[Proud2BeRight]

Personally, I believe it is best to hike with a basic digital camera (and perhaps an emergency locator if you will be doing a riskier hike) and completely disconnect from the outside world.

[dfwgator]

For hiking I would suggest a GoPro.

[Yosemitest]

I bought an Olympus TG-3 that says it will load wirelessly to an I-Phone, but I'm not sure about an I-Pad.

Olympus TG-4 16 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Red)

I'm not much of a phone user, but I have aging parents that I need to be able to check in on, and that need to be able to reach me in case of an emergency.
Mostly I want to be able to upload videos to YouTube, and be able to do finances through the internet, and keep my e-mail clean.

[ponygirl]

Where I go camping, there is no phone reception, so my iPhone is useless. The first time I went, I was a little freaked out, but then I realized how nice it was. So I just turn it off and leave it in the car. I do take my kindle, which is great for reading in the tent while listening to the river (and I can read whatever I'm in the mood for, as I usually have about 4 books in progress at the same time, and this way I don't have to cart them all with me). When I drive into town to get ice, I will stop at a little coffee shop and plug in to recharge if needed and just hang out for a couple hours. And I make any calls I need to make then, plus check email.

But you really do need to just unplug sometimes.