Is iTunes required for file management on the iPad?
Solution 1:
iPhone Explorer is the best one out there today. By far.
On the iPad itself, only if you jailbreak. Then get iFile.
Solution 2:
iTunes is commonly used to synchronize and manage content (podcasts, songs, videos, notes, calendar, contacts, and books) for iPad owners.
The alternative is to jailbreak which requires some technical knowledge on the part of the owner, may not have the features of the latest released iOS (it takes time for jailbreakers to release new jailbreaks), and is not supported by Apple warranty.