Pro-grade lens can replace your primes!

I was going to buy up the Nikkor f/1.4 primes one by one until I gave u[ and bought this zoom lens instead.

Build Quality:
This is a pro-grade lens and made of metal and heavy. It could be a weapon in Clue (the Butler did it... in the kitchen... with a candlest--I mean--a Nikkor 24-70mm lens...). Try not to drop it. Especially on your foot.

Sharpness:
This pro-grade lens is something special: even wide open at f/2.8, it's almost as sharp as your f/1.4 prime lenses stopped down to 2.8. Of course, this lens can't go any lower than 2.8 so it's not as good in ultra-low light, but there are few other lenses that are this sharp.

Chromatic Aberration:
It's there, but it's not any worse than you'd find in your best prime lenses.

Distortion:
Although there is slight barrel distortion at 24mm, it goes away quickly as you increase focal length. It's also fairly simple and not a complex "wave" type distortion. This lens is not as good as primes in the distortion department, but it's also a heck of a lot better than most other zooms.

Field curvature:
Normally the depth of field is relatively flat, but this lens is known to have a slightly curved DOF (field curvature) so you need to be careful about the asymmetry. The DOF curves inward, toward the photographer. Generally this isn't a problem as long as the stuff at the borders isn't in a very different plane than the focal point, and how often do you want that stuff in focus, anyway?

Noise:
AF-S (Silent Wave) motor makes focusing fast and quiet, especially compared to noisy non-AF-S lenses.

Vignetting:
Low and outright unnoticeable on DX-bodies.

Bokeh:
Excellent creamy bokeh (out of focus blur); good for portraits.

One last goodie: with Nikon moving towards full-frame support, if you buy this lens you are future-proofing yourself to some extent. You can have the option of upgrading to a full-frame body later on if you are using a DX crop-body and won't get stuck with DX lenses.

Uses:
I'd use this for general-purpose portraiture and the occasional landscape in a pinch. 24-70mm on a full-frame is good for that. On a crop body, the range is 36-105mm which is arguably even better for portraits!

Flare:
Nano crystal coating suppresses flare (but see below).

Pros:
I bought this lens to replace all my primes and to reduce wear and tear (of switching lenses as often), and it has not disappointed. You can take portraits easily, especially with a crop-body which effectively makes this a 36-105mm lens--perfect focal range for portraits, and you get such creamy bokeh (out of focus blur in the background) at f/2.8, too! You sacrifice very little in image quality in the bargain, and that's saying a lot given how sharp the Nikkor primes are. You do sacrifice some speed, though, so sports photographer will want to stick with their faster glass. The lens is made of metal and has rubber seals to make it very durable and worthy of the pro-grade pricing.

Cons:
Heavy at 900 grams (about 2 pounds)! Try not to use it with a lightweight camera like a D40, else it's going to feel out of balance... Sure this lens can take the place of all of your primes, but it also weighs as much as all of your primes put together! And costs MORE than all of your primes put together! Also, no VR (image stabilization), though at such short focal lengths, do you really need it?

Update:
Well it had to happen at last... I can confirm that if you point right at the sun you can get this lens to flare, despite the nano crystal coating that is supposed to suppress flare. This lens is still pretty close to perfect, though. In studio shots I have not yet had this lens flare, but then again, most lenses wouldn't flare under controlled diffuse lighting, either!

Also, it's easy to accidentally knock the focus ring askew when you are reaching for the zoom, though with practice I've gotten good at avoiding this.

Also, at 70mm in low light I've found myself missing VR (image stabilization), but with a good low-light camera like the D300 or D3 you can get away with cranking up the ISO to compensate. Nevertheless, it's something that I wish Nikon had incorporated into the lens even if it added another $100-200. With a lens this expensive, what's another $100-200, anyway?

UPDATE 11/2/08: I recently shot a wedding, not as a pro but for my friend the groom as a backup to the pro photographers, and even though this lens is f/2.8, the light was so bad that I didn't get that many good photos at 35mm+ focal lengths despite cranking up the ISO to 800.  This lens is not a miracle worker, and you WILL need a flash or VERY high ISO (1600+) to get decently sharp photos in low light.  On the plus side, the lens was sharp, consistent, and gave good bokeh (background blur).