When I spend that kind of cash on a videocard or a console or something I know it's going to last me 3-5 years. My iPhone's last me about 2 years and then they're totally outdated and I have to buy a new one to play the latest iOS games. I can't afford to buy a $700 toy that I'll need to replace for another $700 every other year to keep up with the latest games and apps for it.
The main reason I want an iPad is for business stuff because everyone I work with also busts one out at meetings to show documents and stuff. Hell, I've seen attorneys at court use iPads in front of the judge instead of bringing a folder of papers. It seems like a popular device with a lot of uses in the business world. So I kind of want one.
Not to be rude or presumptuous but based on your posting history I don't see why you would buy an ipad for gaming. It doesn't seem like it would be for you at all. The vita seems far more your speed.
As far as business I think yes an ipad can have some legit business uses but if I was serious about using one for business I would still most likely end up using some version of a laptop for that.
Ipads are great tweener devices. They do a bit of everything and do a wonder job with ios style gaming. They are great for surfing, podcasts, music, etc and other kind of lazy ass pursuits. If that doesn't fit you then you probably shouldn't get one.
I say this with the opinion that I think an ipad is wonderful and for my uses has utterly replaced my laptop. But then I'm not demanding that it function as a psp/laptop and perform better than what those specific devices are good for.
Well, the thing is I carry around a shit load of devices already that do most of that. Like I have all my music on my phone which is always with me. Can use that for podcasts too. For games when I'm traveling I have a Vita/3DS/PSP/DS. For Netflix, the Vita is pretty nice, though obviously a smaller screen than the iPad. For books I have physical books because I prefer them to ebooks and it's not like I'm ever reading more than 1 book at a time so I can carry "a book".
What I think the iPad will excel in, that none of my other portable products do or do as well is:
-Reading webpages
-Reading pdf/.doc files from e-mails
-Creating a document/editing a document (I'm assuming there are apps that let you edit .docx files?)
-Showing photos to people
-Reading comics or digital magazines
That's actually enough stuff, that, in addition to having Netflix streaming on a bigger screen and access to full screen-size iOS gaming, seems to make the iPad worth it from my perspective.