Hands on with the iPad

Img004_2048x1536So, yes, I know that the web has been full of this over the last few weeks (with only a minor diversion for the next iPhone) and I am late to the game but I only got my first opportunity to get my hands on an iPad today. To be fair there aren’t that many of them in the UK at present. So here it is – my thoughts and pictures of my next gadget.

On seeing it it really does look like an overgrown iPhone. The two are almost identical in design and anyone that has an iPhone will have no difficulty in using an iPad. The first thing that struck me when I picked it up was just how heavy it was. This one had Apples case on it but even taking that into account it is a weighty device. This iPad owner assures me that you get used to the weight but I know that a stand of some description is going to be essential as you won’t want to be holding it for long periods.

In use it is just like the iPhone only snappier. Everything flows much more smoothly and it feels quicker in everything it does. Screen transitions, photo loading etc. are just so quick.

The area where the iPad excels is in its web browsing capabilities. The bigger screen make browsing sites a real delight and I know this is where I will be spending most of my time when I get my own. The additional speed over the iPhone also makes for a better browsing experience. Having used the iPad going back to the iPhone it felt very cramped.

As you can see from the pictures we were using the iPad with my mifi device and it worked very well. There seems to be no reason for me to buy the 3G enabled version of the iPad while I have the mifi which is almost certainly going to be cheaper then an iPad on contract. We also tried out my Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard which also worked well and will be great for those occasions when you have a larger amount of text to enter and don’t want to use the otherwise excellent on screen keyboard.

And the dislikes? Well the weight was a surprise but I would have to reserve judgement until I’ve had a chance to use one longer term. I didn’t like the case but then I have never been a fan of cases anyway, however, it did act as a stand and that is going to be an essential part of its usage. So nothing much really.

When I watched the iPad launch I was unimpressed. I felt that it was just an overblown iPhone and what did I want one of those for? Well the more I have thought about my usage of my iPhone the more I have come to realise that I spend a lot of time on it at home on the sofa browsing the net and the iPad will be perfect for that. Problem is my wife thinks she can see her using one for the same reasons too!

Roll on May 10th.

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