[patrickt]

Sheikspeare: "I'm not sure I get your first point. In order to decide if you might need a new product, you have to decide if it has anything to offer. So the decision-making process with the iPad could go something along the following lines: can it perform the functions of a laptop/ebook reader in some better way? Does it open up better reading possibilities? I was not persuaded. Hence I saw no need to get one."

Bingo. Before you buy an IPad, you decide whether or not the IPad has something to offer you that's worth the money. I don't see what's hard with that concept. You said, "I was not persuaded. Hence, I saw no need to get one." Right. That's why people read reviews. If your goal is to spend money whether you need something or not, go for it.

Onto your second point: I agree that coolness is a major factor in buying the iPad. But I'm detecting that there also exists a kind of inverted snobbery. In other words, "I'm too cool to have an iPad. I'm a Kindle guy ... you wouldn't understand .... you iPAD wielding Neanderthal, scumbag!"

I think that's called projecting, not detecting.

If you want an Ipad, I have no intention of trying to talk you out of it. It's your money. Hell, spend it however you want. If you also enjoy reading, you can keep an eBook reader stashed somewhere.