I was in San Francisco when the iPad launched so have been using one for a little while now and it’s a beautiful piece of kit. I thought it would fall between an iPhone and a notebook, but it’s actually something else. I’m still working out what exactly and that’s part of its charm.*

It’s a very real relief for the UK to finally catch up if only because using one in public was a signal for people to wander over to talk about it, ask me questions and give the damn thing a prod. Not that I really minded because it is such a fun device to show off. I loaded The Elements and Mirror’s Edge on there just to give people something to play with. But the honeymoon is over and the work is piling up so I’ve been looking for a way to use the iPad for more than just consuming content.

That’s been helped by the UK app store finally waking up and letting me get my hands on Pages and a few other essentials I was missing. Charlie Stross has more on the iPad as a writer’s tool here, but as ever I’m still waiting for a decent mobile FinalDraft style editor. We live in hope.

Today I organised all my current projects on it while reclining on the couch in a sun trap listening to Regina Spektor.

It’s a decadent bastard this thing.

I’m not reviewing the iPad itself. There are plenty of blogs that have done that and in way more detail than I’d care to get into. It’s not perfect, but I think Apple will have nailed it by the 3rd generation model and even then there will be no one forcing you to own one at gunpoint. Right now I’ve been using it in development meetings once a week or so and I haven’t missed having a laptop with me at all.

It never occurred to me to even consider a 3G model and I still think if you have a smart phone in your pocket and work/home Internet access then you don’t need one with anything more than wifi. But the nice folk at Three Mobile Buzz sent me one of their 3 MiFi dodah’s to play with for a few weeks and as soon as I got outside of London it was an absolute lifesaver.

Having a little web cloud above your head at all times is handy for many reasons, but the ability to have multiple devices (and people) connect has been the real winner for me. The first few days I only used the MiFi with the iPad, but it soon became part of my everyday kit and has so far got me out of jams when normally reliable wifi elsewhere has gone flaky and also kept me sane/connected following my mother’s funeral last week.

Your mileage may vary and there are other MiFi devices and providers out there, but I went cold turkey for less than an hour after returning my trial device and bought one of my own (PAYG) to replace it. Bottom line is it’s a neat piece of kit and you should certainly consider grabbing one.

Not going into specs and speeds – I use mine for email and web surfing on the move and it’s fine and dandy. Handles video with no stuttering which is nice and has no problem uploading pics to Twitter etc. While I haven’t looked into jail-breaking one I’m told it’s a simple enough thing to do if you’re that way inclined. I’ve gotten into the habit of turning mine on as I leave the house and popping it into my jacket pocket for the day.

As a bonus it also feels a little like a Type 1 phaser from Star Trek, but that’s probably not gonna swing it for you. Right?

*But you probably don’t want me to advise you on whether you need an iPad or not. I once bought a piece of kit with a completely indecipherable Japanese operating system because it looked cool. It still does *and* makes a great paperweight.