i have worked a lot with the ipad. and from my point of view, it really is life changing. apple corp specifically made the ipad for entertainment and as a utility, not a laptop. i have two ipads and use them all the time, they are some of my favorite pieces of work. now as for you in alaska, i would buy the ipad from the apple store. also, you might what to spend a few more dollars or get the regular 32g so you can have enough money to buy a protective case. my favorite case that there possibly can be is the defender case from otterbox.com, i have it for my iphone, ipad, evo 4g, and it is the most protective and nice case out there. good luck