Cheaper than an iMac, yes. You can get laptop PC from Dell or HP for $350 to $500.
My god... who wants crapware like that?
I have an aces netbook that I bought for 269 that has ten hours of batt life and does everything I need for both work and entertainment that I like better than the ipad.
I checked out the ipad and don’t think its that great. It has a lot of room for improvment though and probably will get better over time.
My family have three Dell laptops and two desktops. I manage my own household network and perform upgrades and repairs myself (I've not had to work on any of the computers in my home in many years) and I am extremely satisfied with all five PCs. My parents have an iMac that has been nothing but trouble since they bought it.
The masses of people bought, and still buy, the iPhone (for example) because it did what they wanted it to do and no one else could "get it together" to do it as Apple did. They still can't "get it all together" to do what Apple is doing and a lot of companies are playing "catch up".
It's the same way with the iPad and it's going to be the same type of thing with its success too.
There are those who get products that work and work well for them, and then there are those who cry about it and are the "nattering nabobs if negativity" -- grousing about not having it... LOL ...
The iPhone was and is very innovative, and I've said so in the thread. The iTouch (my family owns two) took the iPhone platform and apps, and removed the data plan expenses by making the internet availability via WiFi. Very smart move on Apple's part. The iPad takes the iPhone platform and makes it huge. I have absolutely no use for the device. I cannot honestly find any marketable need for it either. Based on that, I think the sales will be short lived with the people who worship Apple generating the sales. People with work to do (iPhone and iTouch apps are very useful in many work environments) won't be buying it. I don't want or need the iPad, and have no reason to grouse about the reality of Apple's products. I buy the ones I can use and that make financial sense, and don't buy the rest.
Yeah. Sure you can buy a cheaper notebook ... but then you’d have to use it!