As a basic rule of thumb, unless you are very sure of what you are gonna do, buy the latest gadget as it promises the best available now. That having said, if you know your requirements well and the tech specs of your device (iPad in this case), then you can even go for an earlier version. I was debating between the iPad and Kindle as I would be reading books off it, but for purposes of web surfing and Angry Birds

I decided on the iPad. The original iPad is cheaper now, but I video chat with my parents back home often so bought the iPad2.
If e-reading is what you want - try the new Kindle.
For very basic tasks like websurfing, games etc. - iPad is fine.
Anything more, try iPad2.