any cell phone with texting can be e-mailed/e-mail out.

thanks for the input. I did forget to include that my wife is totally techless. She does not have a cellphone. I need something very very simple to use just to check email.

Thanks again.

Dave T2

Another vote for the iPad - the WiFi version. Beware, one is not enough!

Have those of you touting the iPad ever actually done any typing on one? I learned to hate it in less than a minute. Painful and difficult, and nearly impossible to see the screen from any angle that makes typing possible.

The netbooks have two enormous advantages: 1) the screen and keyboard can be at different angles, 2) the keyboard!

Netbooks are also lighter, run most any off-the-shelf software, and aren't locked into iOS, all of which are important considerations.

One of the most successful businessmen I know uses a $219 netbook with a Verizon card. Says he wouldn't touch a Blackberry.

netbook for sure - Acer makes a great one with many more features and scaleability than the competition. Look for Full version of Windows 7, Ram of 2GB or more, battery life, and a fast processor, and good video - then compare price - Acer is probably what you will end up with if you shop for those features, it smokes Dell and HP in all areas. My wife has one now and she uses it exclusively for surfing the web and email, she really never uses the 17inch screen laptops we have any more, and heaven forbid using my desk top (of course I am very ok with that!) . We got hers from Tiger direct last Christmas. If you can wait till then there will undoubtably be some great sales. Her's is the 11.x inch screen which is nice for watching streaming videos too because of the higher resolution.

Remember, your wife may be completely techless now, but a year from now she will be much more literate - plan ahead.

...might want to blacklist facebook right off the bat. You like talking to your wife & not knowing what's for dinning with status updates, right? ;)

Here's an independent review one might find interesting (hope the link works)

Review: How the iPad won over a skeptic

iPhone4. Then when she tires of it, you can co-opt it.

A friend of mine bought an iPad for herself, then made the mistake of showing it to her 89-year old mom.

Her mom refused to return it!

She was having so much fun with this thing for hours every day, and e-mails were flying left and right too.

This 89-year old mom had tried but never been able to use a regular computer.
The iPad however, she understood within minutes.

And unlike a netbook, there is no steady stream of security updates for Windows or slowed down use when the virus and worm checker needs to do its daily thing.

And it's instant-on, and everything happens instantly with no waiting for a 4200 rpm hard disk to get up to speed.

The on-screen keyboard is very good for limited typing, such as with e-mails. For writing War & Peace, just get a wireless Bluetooth keyboard.

CD - That's what happened to me. Managed to watch first two episodes of Babyon5 on the iPad before losing it forever to the wife and teenagers. I bought the 3G version thinking I might use that feature when on holiday - especially since no contractracts and you cant turn on / cancel anytime on line. Just used it on WiFi so far.

Having spent my entire career with Word / Excel / Powerpoint, I find the office apps to be a bit limited - but what can you expect from a $10 word processor.

Two best things are instant on / off and 13 hour battery life. Also, for most of its intended use - portable internet access - not having a keyboard or mouse /trackpoint is and advantage IMHO.

Good Luck. iPad - it changes everything :^)