I bought an iPad 16GB WiFi model last week and returned it to the store just four days later. Having tried it and been disappointed I though I should give my reasons as I would have appreciated reading more honest criticisms of the device before making my purchase.
This review is not to knock the iPad or Apple. I own an iPod Touch and absolutely love the device, maybe that is why I was less than trilled with the iPad.
On the pro side I found the iPad excelled in two features, viewing images and web browsing. Images were exceptionally clear, to be able to pinch and size or re-size an image made viewing a pleasure, and the slide show and/or picture frame feature ruled out any need for a separate device. The sensitivity of the touch screen was remarkable too, the responses were immediate and easy to control.
On the con side my main concern was the very thing that made it so good at web browsing, it's size. I did not buy a case, the extra $40 plus seemed too much, perhaps I should have but to hold the iPad in my hand for more than a few minutes at a time proved uncomfortable and to try using it on my lap like I would a laptop or netbook did not work well. Also most of the apps I have and enjoy on my Touch failed to look as good on the iPad. Of course if I kept them at original size they were fine but why have a larger screen and not use it? Also I found the portrait view less convenient to use, preferring landscape but all or most of the Touch apps do not rotate. One of my game apps, Backgammon, would not run on the iPad and another for some reason ran quite differently. I was not about to buy a whole new set of apps just to try out the iPad functioning. The sound was much better than on the Touch but do I need an iPad to listen to music, what with MP3 players, iPod Touch, cell phones, flash drives plugged into my car stereo, etc. etc. I don't need another music player and again the iPad is too large.
The iPad is a quick information device primarily, at least as far as I am concerned, it was meant to hold my contacts, translate my few language need, converts units from one format to another, tell me the weather, show me news headline, keep me abreast of sport scores and so on, but the Touch serves that purpose equally well despite it's small size, maybe if I were a gamer I might find more uses for the iPad.
I do not mean to turn potential users away from iPads, just look carefully at your needs and try the device in your hand, not always easy when tethered to a store display counter. Strangely, if Apple were ever to consider a slightly smaller size, say half way between the Touch and the iPad I might be interested. Go figure, can one ever be satisfied?
This review is not to knock the iPad or Apple. I own an iPod Touch and absolutely love the device, maybe that is why I was less than trilled with the iPad.
On the pro side I found the iPad excelled in two features, viewing images and web browsing. Images were exceptionally clear, to be able to pinch and size or re-size an image made viewing a pleasure, and the slide show and/or picture frame feature ruled out any need for a separate device. The sensitivity of the touch screen was remarkable too, the responses were immediate and easy to control.
On the con side my main concern was the very thing that made it so good at web browsing, it's size. I did not buy a case, the extra $40 plus seemed too much, perhaps I should have but to hold the iPad in my hand for more than a few minutes at a time proved uncomfortable and to try using it on my lap like I would a laptop or netbook did not work well. Also most of the apps I have and enjoy on my Touch failed to look as good on the iPad. Of course if I kept them at original size they were fine but why have a larger screen and not use it? Also I found the portrait view less convenient to use, preferring landscape but all or most of the Touch apps do not rotate. One of my game apps, Backgammon, would not run on the iPad and another for some reason ran quite differently. I was not about to buy a whole new set of apps just to try out the iPad functioning. The sound was much better than on the Touch but do I need an iPad to listen to music, what with MP3 players, iPod Touch, cell phones, flash drives plugged into my car stereo, etc. etc. I don't need another music player and again the iPad is too large.
The iPad is a quick information device primarily, at least as far as I am concerned, it was meant to hold my contacts, translate my few language need, converts units from one format to another, tell me the weather, show me news headline, keep me abreast of sport scores and so on, but the Touch serves that purpose equally well despite it's small size, maybe if I were a gamer I might find more uses for the iPad.
I do not mean to turn potential users away from iPads, just look carefully at your needs and try the device in your hand, not always easy when tethered to a store display counter. Strangely, if Apple were ever to consider a slightly smaller size, say half way between the Touch and the iPad I might be interested. Go figure, can one ever be satisfied?