i am looking at getting an ipad but wondering if i plug in the accessory to attach a camera can i plug a usb stick in to this or a SD card with eg a word document on it to down load and open?
The Camera Connection Kit comes with two adapters: One that reads SD cards and another that provides an USB port. The latter is meant to attach a camera to it, but some people also got it to work with some USB card readers.
Having said that: All you can transfer that way are photos and videos, not word documents. For that, try DropBox or a similar service.
You'll need to buy Apple's Camera Connection Kit (from the Pple Store) to import photos to your ipad from your camera. You can't import documents using the Camera Connection Kit. You'll either need to use iTunes or a third party app (from the app store) to import documents to the iPad.
The camera kit is designed specifically for photos. It will not let you transfer any other kind of data. To move books, documents, etc, you need to sync with your computer using iTunes, access it via the Internet, or send attached in emails.
Illaass, FileBrowser let's you transfer files from the iPad to your computer. And you can transfer files from your computer to the iPad.
What it boils down to... You can be in your living or a coffee shop and transfer files with the iPad. And you can also stream videos from you computer to the iPad.