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I had high hopes for this device.  As I started to use it, I was very impressed with the browser experience, and found it to be a fantastic e-reader and video player.  I was very surprised at how well the keyboard worked, and once I installed the iWork (word processor, spreadsheet and presentation) apps, I started to believe that I could finally ditch my 5.6 pound laptop.  (The iPad weighs in at 1.5 pounds.)

Add Teamstudio Unplugged to this setup, so I could access my Notes apps on my iPad, and this would be unbeatable, thought I.  (The iPhone/iPad version of Unplugged is due to ship in October.)

There’s just one problem.  Apple hasn’t quite sorted out the whole issue of file transfer.  If I create a document in Pages on the iPad, it gets stored into “My Documents,” a file storage area that is specific to that app.  If I want to store that document on my laptop, I have to “export” it.  Then, I can either email it to myself (yuk), or sync via iTunes and copy the file out from there (yuk).  The other option is to use the (beta) service iWork.com.  This seems to work OK, but requires me putting my documents in the hands of a third party (Apple), and although the service is free while it’s in beta, I assume it will cost money at some point.

All of this made me start to doubt whether Apple will maintain its lead in the tablet market as these devices start to make their way into the enterprise.  The fact that Dell, Acer and (allegedly) HP are bringing out Android-based tablets in the near future suggests that the competition in this area may start to heat up.  Corporate purchasing managers who are already committed to one of those three vendors for their PC needs may feel more comfortable with purchasing tablet devices from them.

However, Google doesn’t seem to be doing much to make Android corporate-friendly, with no support for remote wipe and only third-party support for Exchange syncing.  (Before you ask, Unplugged support for Android is scheduled for November.)

So, it’s going to be interesting to see how this all shakes out.  Will the tablet take off as a corporate device at all?  If so, will Apple maintain its lead, or will the PC manufacturers add the features that corporate buyers need?  Whatever happens, at least you’ll be able to access your Lotus Notes apps on any of these devices.