I was probably the most skeptical person out the when Steve Jobs was making the announcement about his "magical" iPad. In this day and age you can't take any salesman seriously when he uses that kind of language. But when I saw one in action surfing the Internet the other day I started to see the potential of the platform.

It's all about web browsing and the consumption of media. The iPad is the perfect tiny web browser. Its just the right size for reading and a good resolution for surfing, about 1024 pixel wide when leaned on its side. It is much better than surfing on a phone, not as good as a computer.
It's all about consuming media (via apps), but not just the Internet: Marvel Comics, Netflix videos, iBooks and Amazon Kindle, Globe & Mail, The New Yorker, etc... These apps are all about consuming media on the iPad. And it works fantastic!
On the flip side I tried to write this blog post on the iPad, but I ended up getting sore fingers and moved back to my laptop. The iPad is not for creating content. It works, but trying to place the cursor anywhere on the screen using your finger is an exercise in frustration. Extreme frustration. It is so bad I wonder why there are so many writing and composing applications for the iPad. The "keyboard dock" accessory also lacks cursors. The most typing I want to do on an iPad is a username and password, that is all.
So in short, and for what it is, the iPad just could be a revolutionary new device, no hocus pokus.