Consider that my iPad has Inkling textbooks, both as references and class books - in full glorious chapters and content.
Hardbound books are the only way to go. You can write on them, mark them up, tab them, and buy/sell them used. can't do that on an ebook.
Zinio lets me subscribe to Magazines for next to nothing in full glory.
most magazine subscriptions allow you full, glorious, unfettered access. because you
PAID already.
Netflix can stream for 10 hours seamlessly and integrates perfectly.
I concede this point. I returned my android tablet because it doesn't stream netflix.
iBooks, Kindle, Nook apps etc cover literally every book you can desire to purchase.
Android has the kindle app, and open source e-readers that will let you read anything
GarageBand lets me take with me a Grand Piano and numerous other instruments for on the go accompaniment
GarageBand is great. It's an awesome program and I hope it sees more widespread use and generates more interest in the arts. However, there can be no substitute for an actual grand piano
😛
Office is a snap, with the plethora of document editors that integrate with DropBox etc
DropBox is a multi-platform application. Every mobile platform has an office-esque app capable of opening standard documents.
Flipboard/Feedly etc puts relevant in the ease of use
There are tons of RSS readers you can use, pick your flavor. Although Flipboard puts it in magazine format, which no other RSS reader does.
Feedly is available for Android.
Atomic gives you full website surfing, adblocking, tabbing, awesomeness while Skyfire gives you Flash - even when most of use end using ClicktoFlash and other extensions to DISABLE FLash on our Laptops to save battery life. 🙄
Every modern mobile browser will do all that, and give you the option to enable/disable what you please. If you want to save battery life, just disable flash. If you want flash, then enable it. No comparisons on flash can be made between mobile iOS and other mobile platforms, simply because iOS doesn't have native flash support.
Need I mention the hundreds of other dedicated and generic uses for the iPad (sharing, social networking, work, media output, streaming, skyping/facetiming, even drawing and painting etc etc etc etc etc)? No, it would take too long, and Android users will run out of Notification LEDs to put to as their ultimate productivity advantage.
Generic uses are generic. Any smartphone or tablet today can do the "dedicated and generic" things you mention. Because they're generic.
It's not just the iPad's smoothness, incredible screen, battery life, built in 3G and GPS capabilities... it's what they facilitate, which is productivity. Much like a computer or operating system is useless without the applications it can run and the calculations it can do.
iOS is smooth, no doubt. The IPS screen is to die for. The battery life is exemplary and sets the bar for other tablets. GPS is standard. 3G is available as an option.
Productivity stems from the efficient display of information and effective input methods for the user. A 10" screen (where half of it is covered by a virtual keyboard) is hardly effective for any type of meaningful work that I can imagine. If you are going to tout productivity on an iPad, you're going to sound like a fool. Get a laptop or go home and sit at your desktop.