Nikon 35mm f/1.8G Lens, What is it like?

I'm thinking of buying the Nikon D3100 (this isn't about that though) and I'm thinking of buying a fixed, prime 35mm f/1.8G lens. What will this be like? I know it won't be possible to zoom as the focal length is fixed at 35mm, but am I right to think the f/1.8 aperture will allow me to take photos with a faster shutterspeed?

And this will in turn have a short depth of field, how will this affect the sorts of photos I can take? I've heard it will be good for portraits, but is the depth of field like an actual limit of distance OR is it distance from the object it is focused on? If that makes sense.

I don't like it much for portraits personally. Depth of field can be really shallow, see www.dofmaster.com. It's influenced both by aperture and your distance to the subject.

Here's 1200 pics with this lens:

This is a nice example of how it's well used in my opinion.

It is a boring "normal" focal length lens.

After you have had your D3100 for a while using the included 18-55 mm lens, see how many times you have shot with that lens at 35 mm and how close you were to the subjects. That will help you decide on which prime lens you may eventually want (from 18-55 mm of course)