Kelly, currently I have about 21Gb used on my iPad but more than half of that is my music library. I don’t use the iPad to listen to music very often, I have an iPod for that but it occasionally comes in handy and it works as a back up as well. I opted for the 64Gb version because the iPad isn’t upgradeable. I almost went for the 3G version as well just in case I might need it in the future but decided against it.

I don’t like the direction Apple took with these types of devices. Making the batteries so they can’t be easily replaced by the average owner. Making them fixed capacity so you would have to purchase new ones instead of being able to upgrade your existing ones. There are probably other design features that fall in that same category. Even with those negatives I still like the iPad and may even end up with a second one. There is something about the interface that makes it enjoyable and even a little compelling to use. My wife took our iPad into the office yesterday because some of her coworkers were interested in seeing it. After playing with it for a little while several of them have decided to get one, even one lady who claimed not to know what an iPad was beforehand.

I can recall back in the early days of computers that “computer-phobia” was common amongst non-technical users. There is a lot less if it today but there are still some people that feel intimidated by computers. They aren’t comfortable with the standard keyboard and mouse interface. The iPad interface seems to be much more intuitive for most people and more enjoyable to use. I overheard one person in Best Buy talking to a salesperson about the iPad. She wanted to get rid of her laptop and just use an iPad because she didn’t like using her laptop. That isn’t a realistic option at this time. You can’t even get your iPad running without hooking it up to a standard computer and registering it with iTunes. Perhaps that is a new business opportunity. Cybercafes could offer a iPad hook-up service where people can update their devices while enjoying a beverage.

I definitely see the touch interface as the way of the future. Combined with a rock solid voice recognition system (to avoid the hunt and peck on the soft keyboard) it could easily become the device of choice for a large number of people. I see these devices increasing in capacity and functionality 10 fold over the next 2 – 5 years as some of Apple’s competitors get into the market. At least I hope that Apple gets some competition in this market. It would seem to be the only way to force some design changes to eliminate some of the negatives I mentioned earlier.