The iPad’s battery life is impressive. There’s just no way around it. I was a bit worried about what it would be like on the 3G model, but apparently it’s still awesome:

we put the Wi-Fi model through a web torture test with repeated 1-minute refreshes of a large, completely loaded page for 10 hours and 21 minutes on 50% brightness over 802.11n. Repeating the exact same test on the Wi-Fi + 3G model with 3G turned on and Wi-Fi turned off, the iPad achieved 8 hours and 38 minutes of continuous reloading and displaying

That’s 8 hours and 38 minutes doing a ridiculous test over the 3G network. That means you can probably expect well over Apple’s stated 9 hours for the 3G unit with regular usage. And you’re probably still going to be using this thing in your home on your WiFi more than on the 3G network. 

I think I may have to get this model.