iPad Review
I grabbed an iPad about a month before its release here in Aus, , so here's a few words from me to you about the stuff that I have found out already that all of you will be finding out over the next few weeks.
Right, lets start from the top shall we. After being messed around all over the place trying to find an iPad here in Australia, it eventually fell to a mate of mine in L.A. who works as a Hollywood special effects guy.. He has an Apple Store at the bottom of his street. Which was handy. He sent me the 32Gb Wi-Fi version. For those who don't know, there are of course 2 main versions - WiFi only and WiFi+3g - the latter being capable of using the 'Cell' network (mobile phone) network to remain permanently connected to the InterWeb.
So, we'll get to the nitty gritty stuff later. When I got my iPad, I thought, yeh, this is kinda cool, but I really don't quite know what I am going to do with it. Which, in a way is the idea.. a brand new product in a brand new market - naturally, we all already know how to use it. I bought it essentially to ensure I had the knowledge needed to back up the service we offer at ZeroThree for our Mac customers. There is nothing to compete with the iPad quite simply Its been tried but never really worked probably due to rushed implementation of poor or unfinished technology by other manufacturers in the PC market... Its not a tablet PC, its not a laptop... o f course, media and other commentators want, and need to pitch it somewhere and call it something 'familiar'. Thing is, it's not familiar and it's not any of the things journo's need to qualify their comments based on a certain 'genre' of techno-product.
Blah blah. Who cares anyway. I love my iPad. I received it in the typical amazing Apple packaging that I'll be sure to keep because it, in itself probably cost me 10% of the price of the iPad itself (!). Plus, if I ever need a step ladder to get to those hard-to-reach places, (such as most of the cupboards in my apartment), it's strong enough to do the trick or function as a breeze block should part of my home decide to collapse.
The iPad is beautifully presented. I plugged it into my Mac using the normal Docking connector, which, sigh-of-relief, has not changed! So all of my existing docking cables all work. The screen sprang to life and is just stunning displaying crystal clear, bright images on a screen at 1024x768 pixels... Eh? Never mind, if pixels aren't your thing, think of it this way.. about 1-2 years ago, that was the standard resolution for a desktop 17" screen and a really good 15" screen - and this thing is about 10 inches in total!... I set up syncing as per my iPhone, let it do its 'thing' and away I went. Initially I found it a bit lively with the screen switching orientation all the time, and then, not being a fan of reading instructions about anything, found this little switch that did the one thing I really needed the iPad to do - lock the screen orientation. Et voila. Problem solved. I left it to charge properly overnight a couple of times to juice it up and make it happy. It definitely worked. Like a Toyota Yaris, buy it, fill it up with fuel once and then fill the fuel filler with cement, sand it back and have it painted the same colour as the car as you'll never need to use it again. You get the drift. Brilliant battery life!
Safari - brilliantly fast - same flaws as the iPhone though and really annoying is its refusal to show anything Flash. If you don't know what that means, its a way of showing neat dynamic content from the InterWeb - the www.zerothree.com.au main menu uses flash to display moving images neatly and the various menu options. So, this menu does not show with a little note from Adobe Flash saying content cannot be displayed. Boo.! That annoys me because the only reason why Flash would not be possible on the iPad and iPhone is as it may compete with the App Store as Flash is able to offer some great games and dynamic content. Anyway, a small flaw, but a little annoying none-the-less. Overall the browsing experience is brill.
eMail. Totally brilliant. I reckon if nothing else, this device is made for eMail and Web (and of course reading publications of all sorts). The email interface has the same intuitive look and feel as Mail for Mac on your normal Mac. It just all works. Perfectly. Screen gestures are familiar as per the iPhone - but far easier. The keyboard that pops up as and when you need it is as usable as a full size mechanical keyboard. And if you get a little scared by this new product, there is a 'proper' keyboard docking station available. I have one and used it for about a day - they realised, What's the point?! And you will too.
Network reception via Wi-Fi is pretty good despite the amount of aluminium used to make the iPad strong and tough and stuff. I have dropped mine twice already - on a solid floor. It's totally fine. Don't drop yours if you can help it. I am just encouraged by how strong it is..
One thing you'll notice is that after a couple of full charges (as mentioned) it will stay on for ages - days. Just remember to turn the screen off. Honestly, I was amazed. Add to that it's lightness, total portability and my MacBook Air is now spending much of its life in its comfy case. So look out for it on the Mac Bargains at zerotheee.com.au shortly! I am not sure iPad has replaced my Air as yet, but I think it will do once Apps are developed that allow me to use it in the same way as my laptop.Time will tell I guess
Well, here we go. There are loads of awesome things about iPad - hardly any of which I've even started to cover here yet, but I'll leave that for some other time.
For a while now, most of us have been forced to be ripped off by Telco's with silly 'Data Plans'... Plans that you cannot roll over minutes if you don't use them, yet allow you to overuse them landing you with massive bills. I currently have 3 x 3g broadband contracts for 1 user. Why? Here's the stupid thing. I have an iPhone, so yes, i have to have a data plan on that to use it. I can 'Tether' that to my MacBook Air when I am out and about and that works great (Tethering is a way to use your iPhones InterWeb connection via USB or Bluetooth). I have a Voda 3g broadband card I had to buy a while back as the iPhone data plan was too expensive for daily use back when I bought the iPhone originally, so grabbed the 3g card for my laptop as it worked out cheaper. I then found our my Voda card doesn't work at Phillip Island where i go for weekenders a fair bit. So I bought a Telstra version. That works fine. And with that, I thought great! I can use either my iPhone to Tether my iPad Wi-Fi via Bluetooth as I do with my MacBook Air, or I can wirelessly share my Telstra connection via Wi-Fi - again, as you can do with any Mac.
Alas, no on all fronts. I find out the iPad will not Bluetooth tether and will only share a Wi-Fi access point connection. So, the only option then, is firstly to buy another iPad with 3g connectivity and, you guessed it, yet another 3g plan. So, maybe my iPad WiFi is committed to Wi-Fi networks only.
Am I bothered? Nope, not at all. iPad data plans are out today so we havent had a good look at them, but I am tipping they will be very, very affordable. Unsure as to how excess usage is going to work, but with Telstra, for example, I would expect they will offer their 'Liberty' plans for 3g access meaning you will never get excess usage charges.. Wouldn't that be great... you may be slowed down to a speed not dissimilar to Kevin Rudd's ability to deliver a clear and concise answer on anything, but, that's better than a $4000 bill at the end of the month that you then have to spend 1.5 years of your life chasing your Telco to have your unfair over-usage charge refunded, - which you ultimately will get refunded, but probably requiring new hair or botox after the ordeal - or both.
So, like I say, I love my iPad. So what else is cool apart from the nuclear power-cell battery type-thing that lasts forever? All I can say is watch a video... read a book... download some iPad Apps - the BOM HD Radar for iPad, Angry Birds, Scrabble, X-Plane... they're some of my fave's but hey, there are so many out there to suit ever taste.. The iPad starts at $629 so I reckon is not a bad deal. It's gonna change mobile technology forvever I reckon. - Darren Froggatt, Dealer Principal, Zerothree.com.au