Well when it comes to document creation its mainly notes during meetings, order lists and stuff, any spreadsheet work would be done on my main work station.
Also my budget doesn't stretch as far as a Macbook so it would be a cheaper alternative (HP, Dell, Samsung, Sony etc etc).
Thanks for the reply
It sounds as if an iPad might work for you. But keep some points in mind before jumping in.
() If you're hoping to avoid using a keyboard for notes in meetings, be cautious about relying upon either the virtual on-screen keyboard or various handwriting note taking apps. The on-screen keyboard is much less efficient than a real keyboard and the learning curve for handwriting notes is very steep compared to a paper/pen solution. Trust me, you'll spend many hours trying to be as efficient taking notes on your iPad as you are with a pen and paper. You may well want to invest in a separate bluetooth keyboard ($35-$70) or a combo iPad/keyboard case ($50-$100).
() There are several solutions to sharing of spreadsheets (and word processing docs) between MS Office and the iPad (Documents to Go, Quick Office HD, etc.) if you need to look at what you've created on your desktop system. But they're not perfect. And if you have complex spreadsheets they may not be fully and correctly presented on the iPad. Editing of a relatively simple spreadsheet (if you need to do so) is certainly possible, but if you have a mission critical spreadsheet application I would be recommend you not trust it to these apps.
() Depending on your current email solution, you may or may not be satisfied with what the iPad provides. I use the iPad email mainly just to be alerted to recent email and dash off quick replies when necessary. It is by no means a fully functional business-level email solution. And integration with Exchange (if that's important to you) is primitive at best and relies upon a web-based Outlook client.
() Even web browsing may be problematic if you use that functionality seriously in your work. Safari on the iPad currently does not support multiple tabs (though it will in a few months, apparently). Alternatives that do support multiple tabs are available but most are built on top of Safari and going from an app to the web will always put you in Safari regardless of what other browser you may prefer.
() Be sure you understand just how small the iPad's screen is. Compared to a smartphone or an iPod it's HUGE, but compared even to a 13" laptop, it's very cramped. That is often not obvious because you can view only one app at a time, anyway, but if you need to consult multiple apps at the same time, you're out of luck both in terms of available screen real estate and the iPad's functionality.
Some of these issues may be unimportant for you. And there are workarounds for some of them, as well. But keep in mind that the iPad is optimized for consumer media consumption, not as a business laptop replacement. Personally, I would not choose an iPad over a good 11-13" Windows laptop for business use. But it makes an excellent supplement to my laptop and while it doesn't work nearly as well in some areas, it does other things that my laptop is simply not designed to do.
P.S. Lenovo introduces its ThinkPad Tablet for business on August 23. You might take a look at that alternative if you're open to an Android tablet. It has a number of features not available on the iPad and an optional Lenovo keyboard/tablet case that will likely be very good. (Lenovo is renowned for their keyboards.)
P.P.S. I have a friend with a Lenovo X220 Tablet PC, as well. It's a very impressive system, combining a 12.1 Windows7 laptop with touch screen entry. You might want to take a look at it but keep your fingers off the options as the price can easily approach $1500.
