I've been wondering what happened to ye olde PALM/TARGUS foldup keyboards?
Try re Palm $18: http://cgi.ebay.com/Palm-Portable-FoldUp-Keyboard-for-Palm-V-Vx-3C10439_W0QQ itemZ180242410172QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Mice_Trackballs?hash=item29f748eabc Or go to: http://www.targus.com/us/productlist.aspx?productCategoryId=16 and then click on the "Wired USB" option to reveal a PA875U01X folding keyboard for $55.
My netbooks weigh 2.2 pounds, and there are times when I wish they weighed a bit more, and they don't weigh enough to adjust the screen one-handedly.
My netbook weighs 3 pounds, and my hands fall asleep if I try to hold it and read it like a Kindle -- as opposed to sitting with it in my lap, for example.
I'm presuming when you have the cover on the iPad it weighs the same, and it's cute because you can use it as a kind of picture frame.
On my Kindles the cover gets thrown away with the wrapping paper -- I've never used a cover. I do double-duty my netbook neoprene sleeve to cover my DX occasionally. 90% of the people I see using Kindles have discarded the covers too -- at least while actually reading.
I didn't see the price or weight, etc., but it seems obvious that if you buy the full boat iPads with keyboard and cover it's well over $1,000.
OK, but the $499 iPad can be compared in terms of purchase decision to the $489 Kindle DX and I think plenty of people will be happy to purchase the iPad non-dedicated reader as opposed to the Kindle dedicated reader. Not clear that *I* would be willing to make that tradeoff, but again, there are people who insist on an e-Ink display, and there are others who don't seem to be bothered by a LCD display.