If you want a device for productivity buy a Laptop/Desktop NOT an iPad.
That makes the (somewhat bold) assumption that Productivity = Microsoft Office. The Office suite is certainly the
de facto standard in the business world. But I'd argue it isn't necessarily the most productive.
Someone earlier made the comment that "Office is the best solution for desktop publishing on the market."
I'd disagree with that assertion. Because virtually NO professional publication is laid out using the tools in the Word Suite. People will use QuarkXPress or InDesign - and NOT the somewhat kludgy layout tools included with Word, or the "entry level" Microsoft Publisher, which is part of the Office suite. You might find a businessperson using Word or Publisher to lay out a department newsletter - but when it comes to critical documents (sales brochures, the Annual Report) - they'll leave that to the professionals using a "real" desktop publishing application.
I think a lot of Office's downsides are the result of its origins in the early days of PC software for businesses. Because the total business-PC market was relatively small (say ten million per year) Microsoft came up with the idea of making one program that "does it all." So Excel got a programming language and graphing capabilities. And Word got page layout and drawing. And Outlook got everything else....
As a result, however, the programs became almost unworkable. Most Office suite components have features and capabilities that most users have never heard of - let alone mastered. And what's worse, it doesn't even do its "core" functions particularly well.
In today's computer market, where annual sales are approaching half a billion units, the situation is dramatically different. Even the most specialized Application can sell in the thousands or tens of thousands of units. So rather than buy a shrink-wrapped "Jack of All Trades" suite like Word, companies have the choice of buying an "App" that is as-good-as customized for their specific needs.
