There are a huge number of educational and recreational apps for the iPad for kids, apart from just games. My plan for years was to get a netbook each for my kids and put something like Edubuntu on it, but now I just don't see the point. I have a netbook, but the battery only lasts a few hours, it's woefully underpowered compared to an iPad, takes several minutes to boot/wake as against instant start, is fiddly to use, with a poor screen. It's just a non-starter. If you're not used to the iPad ok, but if you are they're worlds apart.

I'm hoping for a relatively cheap mini-iPad to come out this autumn and I'll get one for each of my two girls, aged 7 and 8. That, or get their rich uncle and grandparents to sort them out. Then I can get my iPad back out of their little fingers. It'll be just me and the wife fighting over it, though actually there are quite a few puzzle games we play together.