Now I know I’m about a week late since it’s release, but I finally got an iPad. I was really skeptical when this thing was announced. My first impressions of it was “oh, it’s just an enlarge iPhone.” Boy, am I biting my lips now.
First of all, let’s get all the negatives things out of the way. Apple is notorious for their creative packaging; yet I feel they didn’t really try with the iPad. It almost felt like I was opening an enlarged iPhone box but with a lot of empty space inside. The only things that can be found within the box is the iPad (obviously), wall charger, usb cable, one page basic instruction manual and the usual Apple stickers. The box was so thick, giving me the impression that there might’ve been something under the iPad “container”, but unfortunately there wasn’t. The packaging could’ve definitely been redone to be slimmer.
Next, iPhone/iPod Touch apps on the iPad… not a good translation (majority of them anyway). With its beautifully vivid 9.7-inch LED screen, the iPhone apps are very miniscule. The option to enlarge the running app just makes it look horribly pixilated. You’ll end up re-downloading all the apps for the iPad version anyway –if they’re available. Majority of the HD apps will run you about 10x the amount you paid for on the iPhone, $9.99 on average, but there are plenty of free apps to get started with. Speaking of which, don’t forget to download the iBook Reader with you free copy of “Winnie The Pooh”.
Now let’s get to the good stuff. As I mentioned earlier, the screen is just beautiful. Once you get your hands on some HD apps, this thing really shines. You have the option to add your own background wallpaper to both the dashboard and the lock screen background. The keyboard actually works really well and is very responsive, especially in landscape mode. I found myself typing out an entire email at the same speed as if I were to do it in an actual keyboard.
The speakers can be located on the bottom of the device. The sound is very crisp and clear when listening to music or audio from apps. The headphone jack, mic and power button are all located on the top, and the volume control is located on the right along with a screen orientation lock switch.
Browsing the web on the iPad is a great experience. It’s unique, intuitive and fast. It’s basically like browsing the web on a laptop, minus the ability to view flash media. Just keep in mind that the browser on the iPad is HTML5 & CSS3 compatible, which will soon be competing with flash.
And finally, the battery life. I’ve been using this thing for about 3 hours straight and the battery life is only down to 75-percent. Compared to my iPhone, I feel this is definitely a great improvement.
