I have a first generation iPad, too. I had some magazine subscriptions on the iPad that I got for free because I was a subscriber of the physical magazine. With the exception of traveling, I preferred the real magazine. The metaphor of how ads are displayed in physical magazines, paging, etc. didn't carry over well for me in the iPad.

While travelling, I thought it would be cool to have access to a library of magazines to peruse. I ended up mostly just watching videos.