Surely backing your iPad up to your computer doesn't mean your data is backed up. It means the problem has moved from your tablet not being backed up, to your computer not being backed up. What do I sync my MacBook up to? Maybe the answer there is to stop thinking about one device as being the central hub, and distribute the backup amongst all of them.
I think the problem is more about habit. Android users didn't have a habit of plugging their phones up to their computers (if they are new smartphone users, which most are). Apple's problem is replacing the habit of doing things way X and instead do them way Y. They could just pull the rug out from under their customers and force them to accept way Y (they've done it in the past), but the habits are not just in how you back up your data. It's in how you spend your money, something Apple absolutely wants to protect. If a customer is comfortable spending their money in way X, Apple must make sure the transition to way Y doesn't end in closed wallets.