I bought an Ipad for my daughter when they had just been released and I completely disagree with any negative comments towards the device. It is intuitive, light, fun, and far cheaper than the equivalent laptop.
An amazing device- my daughter, who is almost 8, loves it- and for my my part, unless you need to do some serious business/ typing, you are better off with an Ipad than a laptop.
I paid $646 + a carrying case. The equivalent Macbook would have been $500+ more.
I cannot underestimate how great I think this device is (and completely different from Collins 21 etc, I am not comparing the two) and I would, and have recommended them to my friends vs a laptop.
My 2c.