The pairing of the iPad with the computer via iTunes is a safety factor which people might forget about. When you do this, you are also backing up the iPad. Remember, the iPad is a truly portable device and that makes it subject to being stolen or lost as real risks. So, as far as I'm concerned, the iTunes pairing as a fundamental design makes perfect sense. However... I would suggest to Apple that they consider a "Cloud" implementation of iTunes and have the iPad/iTunes pairing occur via the "cloud" rather than a physical computer. I could see a larger number of advantages to this approach.

I don't see the iPad as a "independent" computing device. Backup and Data recovery is not currently possible as it and it's software exists now other than thru iTunes and another computer.

Also... when doing photography, I never delete images from my camera cards. I save them away as backup just in case there is a problem. I always carry enough memory cards to hold every photo on my trips. When I transfer images from the iPad to my computer, I can delete the transferred images from the iPad with reasonable safety. When I transfer images from the cards to the iPad I NEVER delete the images from the card tho that is an option. I always "format" the cards when I want to reuse them anyway.