With its bright display and pinch-and-zoom touch screen, the iPad feels like a "giant interactive map, " Ostrowski says.

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"You can do a lot of this with a paper map, " Ostrowski says.

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Pete Ostrowski also hikes with his iPad.

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Bolstered by users like Andersen and Ostrowski, developers are adapting their location-based applications to run on the iPad. (Most of these apps work best on the 3G version of the iPad, which has built-in GPS, but will also operate on the cheaper, Wi-Fi-only iPad.) The trend caught some developers by surprise.

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