A mobile professional will swoon over its 9.7-inch display in reading docs, newspapers or even sketching on a whiteboard via Ideate. It’s fast and light, weighing about 1-1/2 pounds.

A long battery life is one of the main attractions to netbooks. An iPad largely blows netbooks out of the water, however, with about 10 hours of battery life. Some users claim their batteries have lasted as long as 11-1/2 hours. Not bad. It’s easy to turn the iPad into a mini-workstation for typing docs and e-mails by purchasing accessories such as the iPad Keyboard Dock.

Retrevo conducted a survey recently whereby 78 percent of respondents claimed they’d choose an iPad over a netbook. Some are claiming that more than 8 million iPads may sell throughout the world by the end of 2010.

Although an iPad may not be ideal for mobile professionals across all industries, it certainly can be used as a laptop replacement based on its support for Microsoft Office docs and suite of iWork software. As developers continue to crank out business applications for the iPad, in conjunction with future generations, the tablet will be an increasingly valuable business device, especially for those on the go.