Xoom
 

most reviews to date are negative...

but...
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/02/24/technology/AP-US-TEC-Motorola-Inside-the-Xoom.html?hp

The Tegra 2 processor is way cool, the barometric pressure sensor is interesting, and I'll bet the 3.0 Android is good - but battery life has to be long or its for naught. And $800 is way too expensive. The BOM on the Xoom can't be too much more than the iPad's. MMI had better have a plan to rapidly bring the price down, at least for an entry-level configuration.

$600 for a WAN with poor service

To be clear - I know people will pay $800 for a tablet and many pay near that for a loaded iPad. But you need an option with a price that looks low - starts with "4" or even "3" - to get most people looking, then you can upsell.
I havent read many Xoom reviews yet but so far, it sounds promising. Android Honeycomb especially.

the pre-release got great reviews at one of the trade shows (CES?)

my interest is in something that works as a 'real' computer but has a GPS built in -- something that fits in the Vanagon and has a nice little off-hwy map it can display

Topo Maps :: Introduction

Topo maps on iPad

thx - I have something similar on my PC (which means on a Windows laptop too)

BUT the iPad does not have a GPS* nor does the PC


* I mean a real one, not one that uses cell towers, which you may have noticed, can be a bit scarce in the western deserts

I think the 3G iPad (not the WiFi only) does have actual using-satellites GPS, or so say these pilots who use the iPad aloft

iPad for aviators: yes, the 3G model offers GPS, and no, you don’t need a data plan to navigate aloft « Greg Brown's Flying Carpet Blog

But I only looked for a few minutes, so I could be wrong. If it matters, I can try to confirm using mine.

We have a product on it. NVidia is a partner of ours.

Have a couple of dev versions and got a couple pre release tablets recently.

OP's review link is being generous about the screen.

You really need to view it dead on. If you are sitting in a chair and lay it flat on a surface you may as well turn it off, you'll see about the same.