The problem isn't just the iPad. It's the whole question of tablet computing. Touch works on phone because it frees up space. It means you can get a decent size screen because you're not sacrificing space for the UI. But it is a compromise (albeit an acceptable one).
Once you go beyond pocket size, you're into competing with laptops. I know people think they'll walk around like Picard, but walking and touching a screen doesn't work like that.
For me, even the "sitting in front of a PC using Slashdot" doesn't work. A laptop gives me a hinge and a keyboard. I neither have to hold it up, nor crick my neck.