Is it a Kindle-killer? Personally, I really, really, like reading on the Kindle. It feels like reading a book and after working on a computer screen all day, mentally I need a break from a screen. I thought the iPad felt like reading on a screen, and it actually is a screen so that’s no surprise.

I think I would like to see an Apple device that uses e-paper like the Kindle. To me, reading is the point of having yet another device in the house. I’ve eliminated newspapers, some books and some magazines, so the Kindle is making my life simpler in many ways. The Kindle interface is pretty clunky, and navigation needs some work but since it can’t do a whole lot I don’t need to navigate much more than flipping the page.

I suppose if I’m the minority in wanting to mainly read with a device, then the iPad should do fine. But, I personally cannot figure out why I would need an iPad right now, so for me it’s not really competing.

Best argument I have heard yet for the iPad is that it has potential as an Enterprise level device, which Apple has never really had. I could definitely see this being used in business, tracking, taking notes and doing fieldwork.

Apple is known for restraint and subtlety in their designs. I remember how purposefully simple the original iPod was. It only had the dial for navigation and it didn’t do much other than play music in a really good format. That was the point, do something perfect and leave it at that.

I think the Kindle has an appeal that is very much like a book and is very subtle. It is relaxing mentally, just like reading a book I have no distractions. Amazon has been terrible about not marketing the non-lit screen aspect of the Kindle. It really is just meant to be a paper substitute.

The iPad raises the issue is reading in a paper-book fashion going away? Is there no appeal to being off-line and looking at a reflective surface? I think there is a subtle, relaxing quality to reading on the Kindle that I am surprised that Apple has chosen to ignore in favor of complexity. It seems very un-Apple in a way, or maybe they are seeing the future and people don’t want something like that anymore.

If I’m on vacation I want an iPad (not my notebook and a Kindle).

As something that would allow me to stop consuming paper, I don’t think the iPad is it. I would challenge the main claim of the iPad (according to their ads) that is the best way possible to surf the web. I actually think it’s the worst way possible to surf the web, it is like surfing the web on a Mac Classic with it’s small screen. If you look in their video, the typography is tiny and practically unreadable. Oh, and no Flash.

I think Apple should not try to implement their mobile browsers identically to a desktop/laptop browser. A good mobile version of a site is much better than a tiny browsing experience. Sure, it’s fun for a while to browse the full web on an iPhone, but it grows old quickly and I seek out sites or apps that are made just for the iPhone.

As an e-reader, the iPad also appeared to be a desktop oriented app with tiny type. It feels like the iPad was rushed, and it’s just not clear what it is going to be good at. Personally, I was hoping for some kind of killer drawing app, or an intuitive video editing device, something to make a point as to why we would need this. Gaming seems promising, but again if I’m really into games I’ll probably want the real deal, not a small screen version of a real game. The iPhone wins in this regard in that I don’t expect a lot out of it, great for a casual game whenever. The iPad is not something I’ll just always have in my pocket, I’d have to want to sit down and play a game.

Despite the Kindle’s flaws, and it’s quirkiness I think it was designed with a purpose – to read books. It also feels like it was designed by someone who likes to read books. While I still think Apple will evolve the iPad or come out with a great e-reader, I don’t think this is it just yet.