The latest addition to Apple's hardware line-up, the iPad has taken the media by storm, with an unprecedented amount of hype surrounding its launch. The iPad fits between the i Phone and the Mac Book Air, and depending on how you use a computer, it could become your main Mac for accessing the Internet, email, and a wide range of media.
TABLET COMPUTER
iPad
Price Wll only 16GB £429 (£365 ex VATl; 32GB £499 (£424 ex VAT); 64GB £599 (£510 ex VAT); Wifi ant) 3G16GB £529 (£450 ex VAT); 32GB £599 £510 ex VAT); 64GB £699 (£595 en VAT) .
Pros Great for reading books and surfing the web + Fast .
Cons No compelling reason to own one just yet .
Verdict Hie iPad is bursting with potential and books are amazing on it, but most computers can do the same tasks.
Even in the wake of such engineering feats as the unibody MacBook, it's hard not to be impressed by the iPad's solid feel when you lay hands on it. The aluminium case is curved on the back for comfort, while the 9.7in touchscreen display commands your attention. Physical controls around the edge are kept to a minimum, just like on the iPhone, whose mute button is replaced with one that locks the screen orientation. In keeping with other Apple designs, the iPad's
display is framed with black, though this isn't purely for cosmetic reasons. It's wide enough to keep your hands clear of the screen, so that web pages, movies and books remain unobscured.
The iPad weighs just 680g, less than a third of a MacBook, but holding it isn't comfortable for long. We soon ended up cradling it against a forearm when stood up and laid it in our laps when sat down. Consider accessories to make it more comfortable when sat down; a dock for desk use, or something like Apple's combined leather case and stand to stop you hunching over it in your lap. However you use it though, the iPad's dimensions feel nigh on perfectly suited to reading books and browsing the web in your hands, though not necessarily for typing.
The only accessories that come with the iPad are the essential USB to Dock cable, and a mains adaptor. Speaking of charging the iPad, think about how you plug it in. Our
iPad refused to charge from the same mains-powered hub that we use with our iPhone. While it was fine when directly connected to a MacBook, this meant unplugging something else to sync it. Sadly, despite 802.1 in WiFi (a first for an iPhone OS device), there's no wireless syncing.
Equating the iPad to a large iPod touch only holds true to a limited extent It comes with many of the same apps, but the interfaces have been redesigned to make excellent use of the higher resolution. In landscape, Mail looks much more like its Mac equivalent, showing your inbox on the left and a message on the right. In portrait, the screen is narrower, so the inbox gets tucked behind a scrollable pull-down. This is another excellent development of the interface, since it means there's less jumping back and forth between pages as you get on the iPhone. The iPod app also looks more like iTunes on the Mac.
Compared to an iPhone 3GS, it's staggering just how fast and responsive the iPad's apps are, iPhone 4 users won't notice quite the same difference, Web pages appear quickly, thanks to a combination of the hardware capabilities and faster WiFi. Swiping and zooming into them is swift, though in practice we found ourselves needing to do that far less than on the iPhone, because the large 1024 x 766-pixel display makes even small text on many pages clear enough to read when zoomed out.
That's not to say everything runs smoothly. A few third-party apps were slower than Applet own, although the built-'-n apps set the bar extremely high when it comes to performance and they make excellent use of the screen's potential.
The Maps app, for example, is a joy to use on the larger screen, and checking what's in photo albums by spreading fingers apart isn't just fun to show to your friends.
▲ Browsing your music in the iPod app is much closer to iTunes on the Mac than it is to the iPhone.
It's a surprisingly helpful way to find the right album when you've built up a large collection. They look stunning on the in-plane-switching display.
Videos look great too, although the 4:3 aspect ratio means widescreen content is letterboxed. Double-tapping scales the video up, but you can't zoom in by a custom amount to choose how much is cropped at the left and right sides.
We investigated the iBooks app with a selection of books from Apple's iBookstore, and synced books in the ePub format we'd bought elsewhere. We were surprised by just how good they look on the glossy screen, which attracts fingerprints like there's no tomorrow, despite the oleophobic coating. Granted, you'll notice reflections that you wouldn't get on an epaper display, but the text rendering is easy on the eye. The colour display also makes books a pleasure to read. Illustrations look wonderful, and text books that make use of colour-coded text look lively on the screen, rather than being reduced to drab greyscale. However, it's disappointing that you can't tap pictures to take a closer look in full-screen mode.
Some of the iPhone's more widget-like apps have disappeared. Granted, you might check the weather when reading a newspaper in digital form (the USA Today app shows the latest forecast on its front page), but the alarm clock facility is also missing. On the Lock screen, Apple has implemented a new Picture Frame mode,
which seems a waste. If anything, that would have been a logical place to present snippets of information such as the weather forecast, reminders from your calendar, new email alerts or even the latest RSS headlines.
Out of the box, the iPad seems like it's all about consuming media, but don't forget that you can buy more software from the App Store which, to be fair, is no different than buying new applications for your Mac. The on-screen keyboard is presented large enough to quickly write emails when the iPad is laid down. Even so, it's no substitute for a proper keyboard when using the optional iWork apps, partly because it's hobbled by hiding away the number keys, so you have to press another key to get at them. Incidentally, keys in the centre are awkward to reach when holding the iPad with two hands. The good news is that the iPad can be paired with a Bluetooth keyboard, which is the way to go if you want to use Pages or type long emails.
One thing that's now much easier to achieve is retrieving documents from apps on the device. You no longer need to email them or install a server component on your Mac. Just plug into iTunes, which shows you the documents on the iPad and lets you save them directly to your Mac. However, you still can't mount the iPad in the Finder to drag documents from or to it, which is something that third-party apps have done better on the iPhone.
The lack of Flash Player is more of a concern here than on the iPhone and should make you pause for thought before buying an iPad. If any of your activities rely on Adobe Air applications, look carefully for an equivalent on the App Store. If you can't find one, you'll have to opt for a MacBook instead.
Right now, the iPad lacks multitasking, which limits its usefulness as a writing and research tool, yet just days after the tablet's launch, Apple announced that the next version of the OS will add this feature. It's pencilled in for an autumn launch, at which point you'll be able to rapidly switch between tasks by double-tapping the Home button. Apps will save their state, so you can pick up exactly where you left off when returning from Safari to your writing app.
That poses the question of whether you should buy an iPad now or wait. The iPad's licence agreement states that you'll get the next version of the OS for free, but the promised features are small consolation if you're hoping to use this as a lightweight alternative to a MacBook with a scaled feature set.
Before you choose between the wifi and 3G versions, think long and hard about where you'll use the iPad. If you'll frequently go online, we recommend weighing up the cost of WiFi hots pots against data-only tariffs rather than dismissing the 3G version outright. Around your home, the WiFi version will suit you just fine.
The iPad's usefulness will expand with the inevitable onrush of third-party applications that extend its capabilities. If, as it stands, the iPad doesn't fill a gap in what you want to do, it's best to wait and see what compelling software appears on the App Store in the coming months.
Right now, the iPad is best for web browsing and other forms of reading, but that's nothing you can't do on your iPhone or MacBook. Its size and screen resolution are appealing for those sorts of tasks, and if you only make limited use of your Mac's features in both these areas, the iPad is a fine choice. However, even though it does away with physical media altogether, you'll still need a computer to sync your existing media.
Think carefully about the capacity you choose. As a replacement for a MacBook to take on holidays, packed with films and TV shows, the 16GB model could soon prove insufficient. We had just 531 MB free after filling ours with 395 songs (128kbits/sec), 12 videos, 55 photos and 25 applications.
A The aluminium back is curved for comfort, white the trout of the Pad features a 9.7in display, with a thick black border, it's not just decorative, though. It also keeps your hands out of the way of what you're reading.
TABLET COMPUTER
iPad
Price Wll only 16GB £429 (£365 ex VATl; 32GB £499 (£424 ex VAT); 64GB £599 (£510 ex VAT); Wifi ant) 3G16GB £529 (£450 ex VAT); 32GB £599 £510 ex VAT); 64GB £699 (£595 en VAT) .
Pros Great for reading books and surfing the web + Fast .
Cons No compelling reason to own one just yet .
Verdict Hie iPad is bursting with potential and books are amazing on it, but most computers can do the same tasks.
Even in the wake of such engineering feats as the unibody MacBook, it's hard not to be impressed by the iPad's solid feel when you lay hands on it. The aluminium case is curved on the back for comfort, while the 9.7in touchscreen display commands your attention. Physical controls around the edge are kept to a minimum, just like on the iPhone, whose mute button is replaced with one that locks the screen orientation. In keeping with other Apple designs, the iPad's
display is framed with black, though this isn't purely for cosmetic reasons. It's wide enough to keep your hands clear of the screen, so that web pages, movies and books remain unobscured.
The iPad weighs just 680g, less than a third of a MacBook, but holding it isn't comfortable for long. We soon ended up cradling it against a forearm when stood up and laid it in our laps when sat down. Consider accessories to make it more comfortable when sat down; a dock for desk use, or something like Apple's combined leather case and stand to stop you hunching over it in your lap. However you use it though, the iPad's dimensions feel nigh on perfectly suited to reading books and browsing the web in your hands, though not necessarily for typing.
The only accessories that come with the iPad are the essential USB to Dock cable, and a mains adaptor. Speaking of charging the iPad, think about how you plug it in. Our
iPad refused to charge from the same mains-powered hub that we use with our iPhone. While it was fine when directly connected to a MacBook, this meant unplugging something else to sync it. Sadly, despite 802.1 in WiFi (a first for an iPhone OS device), there's no wireless syncing.
Equating the iPad to a large iPod touch only holds true to a limited extent It comes with many of the same apps, but the interfaces have been redesigned to make excellent use of the higher resolution. In landscape, Mail looks much more like its Mac equivalent, showing your inbox on the left and a message on the right. In portrait, the screen is narrower, so the inbox gets tucked behind a scrollable pull-down. This is another excellent development of the interface, since it means there's less jumping back and forth between pages as you get on the iPhone. The iPod app also looks more like iTunes on the Mac.
Compared to an iPhone 3GS, it's staggering just how fast and responsive the iPad's apps are, iPhone 4 users won't notice quite the same difference, Web pages appear quickly, thanks to a combination of the hardware capabilities and faster WiFi. Swiping and zooming into them is swift, though in practice we found ourselves needing to do that far less than on the iPhone, because the large 1024 x 766-pixel display makes even small text on many pages clear enough to read when zoomed out.
That's not to say everything runs smoothly. A few third-party apps were slower than Applet own, although the built-'-n apps set the bar extremely high when it comes to performance and they make excellent use of the screen's potential.
The Maps app, for example, is a joy to use on the larger screen, and checking what's in photo albums by spreading fingers apart isn't just fun to show to your friends.
It's a surprisingly helpful way to find the right album when you've built up a large collection. They look stunning on the in-plane-switching display.
Videos look great too, although the 4:3 aspect ratio means widescreen content is letterboxed. Double-tapping scales the video up, but you can't zoom in by a custom amount to choose how much is cropped at the left and right sides.
We investigated the iBooks app with a selection of books from Apple's iBookstore, and synced books in the ePub format we'd bought elsewhere. We were surprised by just how good they look on the glossy screen, which attracts fingerprints like there's no tomorrow, despite the oleophobic coating. Granted, you'll notice reflections that you wouldn't get on an epaper display, but the text rendering is easy on the eye. The colour display also makes books a pleasure to read. Illustrations look wonderful, and text books that make use of colour-coded text look lively on the screen, rather than being reduced to drab greyscale. However, it's disappointing that you can't tap pictures to take a closer look in full-screen mode.
Some of the iPhone's more widget-like apps have disappeared. Granted, you might check the weather when reading a newspaper in digital form (the USA Today app shows the latest forecast on its front page), but the alarm clock facility is also missing. On the Lock screen, Apple has implemented a new Picture Frame mode,
which seems a waste. If anything, that would have been a logical place to present snippets of information such as the weather forecast, reminders from your calendar, new email alerts or even the latest RSS headlines.
Out of the box, the iPad seems like it's all about consuming media, but don't forget that you can buy more software from the App Store which, to be fair, is no different than buying new applications for your Mac. The on-screen keyboard is presented large enough to quickly write emails when the iPad is laid down. Even so, it's no substitute for a proper keyboard when using the optional iWork apps, partly because it's hobbled by hiding away the number keys, so you have to press another key to get at them. Incidentally, keys in the centre are awkward to reach when holding the iPad with two hands. The good news is that the iPad can be paired with a Bluetooth keyboard, which is the way to go if you want to use Pages or type long emails.
One thing that's now much easier to achieve is retrieving documents from apps on the device. You no longer need to email them or install a server component on your Mac. Just plug into iTunes, which shows you the documents on the iPad and lets you save them directly to your Mac. However, you still can't mount the iPad in the Finder to drag documents from or to it, which is something that third-party apps have done better on the iPhone.
The lack of Flash Player is more of a concern here than on the iPhone and should make you pause for thought before buying an iPad. If any of your activities rely on Adobe Air applications, look carefully for an equivalent on the App Store. If you can't find one, you'll have to opt for a MacBook instead.
Right now, the iPad lacks multitasking, which limits its usefulness as a writing and research tool, yet just days after the tablet's launch, Apple announced that the next version of the OS will add this feature. It's pencilled in for an autumn launch, at which point you'll be able to rapidly switch between tasks by double-tapping the Home button. Apps will save their state, so you can pick up exactly where you left off when returning from Safari to your writing app.
That poses the question of whether you should buy an iPad now or wait. The iPad's licence agreement states that you'll get the next version of the OS for free, but the promised features are small consolation if you're hoping to use this as a lightweight alternative to a MacBook with a scaled feature set.
Before you choose between the wifi and 3G versions, think long and hard about where you'll use the iPad. If you'll frequently go online, we recommend weighing up the cost of WiFi hots pots against data-only tariffs rather than dismissing the 3G version outright. Around your home, the WiFi version will suit you just fine.
The iPad's usefulness will expand with the inevitable onrush of third-party applications that extend its capabilities. If, as it stands, the iPad doesn't fill a gap in what you want to do, it's best to wait and see what compelling software appears on the App Store in the coming months.
Right now, the iPad is best for web browsing and other forms of reading, but that's nothing you can't do on your iPhone or MacBook. Its size and screen resolution are appealing for those sorts of tasks, and if you only make limited use of your Mac's features in both these areas, the iPad is a fine choice. However, even though it does away with physical media altogether, you'll still need a computer to sync your existing media.
Think carefully about the capacity you choose. As a replacement for a MacBook to take on holidays, packed with films and TV shows, the 16GB model could soon prove insufficient. We had just 531 MB free after filling ours with 395 songs (128kbits/sec), 12 videos, 55 photos and 25 applications.
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