I've used an iPad before and I am totally willing to admit that it is a sexy device. It felt fast and was able to do a lot of useful things.

What really convinced me to buy my netbook was the ability to not worry about my computing device.

Carrying around a $500 thin piece of hardware that is constantly in danger of breaking in half or getting stolen in an unfamiliar European city was just not appealing to me.

I've used an iPad 2 extensively and (like most people reading this) I've owned a clamshell-format device, and although I do not hold myself out as an expert on such things, I would have guessed that the iPad is the more durable device because there are fewer moving parts and no moving parts as complex or as prone to getting gummed up as the clamshell's hinge or a trackpad. Do not get me wrong: I am perfectly willing to believe that a netbook is better for you than a tablet; I am just finding it a little hard to believe that durability concerns tip the balance in favor of the netbook.

P.S. The iPad's back and sides are machined from a single piece of aluminum; do iPad's really break in half?

They might not actually break in half (I was exaggerating), but my point is, when something inevitably happens to any such computing device that sees so much travel tome, there goes at least $150 for a new screen, or worse, $500 + personal data when some dude in a pub sees that Apple logo and makes a grab for it when I'm concentrating on my beer.