There are Android alternatives to the iPad that include a card reader, 3G/GSM etc. Still not sure what day-to-day purpose they serve, but they make great (but expensive) remote controls for HTPC's (media centres) and home automation systems.
Apple have done to the iPhone and iPad exactly what they did to the Mac; create an innovative product but artificially limit its use. Mac OS could have been on every PC in the world 20-30 years ago if, like Windows, it ran on a multitude of hardware. The iPhone could have been the phone to have if, like Android, they allowed tethering and gave developers the freedom to creat apps as they saw fit. The iPad could have been the tablet to have if the architecture was more open, allowing people to find their own uses for it, rather than the predefined use of Apple's designers.
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