Can the iPad really hack it?

Apple's iPad is stimulating a lot of interest in mobility across the hotel industry as a Guest centric self-serve information solution, and rightly so.  Touchscreen kiosk and info' displays are becoming more pervasive in hotels and help alleviate peak-time pressures on reception staff so, if it's possible to make some of these services go mobile, it makes absolute sense.  Why wouldn't you do it?
 
The iPad's durability and capability though in a commercial environment is questionable... surely some degree of "ruggedability" is paramount.  Total Cost of Ownership has to be a consideration too.  And then, there is "desirability" - we all know this exists, especially for the iPad, and it has to be accounted for.  Will it be the towel or the iPad that gets snucked away, I wonder.

I can hear all the nay-sayers right now postulating the failure of mobility in hospitality.  May be.  But all I would say is cast your mind back over the last ten years and see how far technology in hotels has moved on, and into, the Guest space. 
Apple's iPad has certainly raised awareness but it just might be too much of a lightweight...