I gussed iPad as an advanced Laptop.
Obviously you are not alone. I think there are quite a few people out there who bought an iPad and made the same assumption because it was being sold by Apple. And what does Apple do? They make computers!
Now take the Kindle for example. I mean the actual Kindle readers from
Amazon, not the app for the iPad. It is marketed by a company known primarily for selling books and this device has but one purpose... to read books. No, it does not have the functionality of an iPad, and it wasn't meant to. But on the flip side, people are not upset after buying a Kindle because it won't "do apps".
With all due respect however, (uh oh, you know you're in trouble now!), Apple does not market the iPad as a "re-packaged" laptop so this notion that it was, as you say, an "advanced laptop" did not come from Apple or any of its promotional material. Yes, some people here can be less-than-diplomatic in their posts, but the person you really should be angry with is the person who told you that an iPad could do what a laptop could do because they lied to you.