I had the same questions as you and when I first bought the N810 the first thing I did was to go to Engadget... it is slow, but its ok. I can scroll while loading but I always prefer to wait.
What I ended up doing is to use the RSS reeder. Engadget sends the full story (like it appears in the first page) as well as pictures. It makes for a much faster browsing.
For video conferencing I use a Gizmo account. It works quite well but you have to ask people to install other software then Skype. Its not a big deal for me, as I only want to use the image with a couple of people.
You can use your tablet as a "hands free" device. It has speakers and microphone.
I travel quite a lot and I can say that using the N810 is really nice. It won't load very fast, and more than 2-3 things at once is combursome due to the small screen/keyboard. But it is very usefull! I can chat without much problem with 2 persons, browse the net, check my email, while listening to music (web radio). The battery is also ok, but I found that I have to turn on the offline mode for the battery not to drain too fast.
I also carry my netbook with me for "real" work. But I use the N810 much more.
Hope this helps!