There’s been a barrage of attention on the iPad and it’s hard to go anywhere online and not see a mention of it, it’s truly a memorable device that is sure to change computing history.

I have no doubt the device is fun, incredible, even revolutionary, but after seeing some of the iPad setups out there I am left wondering are people missing the point of the iPad?

Look around online and see if something pops out at you too; the amount of people using iPad’s with an external keyboard. If that’s their purpose, why not get a laptop?

These are smart and really tech savvy people, the above picture is from Gizmodo but mirrors a setup used by Steve Rubel, and on the left is what TUAW blogger Erica Sadun somehow calls her iPad + stand + external keyboard setup as ‘ridiculously convenient’ – what’s convenient about carrying around three items that can be handled by one less cumbersome laptop?

If you’re going to bring a stand and an external keyboard for using the iPad, why not just carry a laptop or netbook?

It seems really strange to carry around a detached additional keyboard just so you can use the iPad like the device it’s supposed to replace, a laptop.

Gizmodo goes so far as to say:

Typing on a tablet is serviceable but not without strange moments. It’s pretty clear that typing is a secondary function for the iPad. We knew this would get a little bit weird. Apparently, there’s no better way, than to hook up an external keyboard.

If typing is a secondary function for the iPad, why on earth is everyone trying to use it as if it’s a laptop replacement? Am I missing something?

I admit I’m speaking without firsthand knowledge here, I haven’t even used an iPad yet… but all these pictures make me wonder.

So I have to ask, are people missing the point of the next phase in the touch UI revolution that is supposed to be the iPad? Or is the iPad just really hard to type on without an external keyboard?