Now that everything is out of the bag, let’s take a quick look at the Pro’s and Con’s of the device.

Pro’s:

• Revolutionary e-reader interface, and new iBooks store. This has the potential to transform many markets (think of the impact on the textbook market).
• Screen size
• Full keyboard, and keyboard dock available
• WiFi and 3G
• Groundbreaking 3G price structure (with no contract to boot)
• iWorks package

Cons:

• No camera
• No Flash
• No multi-tasking

The 3 cons are what make it difficult to see this device completely displacing the netbook – although it has that potential. On the surface it seems very similar to the initial iPhone launch – ie launched without key features such as MMS or Copy/Paste. In this case, it looks like the iPad will come out with a bang, but hopefully some of the essential features will be added later.

It remains to be seen how it fits into the smartphone/laptop market, and how it competes against other e-readers (the only downside is that books seem to be a tad bit more expensive and it still has to utilize an LCD screen).

In any case though, the device itself is gorgeous and will be picked up by almost anyone looking for a nice toy. Time will tell how it implants itself as a device of necessity as the iPhone has become for many.