sorry, I should have said "low end laptop," "netbook," or "chromebook." Those are all in the same class as an iPad, with the same portability requirements, etc.
I've been using my $300 Acer c720p chromebook for almost 5 years. Keys are falling off, it has quite a few cracks and smudges, and the battery is less then half of what it used to be, but it still boots up in about 8 seconds, and there's no new noticeable lag. Right now sounds like my Chromebook was a better decision than a iPad.