All of the top things you can vote on that you use your tablet for are things that my girlfriend uses my Cr-48 (Chrome OS laptop) for.<p>I don't think that tablets are special, per se, they're just one of a number of ultra-portables (with Cr-48, netbooks, and smartphones being the other ones) that are gaining in use because of how quick/easy they are to pick up and put down.<p>Not on the uses list, but ultra-portables are also far more comfortable/easier to take into environments like the bathtub. The bubble bath + kindle + zip-loc bag wins the day in this use case, as there's the same functionality as on 'dry land' and no worry involved.
Convenience?<p>Last night I was reading in bed on my iPad. I got an email saying that our main e-commerce site was down. I switched to iSSH, fixed the database, typed of a reply saying it was fixed, and went back to reading.<p>Yeah, I could have gotten out of bed, put my shorts on (TMI), gone downstairs, and fired up my laptop. The point is, I was reading (comfortable on a tablet, not so much on a laptop), and I had no need to go grab another device.<p>Had it been my phone, I wouldn't even have attempted it, but on the tablet, no problem. So, yeah, it definitely scratches an itch.
I've convinced myself I need a tablet because nothing really fills the "pdf viewer" slot in a good way. I can print pdfs of several state law-specific reference books for free (at cost of ink and paper ~2500 pages) or pay ~$400 for paper copies in 3-ring binders - or I can buy a wifi Xoom on Sunday. No-brainer.<p>I have a hard time focusing on pdfs on a desktop or laptop when distractions like reddit are so easily accessed - but if I can keep myself focused on the content at hand I can have a portable copy of important references with me at all times for a small price.
i think there are a lot of new areas for something like a tablet -- take for instance, a lot of designers these days are using iPads/tablets as portfolio devices in interviews or with clients. Instead of clunky paper portfolios or simply throwing someone your website and asking them to check it out later or after the interview, you can bring in your tablet, show off some nice high res images, zoom in and out. It adds interactivity to the interviewing experience, especially if you can bring up a website design you might have done and show exactly how it works.
I think a major factor is that most people <i>despise</i> their "real" computers, even though they like what they can do with them.<p>Which is why they don't care about the locked down nature of the App Store - in fact it's an advantage.
Nobody needs a tablet? Sure... let me just pack my desktop computer up and put it in my carry-on bag the next time I travel.<p><i>"As you might expect, the top three things consumers have been doing with iPads are surfing the web, writing and checking e-mail and playing games"</i><p>That sounds like the same thing people are doing with desktop computers and laptops.