With apologies to the missus, my time so far with Apple Inc.’s iPad reminds me of my old dating days. There would be that instant attraction, some really good things in the mix, but all the while I’d be wondering: Just where is this relationship going? The iPad is a terrific device—for certain tasks. It does a stellar job of playing video, with a crisp, vivid display that puts plenty of laptops to shame. It gets great battery life; ten hours or more on a charge. It makes for surprisingly fast Web browsing. And who can complain about a device that starts up at the press of a button? With the right apps—those specialized add-on programs that have helped make Apple’s iPhone the tech world’s biggest recent phenomenon—the iPad will probably do a lot of things very well.

But is that enough to make it a compelling purchase? After all, I already have a phone that does on-the-go e-mail and Web surfing (and, because it is an iPhone, can already run more than 200,000 apps). My laptop, not exactly heavy lifting at three pounds, can do most everything else. Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, calls the iPad a revolutionary device. But does it really bring so much new functionality or convenience to the table that I should add yet another product to my inventory?

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