I had been deliberating the purchase of a laptop, or a netbook for probably a year. I had also used many PDA's over the past 5 years, and preferred them to a fully functioning laptop for the portability function that they provide.
I have work Laptops, desktops and a personal 17" powerbook already, but again the portability of each of these devices was just too limiting.
Prior to the IPad, I had a Dell Axim and a Blackberry. These devices had just about filled the need I was searching for. The Axim ran windows Mobile and opened doc and xls files quite nicely, and allowed me to have the portability, but was still a bit small. The blackberry allowed the e-mail, texting and some browsing.
When the rumors started heating up for the IPad, I knew immediately this was the device I was looking for. Something that I could take with me and provide most all the other needs I had defined for my own use, but with just enough screen to allow comfortable reading and an input method that was integrated.
My point to all of this is that if you did not go through this type process, then maybe it was just a gadget purchase, and you should probably return it. The relatively low price points that the IPad sells for is still not chump change, so if you are feeling the pinch, again, you should probably return it.
I am happy with my purchase, because I had been trying to purchase the device for essentially 6 years, and it finally materialized as the IPad.