When I buy a car, I don't automatically assume that just because my last car had USB connectivity, the one I'm looking at automatically has it too. I research to make sure it has everything I want. Treat how you buy electronic devices the same way you buy cars/houses/anything else. You get a house inspected for termites before you buy it, right?
As I mentioned, it was my bad, not Apple's. I still think the device is worth every penny of its fairly low asking price. It just isn't nearly up to the tasks I specifically want a device like this to perform. I'll definitely go over the specs in any future tablet purchase I make.