Apple main objective as a business is to make money, of course theyre going to release a new version every year, but that doesnt mean you need to buy it every year. Look at the iPod range, same principle they release a new model every year. Currently the Nano is on its sixith iteration, but Im still using my third gen version. Why? Because I have had no need to 'upgrade'. But if theyre are people who are willing to do so every year, dont expect Apple to argue.

It's not even that... if Apple doesn't release a new model every year, they fall behind the competition.

EVERYONE releases a new model at least once a year. To flame Apple for it is downright stupid. You may as well flame every tech company on Earth for upgrading at all. Shit, maybe we should still be using Apple IIe's and Windows 3.1.

My iPhone is two generations old. My Macbook is 15 months old. My desktop is four years (yikes!) old. It's not as if anyone is holding a gun to our heads and forcing us to upgrade every 12 months.

The iPad certainly won't replace those other professional apps, but it will let you remote desktop into a server. And let me tell you, it really takes the sting out of having to do midnight server admin when you can do it from your bed.

Anecdotally, I've never seen any piece of tech get adopted at my workplace faster than the iPad. Not smartphones, not iPods, not Wiis, not even laptops. Half of management has one already. It's not for everybody -- one co-worker returned his because he's married to his MBP -- but most of them seem very happy with their purchase, and lots of people yet to own one seem envious.

Part of the success is because it strikes a good balance between portability and usability. Smartphones fit in a pocket, but they sacrifice a lot of screen and interface to do it. Laptops have great screens and interfaces, but the clamshell design makes them clunky and unbalanced, and insufficient power often means you have to tether your laptop to a power brick for extra awkwardness. Many people iPads easier and more pleasant to use than a smartphone, while also finding the extra portability means they end up taking the tablet places they wouldn't take a laptop.

The other part of the success is that iOS is being positioned as an app console, just as Nintendo is a game console. People prefer using apps on iOS devices for many of the same reasons gamers prefer game consoles to gaming PCs. An easier, more intuitive interface, software which requires little to no configuration and is highly optimized for its task, easy access to new content, easy and convenient software updates, little risk of malware, etc.

Just trying to help people in this thread understand why tablets are (finally!) becoming so successful.

Just another anecdote. I have friends with disabilities whom also have lots of friends with disabilities. I have never seen a computer system more easy to use. For instance I know someone who can't use his arms or legs can use an iPad. How can I hate on a device which has introduced computing to such a disadvantaged group? For many of these people the iPad was the first computer they could actually use! They never got to play with a normal PC and yet they pick up the intuitive interface a lot faster.

 Sure the thing has some downsides like no multitasking and maybe it could do with a little more performance. However the former can be dealt with on 4.2 OS which I get bugged about quite requently and the latter is going to be at least partially solved in a couple of months when the iPad 2.0 is released.

If I had one i'd use it as a more versatile kindle.

Which is why i wouldn't buy one... way to expensive for that.

I upgraded to Windows phone 7 last week (from Nokia e71 which served me great)...I figure Iphone and Android experience is on the same level, if not better than this WM phone. Hence I ask again...why does anyone on the go need an Ipad? I honestly can do almost anything on the go and do it well with this WM7 phone. Email, browsing, reading, taking pictures, multimedia...you name it. 

Yeah the screen of the Ipad is bigger but these new phones come with 4 inch OLED screens these days. Combined with a zoom feature...It should be sufficient for everyone.

The only group which I could understand would use ipads are college students...as they can carry them in their bag and use them to take notes on. But at 499? Id have to think twice if I were a student at that price...

Oh really BIG SHOCKER!(sarcasm)

suck it early adoptors

Windows doesn't upgrade with a new OS every year. As for the TV argument I bought a 1080p TV two years ago. Sure their are new models that come out but the 1080p still does everything the new ones do for the most part. But creating a new version every year that does many things the last one didn't forcing consumers to upgrade is exactly why i don't buy PC's , or new phones etc...etc...

Now I'm not hating or flaming on Apple. Its just Apple's strategy is the reason I'm not a PC gamer, its the reason I own a shitty cell phone instead of buying the latest model. Its the reason I buy consoles. I know friends who have owned every I-Phone since launch every year they go to their provider and pay a fortune to upgrade to the latest phone, I know consumers with the I-Pad who are going to buy this new I-Pad the day it comes out.

The whole reason I buy consoles is because you don't need to upgrade every year. I buy the newest console once every five years. I don't need to buy a new model to play my favorite games or use my different Apps. Sure Apple makes a fortune but that is not the kind of company I like to buy from.

It may be I'm a cheap ass but to be honest I like my stuff to hold value at least more then a year. Maybe if Apple launched the new I-Pad in 2012 I'd consider buying one. If everyone else does the same thing then I'll probubly invest in a tablet PC instead like the one Acer made years ago.

Who here wants to shell out half a grand every year to have the latest model? Is everyone really that wealthy? If I do pick up a tablet I will be buying one for the next five years and as such am going to pick one not likely from Apple.