Here's an excellent Linux Journal Article which talks about using an iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard, to ssh into a Linux host:
Linux Journal Article: http://www.linuxjournal.com/ content/swap-your-laptop-ipad- linode?page=0,0
The Linux host is a virtualized node in "the cloud":
Linode: http://www.linode.com/
And the SSH client for iPad can be found here:
I've tried this app on my iPad and I think this works a lot better than I thought it would!