couple more questions about the ipad
can you install programs on them or do they only take apps?
do you constantly have to clean the screen due to always touching it?
I can answer them for you al.
I have had an iPhone for over a year now and My in-laws recently bought a 3G iPad which I configured for them. Also for work we did extensive trials for iPads.
iPad's like iPhones only take apps from the app store or via itunes. You can connect them to a PC and extract data such as photos but they have geared up iTunes to handle most of the file sharing components.
As far as cleaning the screen, if you constantly cleaned it every time you saw a finger print you would go insane. Finger print smudges are a part of iPad life but they are not really visible unless the screen is black or unless you are a motor mechanic or a pastry chef.
A couple of other things you might need to be aware of..
they do not accept USB by default. You require an adapter and the adapters are really only for downloading pics off cameras. The adapters also have an SD interface for card reading from cameras. You cant run programs from USB sticks on the iPad like you can on a PC.
Also the 3G component is really only for Data and the iPad cannot be used as a cellular phone like the iPhone obviously can. They also do not take a standard sim card. They require one of those micro sim or 3FF (Third Form Factor) cards.
the iPad does not have a built in camera. Big mistake on their part considering it would be an excellent videoconferencing tool.
So in a nutshell, if you are only into web browsing, reading e-books, playing mini games and listening to music then the iPad is for you. If you want a lot more than that then you might be better off with a PC Netbook or tablet.