Holy Jumpin' Fanboys, Batman!
1) The problem with the iPad never intending to replace a laptop, is that it really doesn't do anything a laptop cannot; making some things more difficult to do. Email sans keyboard just plain sucks. It's supposed to be this great media player, but you can't put a DVD in it. 10 hours battery life is "better than some, worse than others" -- but without the ability to swap batteries on the fly, it has limited use for many people. (Hey, if you're going to generalize and speculate, why can't I?)
Your argument about the iPad being for "techno-resistant individuals" is just as suspect. I'd like to see the statistics / ratios of people who didn't *already* own an Apple product who purchased an iPad and *only* an iPad - then I might believe that speculation. I don't think the ratio is that high.
Oh, and your incorrect assumption of "All Print Media is Dead" - let me remind you: that particular warning's been issued many times. Radio will kill Newspapers! TV will kill Radio! Computers will bring forth the Paperless Office! {BTW: Civilized regions are using more paper than ever.} Different individuals prefer information in different ways - yes, we have more ways that have to share a piece of the pie compared to 50 years ago, but I seriously doubt the paper companies are quaking in their boots over the iPad especially since the iPad can't play Quake. {With apologies to Foghorn Leghorn: I say, that was a joke, son.}
Apple doesn't have to read the market. Apple has fanboys/gals that will drool over whatever comes off the assembly lines {OMG! Apple's releasing the iTurdPolisher! Must! Have! One!!!} and a huge marketing budget.
Yes, I've seen one. My buddy bought one for his wife, who loves her iPhone so much, she had to have one. They use it for pretty much two functions: 1) It's a big-screen GPS. (One of the few reasons I'd own one.) They also watch Netflix on it while camping -- camping defined as being at a Nascar race in their 28 foot air conditioned camper (with a big screen LCD TV) when one spouse doesn't want to watch the same thing as the other.
I'm not saying it's a bad device. Certain people purchase it for certain purposes, and it may fit those purposes well. For many others, it does not. Personally, I think it's the iTV or MacTV or any of those other Apple products that eventually went to the wayside, but with a better advertising budget. It's possible that Apple makes a "turbocharged" iPad that more people would use (like me) and that's the device that pushes the "original" iPad out of place...
In closing, here's what my "techno-resistant" wife asked about it: "Does it play DVDs?" -- "Nope." -- "That's useless; why would anybody buy it?"
