The iPad can be activated from the device itself, and you will be able to buy a keyboard dock for it, or use a Bluetooth keyboard with it. This means that it is in place to be the primary computer for some people. I am not wanting to debate this bit. Suffice to say that with the 3G option, you have a mobile device that could be interesting to people who may not want the fuss of a full blown computer. Just something to do email, web browsing and enjoy some of the other features the machine offers.

The only downside to this is backups and updating the system software. For these you need a regular computer. I wonder if Apple are aware of this kind of use and are will cater for it.

I definitely think they are aware of it.

In fact I think the predominant demographic it is aimed at is people who want a computer without having the "hassle" of owning a computer. When I say hassle I mean things like plugging everything in, waiting for it to turn on each time you want to use it, having to install extra software using CDs, etc...

I too would be interested to see if Apple come up with a method for backing up the device. I think possibly a cloud based subscription backup service would be along the lines Apple might go.

As for upgrades, the last few Sony Ericsson phones I have had have allowed for online system software/OS updates. I would imagine something like this would be possible for the iPad too.

What about the dropbox iphone app. Your files are in the cloud, ready and waiting...mobile meh for your contacts and stuff...flickr for your photo's...

I was thinking about my grandma, who recently noted regrets of missing the whole computer thing. She’s been preparing us all for her imminent demise for a good 30 years. She’s bright and smart, but she won’t want the annoyance of a computer. She may be interested in something like an iPad which has the immediacy, portability and the very small footprint. However, that’s a while to go yet, but a conversation with y parents about it may be a valuable thing to have.

The cloud storage idea for backup would be ideal, but I was more concerned about OS updates given the need to keep things secure and up to date. If that could be handled without the computer being in place, then that would be ideal. I do note that the iPhone gets few maintenance updates, so it may not be a huge issue.

It’s an interesting device, and it could very well be the kind of thing the government is looking for to get more people on board the Digital Britain bandwagon.

I suspect that my father would love this. Most of his time online is spent looking at car sites, emailing people, some Google Earth/Maps stuff, and the like.
The occasional letter (which I could get around to setting up a wifi printer for) gets written.
Yup, the 160GB version would probably suit him well.
Perhaps later in the year, I might invest in one.

I've been pondering getting one for my Mum. It would suit her down to the ground, and since she doesn't have broadband a 3G device would be a must.

For updates and the suchlike, I would expect her to take it around to an IT savy friend's house.

Unfortunately, rural France is so IT backwards that I doubt she'd get a signal. And that's assuming they ever release it on an affordable contract over there.

Is it possible Apple will provide updates "over the air"?

Seems a sensible solution for those without another method. Perhaps we're a bit fixated on the thing being an über iPhone, when it's really an evolved step up from that?

I would imagine a mechanism would be possible. Whether it has been implemented remains to be seen.

I suspect we'd have seen over-the-air iphone updates already if that was the case. As it happens, they have to be plugged in. Apps can be updated over the air, but something as deep as OS, I don't know.

The PSP can update over the air after downloading a firmware file..so it can be done on other devices.

Yup, as I said earlier, the last 3 or 4 Sony Ericsson phones I've had have all had online firmware update services. It downloads the file/s using your data connection and then takes over the phone for about 15 minutes whilst it resets several times and updates all the files.

This makes interesting reading on Apple's possible plans on getting files on and off the iPad, in addition to iTunes for syncing:
Apple reinventing file access, wireless sharing for iPad

This is the one thing that has bothered me about the iPad, unless iTunes was to handle transferring documents back and forth - it seems Apple has other ideas, maybe a radically different way to organise and find your documents. I'd like to see this in action before buying one though.

BTW: Does anyone else think Apple should rename iTunes to reflect the range of media it now handles, I mean it's hardly just tunes anymore? It handles syncing of video, photos, podcasts, contacts, calendars etc. iTunes just seems a bit of a misleading names now!

'iMedia' sounds horrible though and more likely someone has already trademarked it, in fact I'm fairly sure there's an image editor called that. iStuff? I suspect pretty much every variation of i+<some collective noun> must have been used by now.

JOn

The Newton did require a separate application to pull data on and off, but at the time there was no iTunes, and no clever little Deamons you could run in the background, nor did it mount a volume. But the Newton did make it much simpler to load and save documents. You have to wonder if the Newton was re-exmined for the iPad’s development.