I have an iPad 3, and previously owned an iPad 2, so I'll comment regarding the iPad:
https://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/specs/
Originally Posted by Kent1975:
“- browsing the internet - you tube, news sites, bbci player etc”
The iPad is excellent for web browsing (so long as you don't need Flash

).
Although the iPad does not have Flash, in
my experience this has never been a problem.
YouTube works via the browser thanks to HTML5, plus has an app.
iPlayer works via the browser thanks to HTML5, plus has an app.
TVCatchup works via the browser thanks to HTML5, plus has an app.
4oD, Demand 5, ITV Player, Netflix, Lovefilm, Sky Go and others all have apps.
BBC News has an app, as do various other news services.
Although you won't be able to play Flash games on the iPad, or view those god-awful websites that insist on being made in Flash, if you want video services, you should (generally) be OK, thanks to the ever increasing presence of HTML5 and/or dedicated apps.
Originally Posted by Kent1975:
“- using facebook and playing their pointless games
(for which I understand requires flash, is this correct?)”
There is a Facebook app (plus a mobile website). I don't know if the games work at all on it though, or if they are *only* available via Flash and as such do not work.
Originally Posted by Kent1975:
“- football manager type games
(presume there is an app for this?)”
A quick search of the App Store found several football manager type games.
I don't know whether they are any good, though.
If you have iTunes yourself, you can have a search and check their ratings.
Originally Posted by Kent1975:
“- listening to music
(which is currently on my laptop - windows media player)”
The Music app plays MP3 and AAC, plus Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV.
You need to use iTunes on your computer to transfer your own music to your iPad.
The iPad only has a mono-speaker, so if you want to use it to listen to music, you'll need head/earphones or a decent speaker dock.
Originally Posted by Kent1975:
“- watching movies
(many of which are downloaded onto a flash stick)”
The Videos app plays H.264 video within the .m4v, .mp4, and .mov containers. If your own collection contains any of these "iTunes friendly" videos you need to use iTunes to sync them with your iPad.
You can also get various 3rd party apps that will happily play many other video formats, such as Xvid within the .avi container or H.264 within the .mkv container.
I use
AVPlayerHD, which is well worth the £1.99 cost. It plays everything I throw at it. You can copy videos to your iPad, for playback via AVPlayerHD, using iTunes itself or by using the app to transfer over WiFi directly from your computer.
Originally Posted by Kent1975:
“- Hopefully this will be whilst lounging on my sunbed
(so a decent viewable screen will be required)”
The iPad's screen is excellent (especially the iPad 3's), but it is not so great in bright sunlight. Although, to be fair, that's common with other tablets too.
You can get anti-glare screen protectors to try and cut down on it. I used an iVisor AG on my iPad 2.
-------------
Other comments:
The iPad's operating system (iOS) is very easy to use. It is more "locked down" than something like Android, but most professional and user reviews agree that it is more user-friendly, and is easier for novices.
Android currently has more free apps available than iOS has.
iOS currently has more paid apps available than iOS has.
iOS currently has more apps that are actually optimised for use on a tablet.
Connecting to a TV (bazellis):
If you want to connect an iPad to a TV, there are two options:
1) Apple's Digital AV connector (£35) enables you to connect the iPad to an HDTV via HDMI. There is also a Composite AV cable for people whose TVs don't have HDMI and have to suffer composite video. Some other tablets have HDMI ports built-in, but not all (e.g. Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 is similar to the iPad in that you need an adaptor for HDMI, whereas the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime has a micro-HDMI port itself).
2) The Apple TV (£99) is a streaming-media set-top-box that connects to a TV via HDMI and router via WiFi or Ethernet. It's main use is for streaming videos and music from iTunes (your own library or bought from the Store), plus has apps for Netflix and other things. One great feature though, if you have an iPad/iPhone, is something called AirPlay. AirPlay lets you wirelessly connect your iOS device to your TV via the Apple TV. The entire display can be "Mirrored", plus many apps (including Videos, AVPlayerHD, iPlayer, and more) also support AirPlay video streaming, where the app's video output is sent to the TV via the Apple TV, instead of being displayed on the iPad. Obviously, it's not worth getting *just* for AirPlay, but it's a great little box if you want the other features.