I have been using Numbers to do some income tax stuff. It is not the most sophisticated spreadsheet program, but it does what I need. And it is not a complicated burden to do the work. But this is not about Numbers. I bought a separate Bluetooth keyboard, and gave it away because i never used it. Then I bought a Bluetooth keyboard that attached to the iPad, so it was not a separate thing to lug around. The design worked, but the keys were smaller than the keys on the iPad, and I never used it.

The point is, that the iPad design is just about right - the balance between enough and too much. I have enough stuff to remember. I don't want to become an expert at another piece of software that is more complex than a cat's nervous system. I want something that is intuitive, seamless, and not too big. The Sushi of computers, not the Haute Cuisine of computers.

So I think that is why it works. It is not too much, maybe it is just a little bit less than I need. I am back to the Apple cover and a plastic Incipio back just to keep it from banging around too much. It does just enough. I got rid of my laptop. There will be something else tomorrow. This flat screen will look obsolete in a few years. But the design will do more with less, if Apple gets it right. And if they don't, someone else will.

Good post. I'm in just about the same place. I tried to use the Bluetooth keyboard that came with my iMac (which is cabled to an older Apple keyboards with real keys), but it wasn't enough better to be worth the hassle. The onscreen kb just takes a little practice. The only keys i really miss are arrows and forward delete. Note that I always type in landscape mode.

I also bought a hard plastic rear cover, from poetic. It offers just enough extra grip to feel safe carrying around the house. I'm not worried about the glass.

milliHelen: amount of beauty required to launch one ship.

Right about the arrow keys. Those and a couple command keys would do it. But in general, the on screen keyboard works well.

I thought that not being able to connect a hard drive would've been a deal breaker, but Dropbox working with the new iOS are better than a hd.