I only purchased an iPad after realizing one specific use case. Managing my new baby. General purpose computing or browsing is left to my laptop. Things specific to baby like FaceTime/skype, pandora music, one-handed browsing while holding the baby, work perfectly. But it never leaves this environment. Laptop for everything else.
Here, here. Kids are a great market for iPads. When we bought our first I thought it would be nothing more than a toy, but to see the interaction our 2 and now 3 year old has with it is amazing.
The gesture interface is an excellent method for kids to learn and feel comfortable.
