Apple is always the first to bring in new technology.
This is evident from the fact that it was them who revolutionalized the smarthphones vertical with the launch of iphone.
Now, they are doing the same with the other mobile devices category with the launch of the ipad.
The ipad , bigger than your cell phone, but smaller than the the laptop, is a perfect fit for people who travel a lot.
Granted it does not have the Operating systems of the likes of Windows, but with everything moving to the cloud, it should not really matter. As long as you have internet access, you are good.
So should the apple ipad be bought right now ?
According to me, the apple ipad is heavily priced at this moment for the value it delivers. We should wait for competitors to increase the competition and thus, increase the functionality in the devices while reducing costs. I forsee this to happen in the next 1.5 years.