I had my boss get me a tablet about 10 months ago. I find it very handy for some things, and not for others. Much like any piece of technology.

For taking notes during classes or seminars I like it a lot. For letting my 3 year old draw pictures, it's great. IMO it would be great for students in class. For reading PDF's the portrait mode is great because I can finally see the whole page, and I can read it in a natural position.

For network admining, it's terrible. I hate trying to fix a server problem with it.

Basically it's suitability is based on what your intended application is. Just like anything else.