I was tempted by a sale of a cheap tablet:

Manufacturer # MID1125-4G

Specification:
Screen: 10.1” 16:9 1024x768 Capacitive
Processor: Samsung (Cortex A8) 1Ghz
Memory: 4GB (Built-in 4GB/Expandable up to 32GB)
Wifi: 802.11b/g
OS: Android 2.3

I'm not into the tablet craze, but it seemed a good deal. I might get one this season, just not sure what I'm looking for, or what is available (features)...

Do you have to have a need for a tablet or do they offer something more? I usually surf the net and do more typing than anything. And I use Adobe Illustrator, Premier, Photoshop most of all...that kind of stuff.

I don't care to have to buy and download magazines and books - is that it for tablets? Oh, movies come on DVD or Blueray disc...

What am I missing?

It's cheap(ish) because it's a generic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvg8JvDYuLc) - but that is up to you.

As long as you have good broadband coverage in the places or countries or hotels etc that you visit then from my perspective they are great when you are on the road. I don't use ebooks but that would be a typical app that could be downloaded and used.

You can obviously watch movies on the road along with all normal telephony and camera/video functionality as well as surfing, emails, GPS, VOIP/Skype, etc. I use mine when I am travelling both at home and abroad. I have a Samsung Galaxy and get 8 to 12 hours on battery if continually in use. I buy a cheap foreign SIM when abroad on business or holiday rather than use roaming on the home based card and which would normally only give you telephony but not broadband when not connected to a local G3 signal.

Good cordless bluetooth headsets are a good accompaniment in my experience.

I can turn the Galaxy into a WiFi Access point which can be very useful when working on a PC in someones home and where they have no internet access.