I almost always wait until the next generation before purchasing new technology, the idea being that new products often come with undetected flaws to be corrected in updated versions. But sometimes, real life intrudes.

My wife's laptop computer was stolen last month in Chinatown, and a replacement was in order. She mostly Net-browses and uses e-mail, so a high-end laptop is overkill. And I realized that a brand-new iPad is cheaper than a used laptop. Decision made. We ordered the device directly from Apple for April 3 delivery.

The first setback was an e-mail from UPS stating that Kailua was “;too rural”; for Saturday delivery, so don't bother being home until Monday. But, surprise, UPS actually did deliver on Saturday. Luckily, someone was home. I guess Apple wanted to underpromise and overdeliver.

We got the no-frills model for $499. You need to be near a Wi-Fi hub to make all the bells and whistles go off. That works out fine for us. Better still if Honolulu joins the big boys and makes the entire metropolis Wi-friendly.

The iPad comes in a fairly small box that, once opened, feels like overpackaging. The iPad is not as big as you might expect, and it's also heavier than you imagined. It's like holding a stout dinner plate, weight-wise. It also makes you nervous because it's so sleek and slippery. The first order of business for many iPadders will be purchasing a nonslip protective cover. Apple makes a nice one that doubles as a tilt stand. At $39, Apple's cover is overpriced, but we didn't hesitate to get it.

Take it out of the box, and the instruction book is a single card. Beneath the card is a USB cable and a power plug. Basically, the card says to turn the iPad on and attach it to your host computer to get synchronized.

This could be a problem for some folks. It's best to think of the iPad as an adjunct device to your Apple-formatted home computer, as it uses Apple's iTunes software as an authorization service. If you don't already have an Apple computer as your primary device, it's best to buy your iPad directly at the Apple Store, where an employee can set it up for you.

And you need the latest version of iTunes in your computer. Download that first. And make sure the computer can access the Internet.

With iPad and laptop linked, the two devices sync, and the iPad will then ask you a few questions to get registered. Then it's all done and ready to use.

If you have an iPhone or an iTouch, it will take you about a minute to get familiar with the iPad's interface; they're so similar. It might take five minutes for those without.

Essentially, this is a device for people who hate computers. It's an electronic device for consuming content and doing a little light connectivity. It shouldn't even be called a computer, because the circuits can't be programmed to “;compute.”; It's a playback machine that does so brilliantly.

Safari, the default Web browser, works quickly and well, although I can't seem to make the bookmarks bar appear. Web sites that require passwords will always need them, as the machine seems unable to remember them.

The New York Times Web site blazes on the iPad. But videos made with Flash—the majority of videos—won't play. At least not in this generation of software.

E-mail is handled virtually identically to the iPhone built-in Mail “;app.”; So does iTunes, for iPod users. Although the iPad has a microphone, it doesn't have a camera, but there's already an app work-around that uses your iPhone as a remote camera. Documents and photo files can be transferred to the iPad via the sync cable and iTunes.

We immediately bought two Apple applications—Apple-cations?—to make the device more laptoppier. Word is a writing program, and Keynote is a presentation program similar to, but way snappier than, Powerpoint. At first, Keynote seemed destined to only create presentations in the iPad itself. Never fear, there is a VGA output cable available that will plug the device directly into a video projector.

By far the coolest app is the book-reading software, which takes e-book files and re-creates books on the screen. You can turn the pages, like a real book. Unlike a real book, you can change the type font and size to suit your tired eyes.

It's all in color and tack-sharp and makes Amazon's Kindle seem like a Flintstone device (except that the iPad is a bit heavier).

Negatives are likely to be overcome in future updates. For now you can't print from an iPad. You can't run more than one program at a time. The battery is sealed in and must be sent to Apple for replacement (battery life seems to be about 10 hours).

Positives? It's cool. More than that, though, this seems to be a niche machine for a hardware void no one knew existed, and yet might be the breakthrough device that gets the world connected.

Within my first hour of use, I discovered that a couple of books one of my kids had to buy for school could be downloaded free into the iPad. For publications like textbooks and journals, the iPad might save whole forests.

For journalists this could be a sweet machine. A couple of years ago, I covered the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival and juggled a laptop, a cell phone, a translator device and a couple of power bricks, just to send words from Hilo to Honolulu.

That couple of years ago now seems like ancient times. An iPad can do all that by itself and not die in midtransmission, the way that darn cell phone kept doing.

We like the iPad a lot so far. My wife is—ahem!—somewhat technology challenged, and I can't get it away from her. That says a lot about the future of the iPad.