Am confused. I managed to send a message to myself but all other attempts failed. Is this because the addressees did not have ios5
Does it require an email address or a phone number?

Hi and welcome to the Forum!

For iMessage to work the people you contact must also have an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch which is on IOS5 and activated for iMessage, maybe some of your contacts do not meet these requirements.
On the iPad you can only receive through an email address, on an iPhone you can receive at both the number and email address.

The IPad Forum is a community of members from all walks of life and from all over the world coming together to share our experiences and to help each other learn about this wonderful piece of technology the Ipad. There is a wealth of information already here in the many threads we have so doing some searches will answer most of the questions you have. If then you cannot find the answer you are seeking then by all means post your question. There are many friendly and informed members here only too willing to help you.

We also have our own App - It is a very simple app to navigate.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/discu...412896524?mt=8
Reading the IPad manual is a great place to start so please download a copy of these.
http://www.support.apple.com/manuals/ipad/
2 very informative threads from which you will learn many tips and shortcuts for the IPad.
TIPS AND TRICKS - for those of us who don't know!
iOS5 Tips and Tricks
We have rules like any Community so please read these also
Forum rules - everybody please read!!

Once again we welcome you here and are so pleased you have joined us!

Sent from my iPad using iPF