What tablet would a "power user" use then? And what practical tablet is cheaper?

For "power users", the Xoom should be a clear winner, no? More free customization, tabbed browsing (and plenty of RAM to handle it nicely), and most importantly, it is free to develop for the Xoom from any OS.

As far as cheaper, maybe the Nook Color would be a smarter buy for the "penny-pincher".

Cost has nothing to do with the iPad's viability for power users.

Why bother with the long tail when you've got the bulk of the distribution in your pocket already.

Those 65,000 iPad apps?

Those were developed by "Power Users".

Not for themselves.

Maybe not all of them but a large portion of them would have been scratching their own itch.