iPad reviews looking good

They're pretty much variations on a single theme: For what it does, the Apple tablet device is terrific (speed and battery life get especially high marks). But there's a fair amount that it either doesn't do at all or doesn't do as well as a laptop (writing, editing and most any content creation). Whether it works for you "all depends on how you use your computer," writes the WSJ's Walt Mossberg. Digital Daily has a wrap-up of the early reviews. Among them:

The techies are right about another thing: the iPad is not a laptop. It's not nearly as good for creating stuff. On the other hand, it's infinitely more convenient for consuming it-books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on. For most people, manipulating these digital materials directly by touching them is a completely new experience-and a deeply satisfying one. The bottom line is that the iPad has been designed and built by a bunch of perfectionists. If you like the concept, you'll love the machine. The only question is: Do you like the concept? - David Pogue, New York Times

No company can generate as much hype around a product launch as Apple. But that's perfectly OK because no company is also nearly as successful at producing a new product that can justify almost any level of excitement that precedes it. They don't do it with every product launch, but bloody hell: they've done it with the iPad....The most compelling sign that Apple got this right is the fact that despite the novelty of the iPad, the excitement slips away after about ten seconds and you're completely focused on the task at hand...whether it's reading a book, writing a report, or working on clearing your Inbox. Second most compelling: in situation after situation, I find that the iPad is the best computer in my household and office menagerie. It's not a replacement for my notebook, mind you. It feels more as if the iPad is filling a gap that's existed for quite some time. - Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun Times