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Depends on the "industry". The only place I've seen them used often is as an electronic note taking device - usually in meetings. For this I think tablets are overkill, a smart-phone would have done just as well. A laptop even better.
In my main industry (Construction Architecture), we are only starting with a new concept where we do electronic Snagging (inspection / comment / approval of physical building) through the use of a tablet. This seems useful due to the photo incorporated into the note-taking, but also since the snag-list can be shared immediately with all concerned parties. Previously we'd be walking about with a camera and a clipboard, then go back to the office to type up the snag-list to email it to the contractor / consultants.
Don't know how it's going to pan out - we've run into some "snags"  on this system ourselves, but thus far nothing impossible to overcome.
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Tablets are consumer devices (or devices for consuming information). When it comes to actually authoring something, you still have to fall back on PCs/Laptops to really accomplish work in an efficient/timely manner. However, because it is a great means to consume information, this is the reason why there is the hype. For example take an average Joe off the street, likely he's just an information consumer. And while this is not a fact, I have a feeling that only one in a thousand will actually be an author of content or applications.
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Agree 100%. That "finger pushing desk" hardly can be used for something important. Well, may be keeping "purchase list" (what is 100000% cheaper to keep on paper). On my job people used it as a "skype phone", but it's not directly corresponds to a job.
I wish this hysteria with tablets calm down and people return to the actual workhorse - simple desktop. 
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We actually use them for one of our products. The rules are a bit strange: we are not allowed to connect them to our corporate network wirelessly. Updating the software can only be done with USB. Demos are on independent networks.
The big problem is demoing them on a big screen. The big screens have DVI or HDMI inputs. The tablets have micro HDMI outputs. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find a micro HDMI to DVI or micro HDMI to HDMI connector of the right sex.
I've also seen tablets being used for reference documents on projects. During system test, we work on an independent network and it takes the place of a laptop for looking up documents whenever there is a query about the ICD. Takes a while to get used to the fingerprints and their batteries last a lot longer than that of a laptop.
As for note taking: they are pretty useless unless you are a one/two finger typist. As a touch typist, I find the on-screen keyboard impossible to use because there is no feedback other than visual. You can't listen, look at something else and type (which is what touch typists do). You have to look at the keyboard and type with your two index fingers (which is what one/two finger typists do).
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