AppFlow

Like many other Apple Users, I was very excited about the launch of the iPad, and, being a UK Apple User, very annoyed that we had to wait so long for our iPads and pay about £100 more than the Americans.

Despite this, I finally bit the bullet last month and went down to an Apple Store and bought a brand new, 32GB Wi-Fi iPad.  And I love it!

I was, however, in deliberation about buying such a device for a long time.  In this review, I’ll go over a few of my favourite features that will hopefully make the same decision easier for people still undecided about whether to buy one!

Those that hate it:

When I first indicated that I was possibly going to buy an iPad (pretty much back at launch), there were two main things my friends said about why not to get one:

1. It’s basically a huge iPod Touch
2. You won’t use it

Now, I have an iPod Touch and have heard this comparison often – although I believe there is one thing that people fail to see – The iPod Touch is Awesome.  By your comparison, the iPad is hugely awesome!

When addressing the second point, all I can say is: I do use it.  A trick that helped for me was to imagine all of the using it throughout the week, looking for opportunities to.  Sounds a bit fluffy, I know, but it’s worth trying.

Favourite hardware features:

My favourite feature of the iPad has to be, quite simply, that it works any way up!  This was a big disappointment for me on the iPod Touch (my other i-Device).  The home screen works portrait and landscape and, surprisingly useful, upside down!

Another feature I really like is the size.  Somehow, the guys at Apple managed to design this thing to be the perfect size to work with, watch movies on, and still be portable.  It’s also very thin!  Granted, it gives me some annoyance that it won’t fit in a pocket, but on the whole, very impressed with the size.

Software:

I still somewhat dislike the AppStore.  As someone not on a very stable income, I don’t like that spending money is so easy!  I also don’t like that you get stuck with apps that you buy and don’t like/don’t use.  This is probably just me nit-picking.  Despite some hype about “expensive iPad apps”, I’ve found quite a few free apps that are almost better than their paid counterparts.  These shall be covered in future reviews, along with some of the more expensive, yet still awesome, apps!

There are roughly the same built in apps as on the iPhone, except there are less of them, and they’re quite a lot better!

Usability:

I have to say that I am very very impressed with how easy this thing is to use, and in almost any situation!  I can’t say that I was expecting it to be bad, and have since been persuaded otherwise, but it’s certainly better than I expected (and that’s saying something)!

Keyboard

The keyboard is something I particularly wanted to work when I bought the iPad.  I do quite a bit of typing and, while I can’t touch type, I’m not the slowest of typists either.

Though I was satisfied with the keyboard, I wanted to ask the opinion of a really quick typist.  I found one and, after playing with the iPad for quite a while, told me that it couldn’t compare to a proper keyboard, but she preferred it to the one on her netbook.  I think that’s quite good for a product not designed to compete with the laptop, but the netbook.  For on-the-go typing, it really is very convenient.

If the lack of a real keyboard really matters to you, you can connect the Apple Bluetooth wireless keyboard with relative ease.

Overall, iPad is really easy to use in most situations.  I know people who only use their MacBooks for really processor intensive activities now, such as movie editing.

Personally, I still use my MacBook because the screen is bigger and, when plugged into my external monitor also, I feel I work more efficiently on it.  I’m also finding the lack of multitasking on a ‘netbook competitor’ to be a real annoyance.  On my MacBook I can simply exposé between windows whereas on my iPad I have to press the home button and open the app again.

Pet peeves:

I’m sure this is what most people will be wanting to read in an ‘honest, personal review’ of said really nice new technology, but I left it to the end so as not to dwell on the few little annoyances I have with this wonderful device!

1. Angle.  In the Apple Store – you realise how brilliant the iPad is to type on using a beautifully calibrated perspex block with a rubber rim on.  When you get home, You have to type on it flat – which isn’t nice!  You can buy the Apple Case, which does have roughly that angle of prop, but that’s £30 and cheaper alternatives exist.
2. No Multitasking.  I’ve touched on this already… hopefully when iOS4 is released for iPad “This Fall”, this will no longer be a problem.
3. Fingerprints.  I like things to be clean.  Any device that’s unique selling point is that you touch it should expect a build up of fingerprints, but I really am forever cleaning it!  Fortunately, a bit of a wipe with a bog standard, ASDA 3-for-£5, micro-fibre cloth cleans it up nicely!
4. I’m sure there are more… just none I can think of at the moment!

Conclusion

The iPad really is awesome and I love it!  It’s a device that allows productivity on the go without the need to get out your laptop.  Sure, there are some issues with it, but it’s user friendly, really very intuitive and I have to say I don’t regret buying it!

To do some more intense iPad testing, I’m taking it on holiday in a few weeks, and leaving the laptop at home!

I shall also be popping up a few iPad app reviews in future, of any really special or brilliant apps I come across.  Watch this space!