Before even touching the hands of eager consumers, the iPad has generated an incredible roller coaster of emotions.

Initially tech geeks lampooned everything from name to capabilities (or lack thereof). No flash. No webcam. No 3G service! Slowly at first, people started thinking of the iPad’s different uses. Perhaps the iPad wasn’t perfect for the traditional Apple-head, but for the casual web surfer… or better yet, the avid reader. Ahh-ha.

Now this is an area about which I’m qualified to speak. I don’t work in a design field – I don’t use Illustrator or other Mac-geek applications. However, I do own one (and an iPod), and I love them both for their design and ease of use.

I also read. A lot. I surf the web, a lot. Although relatively informed on current events, it pains me to reveal the last time I read a hard copy of a newspaper; in my years of gathering news and information from various (new and changing) sources I have closely followed the publishing business’ struggles to find its way in this new information age.

I started noticing the shift of opinion once the iPad started being positioned as a Kindle competitor. Balancing Infinite Jest on one knee and a dictionary on the other I started realizing that the iPad might have an interesting little niche, though Apple certainly has a ways to go to build up the same e-book library (itunes anyone? shouldn’t be a problem). Then media outlets started jumping on board, with Conde Nast announcing that content will be released on the tablet before the Web. Interesting move – is it the right one? Certainly by using Wired as a guinea pig, the argument is a strong one. Very strong, as evidenced by this demo video. Then think of other magazines with die-hard followings that could benefit from such an enriched experience — National Geographic, I’m looking at you.

And just like that I’m on board. Can this little gadget change the way journalists present the news, facts, stories? More importantly — will they be able to convince readers this value is worth a fee?

Tech writer’s reviews haven’t been very surprising, focusing on what Apple does well — design intuitive products,. but I would have loved to see a broader audience given the opportunity to review the tablet. Perhaps Dooce? Apple will likely listen to the flock’s gripes and wishlists and we’ll see some big functionality improvements with future generations of the iPad. But as it stands as simply a lifestyle accessory — yes, it has its place. So maybe the tech geeks won’t buy an iPad for themselves until some of the enhanced features come out, but Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and mom definitely doesn’t want another bottle of perfume.

Have you pre-ordered yours?