I have an iPad mini and I use it all the time for web browsing, playing games, catching up on the news, watching videos/TV, doing my banking, shopping, reading comics and magazines, light document editing. The wifi on it is great, it gets a good signal all over the house, better than both my samsung galaxy note phone and galaxy tab, although the wifi on those is not bad by any means. I bought a 12 W official Apple charger to use instead of the 5 W version that came with it and now my ipad charges up in just over 2 hours. I love it's form factor because its just so easy to carry about and slip into your hand bag.

The bottom line is how much including taxes. I recently bought an iPad mini in Malaysia for £212 approx, cheaper than UK, US, Singapore, or Hong Kong, and it came with the right mains adapter. Apple warranty is world wide.

Some of America's states have no sales tax.

An excise tax is simply an income or operating tax on a business that is then passed along to the consumer as would any other expenses that businesses incur to operate. It essentially hides taxes from the consumer as it often goes unnoticed or undocumented.

What a silly thing to say. Apple, very obviously is not junk. Yes, the prices are high, but the product is superior. I've had an Android tablet, which was excellent, but I must say that my iPad4 is better in every way except for storage expansion. A problem that is mostly solved by using an app that lets me stream from a NAS drive.

Similarly, I've had (and built my own) PCs since they were first available, but thanks to Microsoft attempting to ram the abysmal Windows 8 down my throat, my next PC will be an iMac.

In Britain, prices marked in shops include VAT (value added tax, our equivalent of sales tax) and are therefore the full amount that customers pay.

In most US states, marked prices for most items exclude sales tax (with a few exceptions such as petrol/gas, road tolls and national park entrance fees). The same is true in Canada, which calls their equivalent GST.

The question is whether marked shop prices in Hawaii are the full amount paid by customers, or whether something equivalent to sales tax is added. I've yet to find a fully definitive answer to that question. The closest I've got is this:
"Hawaii does not have a sales tax per se, but it does have a gross receipts tax (called the General Excise Tax) and a Use Tax which apply to nearly every conceivable type of transaction (including services), and is technically charged to the business rather than the consumer. Hawaii law allows businesses to pass on the tax to the consumer in similar fashion to a sales tax."
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_t..._States#Hawaii

I have an iPad mini and its absolutely perfect for what i need.

its very light, has great charge hold, screen is fantastic, i can access the internet very easily and have my music/films for flights, facetime/skype, decent camera, time passing games and in general it feels like a top quality product.

if you have an iphone and like it, the iPad will soon make your laptop near redundant.

Should I replace my laptop? It's ageing but still does what I require it for (although a little sluggishly).

I had planned on another laptop but there is such a variety of products out there now that a tablet would be a consideration.

The only experience I have of iProducts are some of the iPods, (nano in various versions, class and touch).

I almost bought a 3GS iPhone once but ended up with Android.

I like the fact that the batteries seem to smash laptops. I like the glossy screen. I like the lightweight and boot up times. I like looking hip.

I use the laptop for MS Office, web browsing, writing (I do a journal, blogs, reviews), odd movie, iTunes for the iPods I own. Some flash games. I use it to transfer my photos from my camera if I'm away with them.

I dislike, no keyboard, price, and that PC users will mock me for owning one.

Tablets don't really replace laptops. While their are areas that a tablet is much better than a laptop there are also areas where they are much worse so they end up being more of a companion to a laptop rather than a replacement.

I do use my laptop less since I got my iPad but if I'm coding, doing graphics or for that matter doing any word processing or spreadsheet work I will always goto my laptop.

You can get apps such as pages and numbers which are Apples versions of Word and Excel and they aren't bad but you aren't going to want to write long things on them with the on screen keyboard. You can however buy a Bluetooth keyboard and pair it which will improve things.

Depending on the format your movies are in you may need to either convert them or buy an app that's able to play them. It is very good for things like Netflix, Lovefilm instant and iPlayer.

You will need to buy the card reader addon if you want to backup your pictures off of your camera but you can buy 3rd party ones for under £5 that work perfectly.

Hmmm I'm not convinced then. If I can't replace the laptop I won't want a tablet as well. When I can just turn on the lappy (albeit a little slower).

The iPad wasn't designed to replace a PC or Mac, even though it can for many. In most situations my iPad 4 is enough, and enough to say that it has essentially replaced my laptop. Even for those that use their laptops heavily there are also many times they don't need to use a laptop so they can be complementary.

If the key thing you are doing when travelling is inputting text, making spreadsheets, creating presentations etc, then stick with the laptop. Tablets are fine for looking files up if you need to refer to them, but very awkward if you are using them for creating information.

A mixed bag really. I do browse a lot but then I might write for an hour.

Tablets seem to be the 'in' thing though and I wanted to consider all options currently available before deciding what my next purchase should be.

My street cred isn't what it should be and an iPad would counter the socks and sandals I wear.

Buy what you want and say no to street cred!

And not sure an iPad gives you street cred these days either!

With the exception of iTunes, it sounds like you would like a Microsoft Surface. Instant-on, 10 hour battery life, light and portable, has Office, can get touch or type covers.

If you wanted a genuine do-it-all laptop replacement type tablet, you might prefer the Surface Pro. The consequences are it is heavier and battery life is poorer (about 4 hours).

Worth looking into, thanks.

Is there some reason you can't install iTunes on it then?

Regards to the pro, if battery is only 4 hours then what does the pro offer over a traditional laptop, other than a touch screen?

In which case an iPad will be ideal. I tried to convince myself that I needed a Mac Book but when I really looked at what I do away from the desktop, I just couldn't justify it. I simply don't need computing power on the go and I suspect most of the people playing with laptops in coffeeshops don't either.

An iPad is lighter than a laptop, the battery lasts much longer, the screen is excellent (face it, pixel counters, you haven't got bionic eyes - beyond a certain density, the extra pixels are superfluous) and it is ideal for browsing, reading books and magazines and watching films. Both my wife and my daughter have laptops and they're always borrowing my iPad.

Ive had an iPad since they first came out and wouldnt be without one.Calling Apple products junk is just plain ludicrous,the one thing I'd say about the iPad is it is a superb piece of technology made to the top specs in every way.Don't get me wrong there are things that Apple do that aren't to peoples taste,hence jailbreaking,but generally Apples products are very well made.

BIB. Not really, there are tablets with better CPU's, better screens, better memory options, better storage options etc. etc. But yes, they are decent products if you're willing to pay their prices.

But not all at the same time! Or with as good an OS or App Store.

IPads are certainly not cheap but seem to have the correct blend of high quality components and usability for very many people!

Mine can

As others have said, it really depends on your usage, OP.

I'm hummed and harred about a tablet for a long while but have never really been able to justify one as I do so much typing or gaming, which requires a good graphics card and lots of CPU. Plus the lack of MS Office on an iPad is a downer for me. I love picking up other people's to play with for a while, but they are a big purchase I wouldn't really make use of.

Better screens than iPad 4?

Whilst the Nexus 10 has a higher resolution, that's not all that makes a screen? Colour gamut, colour fidelity, response times are three other aspects that maketh a screen for example.

Name one tablet with a better screen than the iPad?

You've named it. Not everyone wants/needs/can appreciate an improved colour gamut. And personally I've never particularly thought the screen on the iPad 4 was as great as its made out to be - its good, but not that good.

But at the end of the day, whichever way you go - Android or iOS, you get a good device. Or at least with Android as long as you stick to Samsung/Nexus/main brands you get a good device - cheap no name devices tend to be a little naff.

Neither platform is "better" than the other (as many people claim each way), they perform similar tasks, but do it differently. Which is not the same as better.

Personally don't like iOS - its just about acceptable (I have an iPhone 4S), but when scaled up to tablet size the icon spacing is comically bad. But that is personal preference.

Was given an IPad for my 60th and used every day by myself and wife.
Mainly Internet for news, forums, email, Facebook (wife), FaceTime, Planefinder, maps etc etc.
I also spend too much time on YouTube watching Neil Young or very very funny stuff like this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxi6QDwQyLU

Buy one now.