Umm, new is always at a premium. If you bought a plasma TV back in 2003 you probably paid over 10 times today's price. I remember my first laptop in the early 90s being seriously underpowered and backlit (not TFT) and it still was $2500. CD player, BluRay, all tech goes through this phase. Even the Kindle is 1/3 what the first ones were already. If the sticker on new toys blows you away, well, just wait. Fortunately for mobile devices the speed of new versions and the decline in prices seems to be much faster than with others, so you might not have to wait so long.
If you're complaining about the price v iPad specifically, and think smaller screen size = cheaper, think again. The size format is one of the major contributors to me choosing my Tab over an iPad. It's similar resolution and much sharper due to the pixel density IMHO. Check out laptops on all platforms, the mid size is usually cheapest, and there's a premium for smaller and larger. iPad is going to be the middle size, and I've never been a fan of the middle.
I love my Tab more than I expected to, and use the hell out of it. It goes wherever I go in a pocket one way or another. What I expect to really, truly love in a year or two or three is a nice 17" or 19" slim tablet. That's when I expect the tablet to catch up and overtake the laptop, which will be dead in the water. I'll still want the "big phone" format for its ability to go everywhere, but I'll love the big touch for real enjoyment of the Intewebz/Cloudz/Apps/Video.
