IPad's - Do they make you look professional or a show off??

I am considering buying a tablet. IPad or some other one. But I do not want it to give the wrong impression!

I'd appreciate everyone opinion!

I agree, I have never had an adverse comment (to my face!) but lots of interest in how my iPad works for business, sometimes I think I should be selling iPads instead!
I use slide shark to run my presentations and as the iPad is almost instantly ready to use your client has not lost the will to live before your laptop has chugged into life.
You can always find a space to park an iPad, not so a laptop.
I always carry a microfibre cloth because The finger marks on the screen sometimes annoy me but that probably says more about me than the iPad.

One of my favourite apps is mindmapping software - makes it easy to capture notes from meetings, seminars and ideas to explore. Saved me loads of time.

Looking into buying a tablet myself. (I'd go for it - it's past the stage now of being some showy gadget).  There seems to be a good choice of non Apple products available now. (I do think you're paying a lot for the name). True they look great, but there are alternatives...been looking at the Samsung range, which uses the popular Android software.
One drawback of the ipads which should be considered is that they won't play flash video out of the box . Which means that you may not be able to view certain content (BBC sites spring to mind) -  worth bearing in mind if you do want to view/show video as many businessess increasingly want to do. 
Not a problem for my clients of course as all our videos work on ipads too!-

Paul

Depends on what you'd use it for.  For the most part it's just added convenience for you, and a sign to your clients that you're closer to the cutting edge of tech - i.e. if you can meet a client in a coffee shop and go through their accounts on a iPad it's better than messing around with a big laptop, or shuffling through stacks of paper.

Mine came in extremely handy when in the middle of a 7-hour drive from Newcastle to Somerset I had a panicked voicemail from a client who desperately needed a change on their site.  I pulled into a layby, and using nothing but my iPad was able to access and change the code on their website.  Took me less than a minute, and as I didn't have my laptop I wouldn't have been able to do it otherwise.

With the apps currently available I can plan, wireframe, design and code a website all from my iPad.  It's much easier to do it on computer/laptop, but I've lost count how many times I've been able to get bits and pieces of work done while on the move; plus I wrote the majority of my book on iPad during flights, while waiting to meet people for coffee and - erm - while on the toilet 

Go for it, Ipad II is better than the new iPad as the new one takes forever to charge and is heavier and really only has a better screen.

With iOS 6 around the corner (check it out) there are tons of cool things happening soon.

Thanks for the advise!  I will hit the Apple shop soon!!

Dont' be taken in by the shiny and the shiny alone. There are plenty of alternative tablets around - and Android on a tablet really is quite awesome.

One thing I really appreciate about my Android tablet over an iPad it the inclusion of a USB port (or several). Sure, the iPad may come with xxGB of storage, but that's little help if you're presented with a USB "pendrive" and can't use it!

I understand what you mean Sam but I think the days when these gadgets where to show off are over. :-)

Go for it! 

The wife and I just got an Asus Transformer running Android Jelly Bean, complete with keyboard dock.

It looks good. It feels good. It's awesome. Apple, schmapple!

Long gone are the days of carrying reams of paper and catalogues, its all in the palm of your hand, and it doesn't look out of place unless your case/pouch is.

It depends what you're going to use it for but I find that an iPad is great for meetings and for when you're on the move. The biggest advantages over a laptop are the size/weight issue, the "instant on" nature of it, and the battery life. The disadvantage can be lack of  real keyboard so if you're doing lots of typing it may not be the best solution. As I said, it depends what you want/need it for...

Thanks

Richard