Part I
I was originally going to do this all in one posting, but the more I work with the iPad, the more I realize it’s going to need to be several posts…
Purchase
I didn’t pre-order. I never pre-order. I like to hold something in my hands (yes, even an Apple product,) before I purchase it.
In the interest of full-disclosure, I have to tell you that I was not going to buy an iPad. I convinced myself that Apple had failed miserably with this device, and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Microsoft Courier.
My 90 year old grandma emailed me, telling me that she wanted an iPad. She just switched to a Mac last fall, and has fallen in love with all things Apple. I’m proud of her. I wasn’t sure what she was going to do with an iPad, but she wanted one, so I stopped at BestBuy Saturday morning at about 10:30am to see if I could get one.
Approaching the front doors, I envisioned the chaos I was about to step into. Hordes of rabid Apple fans grappling over the meager stock allotted to non-Apple retailers, screaming, crying, etc. I looked around… Nothing.
I casually walked to the back of the store where I spotted a few people playing with the display units. A BestBuy sales guy walked up to me and asked me if I needed help.
“Got any left in stock?” I asked.
“Sure–just step over there.” He gestured towards a small group of people near a cart full of iPads.
Five minutes later I was back in my car, iPad in hand, heading to my grandmother’s house. It was then that I discovered I had left my red riding hood at home. Damnit.
Unboxing
Since this was my grandma’s iPad, I felt she should be the one to open it. But she was too slow, so I took over. Packaging was bleh compared to other Apple products, but packaging is kinda like a prom dress. It looks better on the floor.
Did I say that out loud?
No headphones are included with the iPad. I guess because it’s not primarily a music device? I felt that a set of Apple headphones with the built-in mic should’ve been in the box.
The first time I turned the iPad on, I knew I was in trouble. It suddenly becomes obvious why you want one. It’s so damned pretty.
Setup
Setup is simple enough. Plug it into your computer. iTunes opens up and you’re good to go. I have heard complaints about the fact that you have to plug it into a computer for initial setup. While I certainly understand the thinking behind the complaints, I don’t share them. It’s not a laptop. It’s an accessory. It’s an undefined gadget that allows me to write documents, create spreadsheets and presentations, check email, surf the web, post to Twitter, play games, and read the news. All in a package smaller than my 13” MacBook.
Apps
There aren’t as many default apps on the iPad as there were with the iPod Touch or iPhone. Most of the iPad’s apps look similar to its predecessors’, with the exception of the Address Book and the Calendar. Apple decided to go a little retro here, and made the UIs look like a real-world address book and date book.
You know the datebook I’m talking about. You know the one you had in college that was supposed to help you keep track of your classes, but ended up just being a handy place to drunkenly scribble down girls’ phone numbers? Yeah, that one.
Mail has a new look for the iPad. It makes use of the additional screen real-estate nicely. Functionally, it’s still the same though. It integrates well with Gmail, and does a cool little stacking thing when you select multiple messages.
No default weather, clock or calculator apps. This was kind of annoying to me, as I used the clock app to set alarms for myself. There are third party apps that fill-in, but those will be on a separate post.
Speed
The main thing I noticed about the iPad compared to my iPod Touch is the speed. Every transition just flows. The only hiccups I’ve seen to be network related–when trying to download data–it can only move as fast as the datasets are populated. Hi-resolution video plays flawlessly, apps open smoothly and quickly.
Rotating from portrait to landscape mode is instantaneous and slick. The keyboard layout in landscape mode is almost good enough to touch type. You hunt-and-peckers out there will love it, though–that’s the method I’ve embraced when typing on this thing. It’s surprisingly fast.
Construction
As soon as I took the iPad out of the box, I was afraid of dropping it. The screen just looks like it wants to shatter. I’m not saying it would, but I pictured it in my mind a million times. So I bought a case. The incase leather folio type case is great–even lets you prop it up three different ways for easy viewing or typing.
Battery
Sunday morning, my battery was charged to 100%. If it hadn’t been Easter Sunday, I probably wouldn’t have put the damn thing down at all. But it was, and I felt it was polite to set it down long enough to do the family thing and shovel a plate of food into my mouth. So aside from dinner, it was on, and being used constantly from about 10am until 4am the following morning. I finally got the 20% battery warning at 4am. At that point, my brain was at less than 20%, so I plugged in the iPad and went to sleep. I don’t know what Apple did differently, but this battery rocks.
Complaints
My main issue was the lack of multi-tasking, but it looks like that’s been addressed in iPod OS4.
The lack of a camera is frustrating, but not a deal-breaker for me. Especially once the camera adapter starts shipping. It’s an extra step to connect my regular digital camera to the iPad, but it’s do-able, and will result in higher quality images.
App prices. I love America. And Capitalism. But damn. I haven’t had the thing a week, and I’ve already dropped $100 on apps. I have a feeling pricing will even out eventually, because it seems that right now developers are picking arbitrary numbers. One app with minor functionality will sell for $15, while an seriously cool app with an incredible amount of functionality (SketchBook comes to mind,) sells for $8. Haven’t seen many 99-cent apps… If I’ve paid for the iPhone/iPod Touch version of an app, I don’t want to spend another $10 for the same iPad app. Would be nice to see some kind of upgrade pricing for those of us who have already spent our money on an iPhone version.
Other than that, I really have no complaints.
More
That’s it for now… I think I’ll tackle third-party apps next. I’ve been trying out different Twitter apps and drawing apps and news apps… And I have my favorites.
