Yeah what Giles Jones said
Where Apple go others follow. I was a Nokia Boi for years due to the fact that within 10 minutes of getting a new handset I could use it with my eyes closed - same buttons, menu layout etc.
When my last contact expired I rushed down to my nearest CW to take a look at the latest offerings from Nokia and lo and behold - touchscreen/icon driven GUIs all round!
Why waste my time with an iPhone knock-off when I can enjoy (and I do mean enjoy) owning the real McCoy? So yes I did it and shelled out for an iPhone 3Gs - and I would NEVER go back. Why? Three words. End. User. Experience. The thing is a) friggin' sweet to use b) just as reliable as any other phone I've used and c) constantly amazing me with genuinely useful applications to download.
Now to the tablet. There is DEFINITELY a market out there for this thing. You are looking at (potentially) a DVD Player, Browser, remote control/media centre, eBook reader and games console in ONE sexy, useable unit that doesn't require a minimum level of technical expertise to master.
Unlike most IT professionals who hang around here and know their way around the NT Registry and don't get intimidated opening up a PC most people in this world don't want to understand how it works to use one. Your average Joe/Joanne just wants nice shiny icons that tell him/her what it does, an interface that is a genuine pleasure to use and the ability to download new apps without piddling around without having to rely on PC World/vendor helpdesks. Done, done and DONE.
And since when did the app store become a bad thing anyway? Half the time this site is running stories covering the latest M$/Mozilla/Adobe vulnerability/bloatware instance. With the App store you have a genuine attempt to impose some standards plus the democracy that comes with ratings and reviews. Also ANYONE can develop for the iPhone and profit from it with the product price genuinely pegged to its quality and desirability due to market forces. Sure, this isn't the freeware utopia the open-source party were after but it sure beats a handful of complacent companies taking 80-90% market share and abusing their position by selling us crap for the rest of time.
I would buy this thing in a second. The irony being I would earn the money to do so by supporting Wintel systems/architecture!