Got an iPad off Craigslist about a week ago, and since then I've been playing with it fairly constantly. The unit I purchased was the bare minimum. 16 gigs of storage, wifi but no 3G.

In a nutshell, this is a game changing device. Being able to carry a fairly small, fairly light computer (yes Apple, it really is a computer) and have its battery last at least a full day (10 hours is a realistic minimum), frees you from the burden of carrying a charger and a large carrying case. It actually transforms computing on the go into a fairly convenient activity.

There are some caveats and limitations. You don't want to carry around an iPad without a protective case, so you'll need at least a plastic shell. The on-screen keyboard pops up when you need it, and it's remarkably clever, but it's still nowhere near as good for typing as a separate keyboard, which I am using for typing this review. The iPad without wifi obviously cannot get online without a wireless router nearby, but the 3G service may run you $30 or $40 bucks on top of your current monthly phone bill.

That said, cases are fairly cheap and useful, and you can get Apple's small bluetooth keyboard for $70 retail. I had forgotten how much I like Apple's flat little keyboards. I can type faster on these than on the big, ergonomic beast I use for my regular laptop. There's even a little case available that contains its own rubbery mini-keyboard, but I'd rather stick with a separate one.

What's it like using an iPad? It takes awhile to become familiar with the touch screen tricks, but the ability to zoom in and out on a web page is immediately useful. The speaker is small and not loud enough, but it's got an audio jack that works fine with ear buds. The screen is frankly impressive. Even with its relatively large Lithium battery, I wouldn't have expected the screen to be so bright, or the unit to run so long. Nor would I expect videos to run so smoothly. The little A4 processor is doing quite a job in there.

The screen will smudge, but it's got some sort of coating that lets you wipe off finger grease easily. I put a plastic screen protector over it, and that works okay, if you don't mind the inevitable little bubbles that form when apply the thing. Truth is, when the screen is lit up, you don't see the little bubbles or the grease marks. Carry a bit of soft cloth with you.

Whoa, I just found an interface bug right now... I accidentally Pasted a whole song, "In the Midnight Hour" in the middle of a paragraph, then had to laboriously delete the song...twice... before I could continue. Where oh where is the Undo function? Is there some odd gesture that does it? How do I find out? Well, there is a manual, but you know how that is... ;-)

This does provide a bit of insight into how this machine does some of its tricks. The main processor reportedly gets by on only 256MB of RAM, yet the system has a remarkable ability to remember what you were last doing in various apps. I realize now that it must be tapping into its 16GB of flash storage to do that, blurring the line between RAM and storage.

The iPad's wifi transceiver is top-notch, dragging in a good N signal both on the 2.4GHz band and even the 5GHz band (if you're within about 40 feet of the router). Logging onto various routers is pretty easy once you figure out how to use the well designed Settings app.

I disconnected from the keyboard for awhile and noticed another bug. Using the screen keyboard, there's no easy way to scroll inside a large text window. The screen keys don't offer Page Up, down, etc. Is there a finger gesture? No idea. Again, the manual may provide a clue...

I've noticed a few problems viewing web pages with Safari, the built-in browser. Mainly the problems come with the lack of Flash support. Some web pages aren't robust enough to offer an alternative way of viewing. Looking at you, Papa Murphy's Pizza!

The sweetest thing about the iPad is all the apps that are available, many for free at the iTunes store. They aren't very well organized (yet), but there are apps for a huge load of purposes, and even the commercial ones are usually cheap, from 99 cents to 5 bucks up to about $20. I found one that lets me stream downloaded movies from my laptop, through the wifi to anywhere in the house, and it works great. Another one streams radio stations, and others do art, music, news, etc.

The outlook for these gizmos is extraordinarily bright. Processors will only get faster, batteries lighter, the radios will get stronger, they'll add webcams, USB 3, etc. One thing I hope they add soon would be mesh networking. There's got to be some way for people to defeat these constant, obnoxious government attempts to silence people by shutting down communication lines, which today means telephone and internet. Ham radios will never suffice in times of civil unrest. People want to be able to text and send maps. I wonder if the UHF band could support digital signals?

16 gigs does seem to suffice for storage, unless you insist on carrying hundreds of songs with you, or a dozen movies. For a guy like Sean-Paul, an iPad would come in very handy, because the small size and portability would allow him to type stuff all day without lugging around a laptop or a charger. You can even put Skype on this sucker, although the sound quality wasn't that good. Again, the next generation of these things will probably double the processing power, add a webcam and a better speaker. The world of tablet computing is just getting revved up.

Tip: Get the Instapaper app, which lets you mark and collect stories from websites so you can read them later. Sweet!