The iPad in its keyboard dock.
(Credit: Apple)
Steve Jobs said, in introducing the iPad, that it fits in the market between smartphones and computers. It does more than a phone, less than a full computer, at a cost in between those products. This an interesting and difficult sales prospect, since few people in this economy are looking for yet another class of computing product to spend money on, especially one in the too-big-to-pocket and too-small-to-do-work-on category. Putting economics aside, the iPad is certainly attractive. Bring the real world back into the picture, and the iPad looks like an indulgence--a luxury product for geeks and Apple fanboys.
This is what I believed while I was watching the iPad announcement. But eventually the iPad will be seen as something quite the opposite. The US$499 iPad is Apple's lowest-price computer (The Mac Mini is US$599, without a monitor or keyboard). With the US$69 keyboard dock (or a Bluetooth keyboard and a plate stand), it'll make a decent general-purpose computer for a family's common room or kitchen. And it's small enough and has good enough battery life to chuck in a briefcase or bag so the owner can consume some media or get some low-effort work done when away from home.
