I find the revelations about this device today pretty ridiculous. Apple products are notorious for leaving out logical features that people want. But with the iPad it's gone to a new level. No real OS. No expandable memory. No multitasking. No mini-displayport or mini-hdmi out. No built in camera. No usb port without an adapter. No elegant typing solution. No elegant way to play complex games. I was kind of interested in this before today. But now I really have no interest in this toy.
Also netbooks are great for productivity. As new generations come out they get better and better. Higher resolution screens, better form factor, better designed keyboard, faster processors, better graphics capabilities, more inputs and outputs, more hard drive space, and the list goes on. I have gotten "serious work" done on a netbook including using photoshop and flash as well as play games, watch movies, and play around with multiple OSes among other things. I don't know what kind of work an average user could not get done on a netbook unless you are editing avchd or doing cad work or something. And even that might be addressed with alienware's m11x.