Um, for about any other reason that you would want to use document editing software on a tablet? For instance, I use LibreOffice and its ilk only for the most throwaway documents (and open others' files). Having an iPad means I don't need to lug my laptop around to work on my thesis (I run Emacs on a VPS via SSH to do it, and while personally I don't particularly care about the aesthetics, I'd say the use case is certainly there).
I use a ZaggMate which doubles as protection, weighs about the same as any other case and is not bulky at all. It works quite well.
> Maybe you just need a smaller laptop ..
No, I don't want to have a small laptop as my main computer. I had an Eee before the iPad, but the difference in the writing experience is not too different in the end and the other advantages of the iPad are greater. In any case, you can hardly call me a person who unreasonably hangs on to Apple stuff: I'm writing this under Linux which I installed on the MBP my university gave me. I hardly ever boot into OS X here.
> Also, terminals are great, but writing anything serious without X is a pain.
Why? Emacs doesn't really need X, and I don't need to re-typeset my work every five minutes.
Guess this depends on how you work. I often find myself starting many instances of the editor[1] which is a pain if you have to create a new ssh connection for each (or use ctrl-z etc).
"the writing experience is not too different [..] the other advantages of the iPad are greater."
Guess the real difference between us is that you see something great in the iPad, so you are willing to live with its obvious shortcomings[2] compared to a laptop.
I have yet to discover why it's so amazing, and only see a small, but pretty much useless gadget. It could be used for reading I guess..
[1] yes, it has tabs.. still
[2] low resolution, can't run what I want to run, can't type on it without a keyboard, and at that point you could just as easily carry a small laptop (not an Eee ffs, a real laptop).
Oh, absolutely. If I were a actual road warrior, the iPad wouldn't work at all for me. However, between my laptops at home and at work I don't really need a third one, and since I already have the iPad I'd rather make as much I can with it for short trips where I am not going have too much time and/or wifi to pull sustained work sessions.
> It could be used for reading I guess..
That too. For an academic, GoodReader is a blessing. I have finally stopped printing out loads of articles and/or finding that I printed out this same article a couple of years ago. Not to mention Kindle etc. Again, if I were spending significant amounts of time away from either home or the office, I'd consider investing in a proper portable laptop; but I'm not, and for my use case the iPad is ideal.
> can't run what I want to run
Yep, I agree that it's frustrating.
> (not an Eee ffs, a real laptop).
No everybody can afford another proper laptop that's as easy to carry around as an iPad, y'know.
Anyway, YMMV, of course. I was just pointing out that solutions are available.
I've got a dell mini running Ubuntu. I wouldn't recommend it due to a bug in the graphics drivers that causes a crash on resume from hibernate, but, it is a great machine and works perfectly for LaTeX.
