I'm having a similar problem. I just bought my iPad and yes, there is a Safari icon at the bottom of the screen and I am able to browse the Internet with no problem. However, when I tried to download the iTunesU Course Manager yesterday, I got a message saying something about needing a more current version of Safari to do this. Today when I try it, the iPad just gets "stuck" trying to load the page. I tried to post the link here, but the forum won't allow me to post links until I've had 3 posts to the forum.
It just says "Course Manager had an error," and so i thought perhaps there was an issue with the site. however, i can access the link without problem from my MacBook Pro. So it seems to be an iPad or Safari issue.
It seems odd that I would just have bought the newest iPad a few weeks ago and yet it doesn't have the most current version of Safari, doesn't it? Any ideas on where I can find it, or why this would be happening.
Also, is Safari the recommended browser for iPad? I use Firefox and Chrome on my laptop.
Many thanks for any help you're able to provide.