The iPad can be quite a media-center. It is breath-taking, how versatile this small thing is.

Admitted, the amount of storage is rather limited. But even a very small iPad will serve the purpose.

Offline capabilities

Assuming we do not factor in an LTE or WLAN connection, there is still much we can do.

Dual-Headed USB-Sticks

My concept is based on dual-headed USB-sticks like the Sandisk iXpand. With such sticks you must keep in mind that this storage functionality via lightning-port is always a legacy protocol specific to the brand of stick.

Therefore it is wise to chose a brand stick to at least increase the probability that the software will be maintained over at least a few iOS-Versions.

The software for the iXpand is nice (at least I like it). It can play music and videos and transfer generic files.

I always keep in mind that I might need to use those sticks on a Playstation as well. The playstation brings a few limitations into the concept:

FAT32 - limiting the capacity to 2TB, which should not hurt too much
MP3/320 - while the PS3 can play AAC and even ALAC, there are compatibility and stability issues with these formats. So I stick to good old MP3. There will be no HiFi speakers, anyway.
limited video codecs and containers

Music via Sandisk iXpand

I use MP3 on thes sticks. AAC would be an option, but I put compatibility above performance and quality. The Sandisk software can play directly from the stick.

Music via iTunes

You may use iTunes to put music onto your iPad. As the memory in the iPad is pretty limited, I can recommend this only for your absolute favourites. If you got a lot of memory, like 256GB, consider ALAC for these. With little memory, use AAC.

Videos

Videos are large. Honestly, using the iXpand to play movies, looks like the only thing that makes sense to me.

eBooks

This is about PDF and epub formats. Provided you got a reader, the books that you require actually can be imported from a stick temporarily for use with your readers. This makes sense. You can manage your books with calibre and just copy that library onto an iXpand stick.

Games

Honestly I do not enjoy games on my iPad or iPhone that much. Then again, I am an old man. Younger generations have different habits … so, if gaming on an iPad is for you … go for it!

Online capabilities

These are all too well known. For limited demand, Amazon Prime Music and Prime Video will be sufficient to the cause. For those who want more, you might want to consider an LTE card with a Napster-flatrate or Netflix etc.. If you book such a service beyond Amazon Prime, always check the market for LTE flatrates that exempt the Media services from your LTE-plan’s traffic-allowance.

You might want to check beforehand, if the company you are working for, allows for private use of their (Guest-)WLAN for private purposes. If not stick to offline-content or use LTE.

Likewise, hotels might exclude video streaming for their WLAN policies. This is usually to avoid capacity issues.