I have no doubt that your iPad is of great use to you and what you choose to spend with your money is your very own decision. Glad to see that your investment has paid off for you. However, what irks me is the fact that most folks who drink Apple’s kool-aid will not only regurgitate what Apple’s marketing team spew out of their mouth, but also criticize others for not having the same high regards for Apple’s devices. To label someone as a hater for the simple fact that they do not share your opinions or your ambitions for a product is not only inappropriate but also fan boyish. As for your statement about trends of ‘hating’ on Apple’s product prior to launch, only to proven otherwise, is at best wishful thinking and at worse simply delusional. Not sure how you happen to miss all the massive pre-launch hype and media coverage each and every time Apple launches a product. Everyone was not hating. Everyone was hyping.
That aside, I’d just like to say that in my opinion, the iPad is a watered down netbook with no physical keyboard, no USB, (paying extra for an accessory just to give you your basic necessity hardly counts), no media reader (flash memory/CD ROM drive), no camera, a trimmed down mobile OS with no multitasking ability, all encased inside of a thin shiny metal case with a touch screen and your only means of installing applications is via AppStore. Some folks like myself can hardly consider all of that to be a bargain for a price of $499+. I'd much rather invest my money on the upcoming HP Slate.
As for N’Chync’s statement about simplicity, we all know Apple build its customer base around folks who aren’t tech savvy and are easily intimidated by technical jargon. What about the folks who thought they bought the iPad for its simplicity, encountered Wi-Fi problems, and this is Apple’s response:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3304 (covered by
http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224202204). Looks like these folks “simply” have to reconfigure your router to make their iPad’s connection work.
“It just works!*” –Apple
*…well, not all the time.