The Apple iPad generates an amazing amount of positive and negative press. The day of the first announcement, I went down to my local Apple Retail Store to find out about the iPad for myself.  There were hundreds of people in line outside the store waiting to buy an iPad.

However, inside the store, the iPad demo units were not being used.  I walked in and spent one & a half hours playing with the iPad.  Two Apple Support Reps that were assigned to the demo units answered all my questions and showed me a few tips on using the new tablet.

I also went back to the Apple Store again this weekend to spend more time testing the iPad, asking other people for their feedback and watching how other people were using the new device.

Based on my own experience, the Apple Specialist Tips and all the other reviews, I quickly realized that the iPad packed a lot more into it than what I originally expected.

Without much effort, I was able to list out over $1,600+ of other product purchases that an iPad could replaced this year:

• 10" HD Digital Photo Frame $200
• Portable GPS for the Car $150
• Netbook $350
• Portable Game Console (high-end) $150
• eBook Reader $250
• Portable DVD Player $150
• Small Portable 10" HDTV with Battery (If you can find one) $200
• MP3 Music & Video Player  $150
• Daily Newspaper (Paper) & Magazine Subscriptions $100 per year

Update: The total savings from NOT buying all these other items is now up to $1,700.

Of course, not everyone will feel that the iPad can really replace all these products.   If  you need specific features on a laptop or netbook for example, the iPad just won't do the job.   However, there are very few other products that can really do ALL these functions in a package the size, speed and feel of the iPad.

As a result, your Mother's Day, Father's Day, Graduation, Birthday, Anniversary and Christmas shopping just got a lot easier this year.

So what do You think?