OSNews

- A Dual Core 1 GHz ARM is about 2x faster than a 1.66 GHz atom

- It can't run OSX apps, but those aren't really meant to work well on netbooks either (netbooks have even lower res screen and are much slower). It is less capable, but netbooks don't really run "real" apps like photoshop or visual studio or heavy games well. The iPad can run apps for most things most people do better than any ($300-$1200) netbook (i.e. reading websites, with easy zoom and changing of orientation for the small screen, or going though tons of photos or emails with a multi touch screen instead of an unusable mini trackpad)

- It doesn't fit in your pocket, but its small enough to hold without feeling that you're lugging a laptop in your palm

- The device is a portable computer/media device, with a eBook feature. Would you want to watch videos or look at photos on a kindle screen?

- There are 'pens' for multitouch screens available if you like to write by hand, and handwriting apps will appear soon. Good touch screen keyboards are not bad as they may seem. The keys in the iPad are reasonable size (same size as netbook keyboards) and you can use the keyboard attachment if you want a full size keyboard. You will need an attachment if you want a full size keyboard on a netbook too.

Do Kindles excite you enough to make you even think about them? Over $250 for a single purpose book reader when even an iPod that costs less can do much more? The iPad isn't perfect but it's the most desirable tablet ever made so far.