Hi,
For me, the iPad was my way in to home recording. I found getting going on a PC really complicated (I'm not particularly technical). I thought of a hardware recorder like you are, and my friend in the band swears by his, but the iPad allows for much more depth in what you can achieve.
You can start with the ultra-easy Garage Band for almost no money, then graduate to Auria which is a full functioning bit of recording software. Tracking is easy with Auria but, as you build experience and confidence, you can take recordings up a level with advanced features and plugins.
The plugins are much more intuitive to use for things like EQ and compression.
I use an iTrack Solo from Focusrite but this only records two tracks at once. You can use lots of different interfaces. I also have a gadget that takes across midi for things like my electronic drums and keys.
I LOVE using the iPad to record. It seems to easily and quickly make nice sounding recordings, but if you get good quality audio into any decent recorder, you should be able to get good results.
Hope this helps.