have everything I deem essential whenever I go anywhere, and it only occupies about one third of the memory.

I have converted some DVDs for consumption away from home, and downloaded some iPlayer TV too, and it's a great interface for viewing these.

The only books I have a the free ones (classics) I much prefer the paper experience for reading.

I have a few games which my kids use, Angry Birds, MultiPong and a couple of others, they seem happy and it knocks spots of playing these on an iPod Touch or iPhone.

What I would like is when I + The Word web page and add to my home screen,, it would look so much better if it saved a lovely Word icon rather than a tint representation of a web page. This works on sites like the BBC, so there must be a little tweak that you can apply. That or a Word App that links in would complement the device perfectly.

I love my iPad - I would sum it up by saying that it just does the 'leisure' aspects of 'surfing' that much better

There are a number of posts here that say '...but I can do the same things on my XYZ and thats cheaper...or what does it do that others don't, go on, amaze me...' but thats missing the point, its just better

A modern state-of the-art Vorsprung Durch Technik car still fundamentally does the same thing as an Austin Allegro [insert favourite old clapped-out car] - it gets you from 'A to B'. But really, who ceteris paribus would go for the allegro or fairly agree the merits of the newer model?

2 other points - its the first of my many gadgets that the FPO picked up and started using without saying 'rubbish it doesn't work' or 'I hate the modern world, give me a book etc'

and 2, try the Reeder RSS app, http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/app-review-reeder-may-be-the-best...

EyeTV (the Mac TV app) is well integrated with iPad and can be set up to automatically export in iPad friendly format. The quality is fantastic.

I got an iPad in June as a means to try and reduce the piles of books, magazines, newspapers etc which clutter the side of the bed, much to FPOs aggravation.

I usually have a couple of books on the go, read the times and subscribe to word, wsc, empire.

The iPad has really changed the way I read. I subscribe to the times, which is good value compared to the paper version at a tenner a month. I've downloaded books via kindle and iBooks and have found both readable for long periods. I can do the telegraph crossword every day on it (as I subscribe to the telegraph crossword site!).

I can also browse, play plants vs zombies, watch Beatles anthology and listen to The National albums at the drop of a hat.

The thing it has done is encouraged me to read more! I now subscribe to a couple of other mags via zinio and I can read books for five or ten minutes whenever a lull in daily proceedings takes hold, which is not always the case with a paperback.

I still subscribe to the paper mags, but only because they don't offer an iPad alternative. I would happily pay the same sub price to be given an iPad version and a spotify link each month from the word, for example. At least I would have it with me whenever, wherever, and there would be little chance of it being thrown out in error!

Ideally, you need to adopt a slightly smug grin whilst using it. You can see the person next to you trying not to look at it and feel them wanting to ask for a go.

Childish I know... :-)

the long-formed hard skin pads on the tips of the fingers of my left hand do not register well on touch-screen devices. The fleshier fingertips on my right hand work fine - completing the circuit, or whatever they're supposed to do, with ease. I know you can add a Bluetooth keyboard but that puts more kit between me and the internet - but that makes it more like a laptop again, which would defeat the object.

as it has no Smart Folders or rules so, consequently, my inbox is just too cluttered to handle.

The only current solution that works for me is to leave mail.app open on an OSX machine so the rules get applied as mail is delivered.

This method, of course, relies on me only opening iPad mail when I know the mails has been processed by the OSX machine. That way, the iPad inbox syncs to the 'post-rules' view of the mail account.

Too fiddly really so I rarely use the iPad mail when I'm away from home unless I really have to.

Apple claim that iOS4.2 includes 'an improved' mail app. We shall see...