Apple iPad Review – First Impressions
So I got the 32GB iPad yesterday too at Best Buy and didn’t really need to wait. In fact there was still at ton at the Apple Store when I went yesterday afternoon to pickup the case for this thing. So after going through the unboxing and powering up, the very first reaction to me it is an oversized iPod touch for the most part especially when navigating around the OS. It does however have some major differences that separate it from it’s handheld counterpart.
It is definitely much better to surf the web and type on this. I’m writing this post on the iPad right now as week speak. The case helps a lot in typing on a flat surface because you can set it to elevate to a more comfortable typing position. I love how you can pretty much view an entire webpage at a more readable screen size where as. You had to zoom and unzoom to different sections on the iPhone.
Another feature that really shines on the iPad is the iBook app. Someone suggested on another website to use Calibre to convert PDF based books and magazines and then just drag them into to the iPad via iTunes and it’s just awesome. I converted a bunch of books and magazines and reading them on the iPad has been an incredible experience whereas reading them on my MacBook Pro or a netbook is cumbersome and awkward. It just feels natural on the iPad.
My gripes on the device are pretty much the same as everyone elses which is the lack of multitasking (which should hopefully be corrected with the next OS update or recent jailbreak) is really annoying especially for a device that is supposedly competing directly with a netbook or laptop. The lack of flash is also a bummer when this was claimed by Steve Jobs as the best browsing experience and it cannot even include that. And finally not having a webcam to videochat sucks too.
I don’t think I will be using this to play mp3s since that’s what I use my iPhone for and how stupid will it look if I took the iPad jogging with me or to the gym? One thing that would have been nice is the ability to play more video file formats such as divx or mkv files like the Archos 5 Internet Tablet can but of course this is expected from Apple to omit this feature. I guess I can live with the Netflix app for now…
Overall the iPad is a decent device for those looking for something to surf the web with or to read ebooks on, but as a netbook replacement or media player, I suggest you save your $500+ and wait for the next generation device or get a thin and light laptop. I am excited that they just recently found a way to jailbreak the iPad which will make the iPad 100X better!
