Is the Ipad Eating in to Laptop Sales?

I keep reading speculation that the Ipad is negatively impacting laptop sales.  While I’m not an authority on the subject, I can tell you that it has definitely impacted the computer buying patterns at our house.

We’ve always had multiple computers in the house.  I have one in the office and my wife has a laptop that sits out on the desk in the kitchen.  Both of the PC’s have always been used heavily, up until about 5 months ago when we bought an Ipad.  Since that time, I would venture to guess that the laptop has been turned on no more than about 10 times.  My wife uses the Ipad almost exclusively.  If she needs to do something that requires a lot of text input, she uses the bluetooth keyboard for the Ipad which essentially turns it in to a laptop that turns on instantly.

Usability is certainly a key reason that my wife chooses the Ipad first.  It’s easy to use and there is absolutely no wait when she needs to use it.  She doesn’t miss the boot up or wake up times from her old laptop at all.

So how has it changed our PC buying patterns?  The laptop in the kitchen is old.  If not for the Ipad, we most certainly would have replaced it by now.  While it was $500, it’s turning out to have been a pretty good value if we are able to avoid buying another laptop for the foreseeable future.  Do you have an Ipad?  Are you finding the same thing?