The iPad arrived on my door step earlier this week after taking 5 business days to travel from the US. So far my experiences with the iPad have been pleasant but not mind blowing.
My observations so far
- It is heavy. Both my arms started cramping up after using it for the first 30 minutes. You do get use to the weight after a few more hours.
- The Photos application is by far the best way to show how the iPad shines. Its still early days and I’m sure there will be some phenomenal apps to come.
- Apple have created a closed ecosystem with a walled garden surrounding the applications that they want their users to be exposed to. You cannot install any application on the iPad unless its approved by Apple and available on their app store. If you’re against this sort of thing, the iPad is not for you.
Moving onto the dislikes
- As soon as you power on the iPad it asks to be plugged into iTunes. Once connected to iTunes some sort of activation occurs and away you go. There is no need to sync with iTunes but the activation needs to occur first.
- There is no full iPad support in the app store for non-US residents. You can find iPad apps on the app store through iTunes if you search for their iPhone counter parts. You will be presented with the option of purchasing the iPad version but there is no full browse support yet.
- Syncing of the iPad with iTunes is extremely slow but this could be because I’m using an underpowered netbook. Every picture you sync to your iPad needs to be cut down to iPad resolution and this process is horrendously slow on the netbook. There is also alot of other ‘stuff’ that occurs during the synchronisation and in iTunes 9.1.1 it just displays ‘Syncing iPad’ so I’m unsure of what it’s actually syncing.
- When connected to USB the iPad will not charge unless its a high powered USB port such as the ones that come with the recent Macs. You can charge the iPad with a mains power adapter which has a USB connection. These types of adapters come with the iPhone 3GS.
The likes
- You’ve probably read that the iPad battery life is outstanding. This is for realz.
- The built-in speakers are _good_ enough to listen to music and podcasts. My morning breakfast routine consists of eating oats, drinking coffee and listening to music on the iPad. Whilst working I sit it by my netbook playing podcasts. The speakers are good enough for both types of media consumption.
- The photo viewing app is perfect for showing family and friends photos you’ve taken (although not on the iPad as it has no camera). The slideshow feature coupled with music and different transition modes makes it an ideal device for showing your Nana your latest trip to the beach.
- Plants vs Zombies on the iPad is such an addictive and likeable game its not funny. Looking to blow $12.99 and the next 2 weeks of your life on something. Choose PVZ.
To sum things up, the iPad is not a workstation, netbook or a laptop. Its not something you sit down with and hack a couple of lines of code on. Its not a phone you pick up and call home with. Its not device you can share and pass around with your family or housemates as it does not have multi user support. Its not a business machine which you can create stunning presentations on and spreadsheets with complex macros. Its not a device you can fit into your pocket due to its form factor.
Its a whole new category of device that allows the consumer to touch and manipulate the content that is being consumed. Its an appliance you pick up, touch and consume ‘stuff’ on.
