Do students need iPads?

I've been giving this some thought of late. I've also asked for some opinion from students on the matter. If you ask if students want iPads the answer is a resounding yes. If you ask if they need iPads the answer (in part) depends on who is going to buy the devices. If  iPads are provided to students at no cost then of course they need them. But if students are required to purchase iPads themselves, the necessity for an iPad comes under question. Why is this?

I think it comes down to the fact that no matter how you spin it, the iPad is not a standalone device. You must have a computer with which to sync, and realistically that computer must be yours, not one you simply have access to. If we take the cost of an iPad at €500, and a decent netbook at €500, that's €1000 for computer/connectivity. You're in Mac Air territory now, so if you have €1000 why not buy one device that gives you the best of all world's and is part of the Apple ecosystem? If you need greater portability well, that's your phone or your iTouch and they are part of a separate budget from your 'University required' one.

There's logic to the above, very compelling actually now that I reread it. Maybe I should just shut this blog, and start one on HTML 5.0 in University education. Either that or I need to delve a little deeper into what an iPad might do that other options cannot. I don't actually know what the outcome of this delving will be, but whatever it is I'll post it here.

I'll finish with following observation. Sometimes watching people tells you a lot more than listening to what they say. At the recent Apple tech series I attended, all of the Apple people used Mac Books to present and those not presenting were 'working' on Mac Books (email, surfing, etc). Only once in 6 hours did I see an Apple person actually pick up and use an iPad for something other than demonstration purposes. What might that mean?