So after my spiel about getting the iPad, just thought I’d share about two alternatives, in case you too are looking at something along these lines.

Litl Webbook. This thing is interesting. It doesn’t run on the common OS you know. It is something the company designed themselves. The OS is 100% web centric. It doesn’t have a mouse and even the keyboard is different. It can even update all the software on its own. This is being sold as one of the most fuss free tablets I’ve seen in other words, they designed it so you can use it all the time without multi-tasking distractions, confusing settings, options you don’t even understand and information you don’t need. Plus it updates, patches software etc all automatically on its own. It also easy to plug and play on your TV. I do not know if it can be tethered to a phone for on the road connection though.

Overall Litl sounds like an awesome family oriented device. Not sure it will work well for my business. It also is a little steep at $699 compared to iPad but they say you get lifetime updates.

Archos 9 PCTablet. Archos categorized this as a netbook. It truly is a mini computer in tablet form. It runs Windows 7, you can watch movies in HD. One of the nice features is the ability to play Flash. It connects to the Internet via Wifi, or you can tether your cell phone via bluetooth but I suspect you can also do that via USB since it does have a USB port. Or you can plug in your 3G USB stick. That is nice which means if you already have this stuff you don’t need to get a new plan or buy new hardware to get it online.

Archos 9 also comes with an office suite, the Lotus® Symphony™ which includes word processor, spreadsheet and presentations. It supports Skype and did I tell you it has a web cam too? The Archos 9 starts at $549.99 for a 60GB wifi + 3G capable device. Comparably that would cost you $829 for the iPad.

I’m not entirely sold on Litl for my lifestyle which is a huge mix of work and pleasure. I’m sure if I didn’t have the business to think about the Litl would be a serious contender. Right now it’s either the iPad or the Archos for me.