At least eight people got iPads from Apple pre-launch, three usual suspects plus some new faces. Their approaches are different, but the take-home remains the same: It's good. Here's the easiest way to digest all the iPad reviews at once:
The following is a list of the original pieces from which the above quotes were pulled. They are all special in their own ways, and I encourage you to read them all. If you're in a hurry, just skip to Pogue's, Baig's and Xeni's.
The usual suspects (minus our friend Steven Levy at Wired, who Apple didn't give one to):
Walt Mossberg - Wall Street Journal/AllThingsD
David Pogue - The New York Times
The left fielders:
Xeni Jardin - Boing Boing and Boing Boing TV
Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus - Houston Chronicle
There are a couple more pieces written by people who got iPads that aren't included for reasons stated below, but they're decent, so check them out:
Omar Wasow - The Root - This is more of an essay than a review.
Andy Ihnatko - Chicago Sun-Times - He actually has five different separately headlined pieces, but they're not linked together, so while a lot of ground is covered, it's impossible to read as a coherent review.