Mel Martin poses a question:
[I]f you don’t have an iPad yet, would a cheaper tablet from Apple get you to the Apple Store? And if not, would an Android tablet and $250-$300 tempt you to try one?
If I wanted a tablet, I would definitely bite the bullet if the iPad was sub ~300 for the Wi-Fi only model. It is a nice extra consumption device that can be paired with a heftier MacBook Pro or desktop computer. I still do not believe in the Android tablets though — the TouchPad is the only tablet that may be worth shooting for if it were under $300 (16GB). The technology across all three devices is mostly equal, it is the OS and the ecosystem that makes the difference.