Popped me iPad cherry!
I picked up a 16gb wifi-only white unit this evening and enjoyed my first "launch day" line experience at the Palo Alto Applestore. It took about 4 hours, but I made friends with the 5 people immediately around me and it was pretty much a positive vibe throughout.
First impression is it has a snappier feel than my iPhone 4, haven't noticed any hesitations/stutters and it seems like the orientation transitions are smoother/quicker.
This is my first iPad so can't compare it to the original, but from playing with both I'd say it's a modest improvement, worth an update if it isn't a sacrifice, but not at all a game changer.
Speaking of games, I've been playing Infinity Blade, which is being hyped up a lot, and all I can say is that it looks as good as the game play is not. Very trite and uninspired. It would be nice to see controls that do something unique with the interface instead of just managing to make it function well enough to showcase the graphics. Very little story line, unimaginative gameplay, trite use of a trite thematic. Looks great though and has run flawlessly. Have to give credit for a quick production. Not going to keep your attention for very long, however.
The new speaker is about as good as the ones on my eee pc netbook, give or take, definitely sounds better than the speaker in my iPhone, but can't put up much of a fight against any small external speakers you might have lying about. Does it's job well enough.
The smart cover seems sort of gimmicky and ackward. I'm left handed and I don't like that it can only be placed on the left side with the home button at the bottom. When holding it "magazine style" with your right hand (leaving your left hand free to type/scroll) it has a loose and untidy feel to it. You notice the difference if you switch hands and this issue is not a real problem for right handed people, although even for them it has a tendency to flap about a bit. It does seem that it will cause light scratching to the case surface, but since the whole back is unprotected that will be the least of your problems; I think a full case option would suit a lot more people than this partial design.
All things considered though I'm enjoying it and I have to say apple doing a launch on Friday was very convenient. Now I never have to go to bed! (unlike those tragic Tuesday nights where work is immediately getting in the way of all your fun) ^_^
! hope ipad3 thins it out so I could make that my first ipad 
