I confess: the Saturday morning when the iPad went on sale, I was the second person in line at Best Buy in Santa Rosa. I waited too long to preorder one from the Apple website, so I had a choice of waiting in line at the Apple Store at the local mall or waiting in line at Best Buy. I chose the latter, and from the accounts of those who visited the Apple Store that fateful morning, it was the better choice.
Rumor had it that Best Buy would only have 15 iPads per store, so I took the chance that arriving at 8:30 a.m. would be sufficient. By the time the store opened at 9 a.m., there were less than 10 people behind me, so no retail mayhem ensued. The guy in front of me had been there (alone) since 6 a.m., so I felt pretty good about my timing. He was a software guy who’d developed an “app” for the iPad, but had yet to run it on an actual device (Apple provided a Mac-based emulator for pre-release developers, but it’s just a close approximation to running software on the real thing). I guess waiting in line was the surest way for him to get one as early as possible, but next time, I’ll preorder and wait for the delivery guy to show up.
As it turned out, I didn’t take my own advice (buy the 16GB Wi-Fi-only model). When the doors opened, Best Buy had no 16GB models. They were scheduled to arrive by 3 p.m., and they were handing out vouchers that guaranteed you’d get one. Rather than make a second trip, I opted for the 32GB model (all the models for sale were Wi-Fi only, since the 3G models wouldn’t go on sale until April 30th).
By now, you may have held an iPad in your hand. It’s about the size of a sheet of paper, perhaps a finger-width smaller on every side (the official specifications say 9.56 by 7.48 inches). The box is exactly the same size, which makes seeing the iPad for the first time a special experience: The box appears to contain a sheet of glass with a thin aluminum edge.
If you’re like me, your first impression of the iPad will be that it weighs considerably more than you expect it to. At roughly a pound and a half, it feels solid. A number of gadget websites have taken the device apart to discover that the inside of the aluminum case is occupied by two large batteries, the source of Apple’s claim of 10 hours of battery life for the iPad. My personal experience is that my iPad doesn’t need to be recharged frequently. A full recharge takes several hours, though.
Steve Jobs introduced the iPad last January as “a truly magical and revolutionary product.” The question, now that I actually have one and have had time to use it on an extended basis, is “Is it?”
And the answer is…
Sort of. It’s a lovely piece of hardware. But the iPhone came first, and so you’re less likely to be as impressed as you were the first time you held an iPhone and saw its fluid response to fingertip gestures. Of course, if you don’t own an iPhone…
My big complaints are the weight, which becomes noticeable if you’re holding the device (as opposed to resting it against something) for extended periods of time, and the smoothness of the finish, which makes me worry that it will slip out of my hands. Because of its greater weight, I expect that dropping an iPad will have a worse outcome than dropping an iPhone (my iPhone has survived quite a bit of abuse without much visible wear). I don’t intend to find out.
On the positive side are the speed, screen and apps. The iPad is significantly faster (1.5 to 3 times) than even the newest iPhone, the 3GS. This makes the touch interface very, very responsive, and applications seem to launch instantly. It just feels right.
The screen, though, is the very best part of this device. Due to its LED backlight, the screen seems insanely bright (which you can adjust), although even at full brightness it’s not really usable in direct sunlight. Some people have complained about this, and it’s a valid complaint if you like to sit in the sun while watching movies, reading books or playing games. The resolution is 1,024 by 768 pixels, which is great for watching HD (high-definition) video at 720p. The screen’s pixel density, which you perceive as crispness or sharpness, is 132 pixels per inch (ppi). For comparison, most laptops, like the Toshiba I’m using to write this column, have screens with just under 100 ppi. Perhaps that’s why the iPad display looks so good to me.
Of course, it’s the broad range of downloadable applications (apps) for the iPad that set it apart. The free Kindle App is a must have, since it essentially turns your iPad into a Kindle, giving you access to all the Kindle titles Amazon offers. I’ve been rereading The Count of Monte Christo, which, like many great books that are out of copyright, was completely free. My wife loves playing Sudoku Tablet, and my teenage daughter downloaded Tap Tap Radiation (a listen-and-tap game) within about 15 minutes of my bringing the iPad home. The free ABC-TV app lets you catch up on shows you’ve missed (in my case, Lost and Flash Forward). And since I subscribe to Netflix, I use the free Netflix app to watch both TV and movies. Of course, unlike books or games, streaming video requires that I have a Wi-Fi connection.
Previously I recommended that people buy the Wi-Fi model. The 3G models haven’t been released yet, but I have at least one friend who’s already returned his Wi-Fi only model and is awaiting the 3G model (which are each $130 more than the same-memory-size Wi-Fi models). Since you aren’t locked into a contract with AT&T for data service (you can buy a month’s worth whenever you want), it’s really only $130 more, not $720 ($30 times 24 months). Whether that extra $130 is a bargain depends on how often you’re out of range of a Wi-Fi hot spot. Since most of my usage is in Wi-Fi range, I’ve been happy with my choice (so far).
My brief summary of the iPad is that it’s a beautiful screen you can carry around with you. It’s large enough that standard Web pages (as opposed to ones designed for mobile screens) are quite usable in Safari (the iPad’s web browser). As many others have pointed out, it’s designed for consuming content. The onscreen keyboard is serviceable, but I wouldn’t want to write a column on it.
Is it worth $150 more than a Kindle? Probably not, if all you want to do is read books. And if you need a small computer to work on, buy a netbook. But if you like to read, watch video, or surf the Web, the iPad is terrific.
