It’s been almost a week since Apple announced the iPad. Since that time, thousands of bloggers and forum posters put their two cents and exclaimed why the iPad will suck or why it will be the start of a new revolution for portable computing.

One of the big questions is should you get an iPad instead of a netbook?

The answer is, it depends on what you plan to do with it.

If you were planning to get a netbook and plan to use it like a regular windows laptop, the iPad will probably not suit your needs.:

• The iPad will not have USB ports, or a physical keyboard out of the box; you will have to purchase them separately.
• You can’t run any of the apps that you currently run on your home pc or laptop, instead, you will have to get a whole new set of apps to run on it.
• Adobe Flash is not supported for the iPad so all those free flash games and flash based websites will not work.

Apple’s approach to the iPad is different than HP’s approach to their upcoming Slate. The iPad appears to be iPod Touch/eBook reader on steroids, with the ability to not only surf the net, read books and play games but create presentations, crunch numbers, and other things that the iPod Touch or eBook readers are not able to well or cannot do at all.

The HP slate, on the other hand, appears to be a touch screen version of Windows 7. This would appeal to those who are quite comfortable with Windows and would want it as an extension of their PC or laptop, or maybe make it their primary pc device.   As for the netbook?  It is what it is: an inexpensive and compact version of a full fledged laptop, nothing more. For under $300, you can a pretty decent netbook running Windows XP or Windows 7 starter. You can easily carry it to your favorite hang out spot and do some quick email check, perhaps get some work done using your favorite office application, maybe play a game that runs on flash or do all three at the same time. If  you drop it and it breaks, just get a new one. It’s cheap and you don’t have to wait two months for the iPad or six months for the HP Slate.

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