It surprised me a little while ago when I clicked on a picture and saw that I could send a picture message. I have iPad 1 wifi. The Messages app seems to work just like the iPhone app for sending text or picture messages. I don't remember setting it up and have yet to check the settings. I had been using TextFree app to send text messages from my iPad via wifi.
You can test it out by sending text messages to your phone for your iPad. I think you might be able to send a text message to an email account. That I'll have to test.
brb
Sending a text to my email address sends the message to the Messages app. Sending a message to my iPhone goes to my iPhone.
bak again.
Check the settings for the messages in Settings. It says that you can send iMessages between iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. You can also change the receive email address. There is also a "Learn More" link in the Settings app for iMessages.
Sent from my iPad using iPF - Peace