No knickers in a twist here - just curious how tediously performing a 4-step manual process to save photos one-by-one (up to the 1000 maximum every 30 days) from PhotoStream to the iPad Photo Library is more convenient than simply syncing any number of photos in one action from iTunes (and enabling a backup of them at the same time)?
As shown in Apple's publicity, PhotoStream is primarily a conduit for transferring photos taken on an iPhone or iPad to other devices you own for viewing and to your computer for backup/editing/organising purposes. The master photo library is on your Mac, from where you can sync any number of photos in one action.
Whats the point of the stream if you have to go to iTunes?
The point is to have 1000 of your latest photos automatically 'synced' between all of your devices, automatically for viewing purposes. Plus, it automatically transfers them to the iCloud server ready to be downloaded automatically to your computer. Imagine you're on holiday without your computer, you spend the day taking photos, connect to WiFi in the evening and your photos are safely uploaded to iCloud. So, even if you lose your iPhone or iPad, your photos aren't lost.
The fact that you can't put the pictures into any event or create a new one or add to an album besides camera roll is a bit disappointing.
That's why you manage your photos on your computer in iPhoto or Aperture and then sync organised albums to the Photos app on your iPad via iTunes. The photos you've taken on an iPhone or iPad will automatically appear in iPhoto or Aperture (via PhotoStream over WiFi) ready for you to edit, organise and sync for permanent viewing.
It sounds like you're trying to use PhotoStream for photo organisation and syncing from your computer - which it isn't really designed for (hence the multi-step, convoluted, non-obvious, tedious method of saving photos from PhotoStream permanently).