to iPad or not to iPad

My home computer is getting a little weird, odd shutdowns and other irregular performance--processor problems. I suspect I'll need to get a new computer in a while. Most of what I do at home is web surfing, a little bit of word processing and the occasional spreadsheet (mostly in Google Docs, recently). So, I'm considering an iPad.

Most of the web applications and sites that I use have iPad apps available, and some that I'd love to try out. It's light weight, cheaper than a full computer, and looks like fun, too. I can even justify it as a good professional development purchase--since I could experiment with access issues and the educational apps available.

But....the iPad business model really does go against my principles as a professional and as a person. Everything is funneled through Apple's app store, with whatever tracking Apple wants to invoke. If Apple doesn't approve an app, it just plain not available. I'm an open access advocate, considering a really closed piece of hardware. (My other computer is a Linux box.)

So, friends and readers, do you have an iPad? What do you think? What do you think of the apps, and the business model? What are the keyboards like? Do you have something else to recommend?