Currently I’m in the refresher course of the swiss armed forces in Andermatt. So I get plenty of 
time to test my new Apple iPad. I have the 16 GB model without the 3G (UMTS) modem. I decide to buy the cheapest model because I think I don’t need much storage on my web tablet. The 3G option was for me secondary because I own a notebook with built in UMTS modem. As a side note you can use the freeware Connectify to switch any pc in to a wlan access point http://www.connectify.me/. Or create a wlan network proxy with an iPhone and the app NetShare (10$) from the Sydia store.
First I will make my coming out as an Apple fan boy. So this article reflects my personal meaning and may not be 100% objective. The physical dimensions of the device are 243mm x 190mm x 13mm. The weight of the iPad is 0,68 kg or 0.73 kg for the 3G model. By the way the 3g models have also an compass and a GPS module. The display is 9.7 inch and has a resolution of 1024×768 (132ppi). The battery live is beyond 10 hours witch is very, very, very impressive. There are only three points witch are semi optimal. The reflecting display is not my favorite option. And if you use the iPad in the Sun in became a little bit hot and shuts himself down. The iBook store of Switzerland only host’s only free book from the Gutenberg project. As you can imagine Nathan the wise from Lessing is note my favorite bed lecture.
My top 5 apps for the iPad are:
FunBox: It is an very simple app. There are 60 buttons each of the buttons play’s a funny sound.
fun box
GoodReader is for my case the best eBook reader for the iPad. I assume you don’t need it if you buy books in the Apple Store. At the moment I buy e-books on the Exlibris web store and print the Adobe DRM contaminated files to a pdf printer (Freepdf) and send it to GoodReader.
GoodReader
NewsRack (thx Dani for the hint) is very nice RSS reader. A very nice feature is the sync with the Google reader. The reader can cash posts and pictures.
PocketCAS is a very nice function plotter. Which is very usefully in my studies at the university of Lucerne
PocketCAS
Dropbox the best way to keep your files in sync.
dropbox
After all I like the iPad and give him 4.5 geeks from max 5 geeks
