The cell network is an issue, but not as big as I once thought. With my BlackBerry, probably 70%+ of the time I’m using it I’m connected to either my home or work WiFi. I’d expect 90% of the time that I’d want something like the iPad that would be true. I’d prefer 100% connectivity, but for the typical $100 a month cost, I don’t think so. If Rogers or Telus gets hooked up with Apple like AT&T did in the states, though… $15 a month for 250 MB or $30 a month for unlimited data might be just fine. But that is hightly doubtful in our wonderful over-regulated environment.

As for the ease of use… my observation is that Apple really does do a better job than the competitors. There are a lot of features shared between Windows 7 and Mac OSX 10.6, things like the quicklaunch bar/dock and the like, but on the Mac they seem more intuitive. “Fit and finish”, I guess is what you’d call it in the car world. It’s like when I sit in my Acura, all of the controls fall to hand without a lot of looking around. When I sit in a similar vintage GM product, the same functions are all there, but I perpetually have to poke around with inconveniently placed and fiddly buttons.

I’m on the list to get notified when it becomes available, so we’ll see.