This is getting released in Canada finally and was thinking about getting it for my mom. What I don't like about it though is the proprietary power cord and connectivity out of the box as the USB and HDMI need adapters and there is no MicroSD. Is anyone using this? I dunno I'm not totally sold on this thing.

What is your Mom going to do with it? Is she likely to care about proprietary power, HDMI outputs, MicroSD, and USB? Tablets aren't laptop replacements (yet), no matter how much people want them to be.

That said the Galaxy 10.1 is generally well reviewed (although not as well as the iPad, but I'm assuming that you're not going to consider that, especially given your criteria re: ports 'n' stuff).

My friend has one and uses it a lot for work. She really likes it. But like Ken said, it doesn't replace a laptop or a pc. As with any tablet, touchscreen typing is simply not efficient. The Galaxy has an optional keyboard dock which is worth it. Still, if she plans to do a LOT of typing, she should skip it all together.

HP TouchPads can be had for super cheap after HP's announcement last week to jump out of basically everything but "high end servers." Of course, you have to find one. Something like a $500 HP TouchPad last Wednesday was $99 by the weekend.

Check out the Toshiba Thrive It might just have everything you need.

PROS:
very aggressive pricing
grooved back
full HDMI and USB support
full SD card slot
replaceable battery
built-in file management system makes finding and accessing files in Honeycomb easier

CONS:
very bulky design
lack of ports
plastic back leaves it feeling less solid than the iPad 2.

Grooved Back?
Isn't that the name of Negative Oranges big comeback album?

Seriously though....
I agree with Ken. The iPad I bought my wife has none of those things either. However, it is still the best gift I bought her in a long time.

The simple fact that it is Instant-On means that she uses it spontaneously for every excuse she can think of. Also, the lack of a configurable operating system means that she hasn't broken anything yet which makes me have more spare time. Everybody is different but she would not have taken to a laptop as easily as she did a tablet. What they lack in accessories they make up for in simple.

I can't compare the Galaxy with the iPad as I have yet to see a Galaxy but the ability to do flash sites would fix the one minor complaint my wife has and that is that many shopping sites use flash for their online catalogs. Ironically, this has the opposite effect of keeping me happier yet again.

Correct, but the full title is Grooved Back: For Her Pleasure and it comes in a novelty foil blister pouch.