Why I will probably not buy an iPad

I love my iPhone, it does everything that want it to do and it does everything that I want it to do well, but that does not mean that I am willing to buy basically a bigger version of the iPhone so that I can have a bigger screen. I'm currently writing this blog post on my netbook in a Barnes and Noble cafe, and again, I absolutely love my netbook (thank you mommy, merry christmas!) and I bring it practically everywhere with me and, essentially, never without access to my files and the ability to use the internet. I understand the appeal the iPad presents for people who are interested in having, basically, a laptop and an e-reader in one package.

And here's where we get to the relevant part. I probably will not be buying the iPad for multiple reasons: I already have an iPhone, I'm broke...you know, the usual stuff. But there's one major factor that has affected my decision. My interest in the iPad started a few weeks ago when I was reading a few speculation articles about Apple's next big 'thing' and one of the things that stood out to me was that people thought it was going to be a great e-reader, capable of competing with the nook and the kindle. While I'm sure that anythng that Apple can produce that is capable of being an e-reader will be able to at least compete with the nook and the Kindle, I do not think that the iPad's functionality as an e-reader will have people beating down the doors of Apple looking to get one, and it seemed to me that that was one of the best features about the iPad, I mean it's basically a huge iPod touch right? And it especially won't be a great e-reader with a battery life of just 10 hours (the Kindle can go 2 weeks with wi-fi turned off)

It just seems that with me already having a netbook and an iPhone, there really is no point to buying the iPad, because it's basically just a fusion of the two, and for a fusion, it really doesn't save that much more space. I mean, how much space does a netbook and an iphone really take up? And as for "holding the internet in my hands" I seem to be able to do that just fine with my netbook, thank you.

Here's the iPad promotional video (which is extremely obnoxious by the way, another reason I probably won't buy it, shallow right?)




and here's an interview with Walt Mossberg about the iPad