"I personally believe 'cheap and barely works' triumphs over "beautiful and works well" often enough that things will turn out okay." I agree with your sentime

"I personally believe 'cheap and barely works' triumphs over "beautiful and works well" often enough that things will turn out okay." I agree with your sentiment. I'm not especially alarmed about this new walled garden. Our industry has been here before: IBM mainframes->minis->micros->mobile devices. Every step of the way a group identified weaknesses in the wall and exploited them to open up the platform. Someone will come around with a device to rival the iPad. It may not be as slick, but it'll be slick enough. The software may not be as well designed but it'll provide a good experience for a large number of people. It'll most likely be at a price point that more people can afford.