You need to choose a device which does the job you need to be done.
A lot of people don't need a "smartphone" at all. In fact I have only just moved to one (a Nokia 700) from a Nokia E51. The 700 is very small and much smaller and lighter than an Iphone or other similar devices. I made the move only because this one has a GPS so it can the free Nlkia road nav app, log the track while flying, and the display is good enough for weather maps etc.
Also most normal phones are much better for making
phone calls than the smartphones, which (notably the Iphone) are notorious for poor signal reception, which is a major factor if you live/work/travel in the countryside. Here in the sticks, it is always the case that our Iphone4 becomes unusable long before the Nokias.
A lot of people also don't need a tablet. If they examined their real "portable computing" needs (if any) they would realise they should actually buy a normal lightweight windoze laptop. An Ipad is functionally crippled compared to a windoze laptop; it is mostly a multimedia consumption device which is also a good web browser. It is good for running apps which are sufficiently functionally limited to run with the finger-gesture interface, and that rules out most apps for creating stuff.
You also don't save much money by avoiding Apple. Their build quality is generally good, and an Android device of similar quality costs similarly. The Ipad2/3G is about £500 and so is the Samsung Galaxy 10" tablet. Both of these are very similar although obviously the latter is much more open (unless you jailbreak the Ipad, which you can't do just yet
). I've just jailbroken our Iphone4 and it is great, to be able to simply have drag/drop access to everything in there.