Monday, September 19, 2011

Ipad Review

I played with the most beloved tech product ever, the IPad.

Ooh, Star Trek like tablet is finally here. Its sleek design melted everyone's heart. Beaming however, will remain science fiction.

First, you need ITune to start using it. Can't use IPad without it. No ITune? Gotta download one. Itunes will copy your songs from your computer onto it.

Of course this is slim, ultra portable, starts up fast. Finally, a machine that doesn't require bootup like a Windows machine. (Waita minute, phones are always on too) Excellent battery life, and it doesn't get too hot like some laptops.

It is excellent for web browsing sitting on a sofa. But remember: IPad does not play Flash, or non MP4 formats. Lacking a keyboard is no big problem (the on screen keyboard is nice and responsive). However, there is no cursor, none whatsoever, your finger is your cursor. Select a bunch of text to copy-paste? This will be hard to do. And if you craft an email, there is no way to do an ASCII friendly single quote. Keyboard input will ALWAYS beat screen text input, yes you can buy one from apple.

The standard apps Notepad and Calendar and of course Safari are all awesome.

The self rotating feature may be cool. But I disliked it spins 180 degrees. Sometimes I INTEND to read upside down ok? (as in chess match looking at black pieces). Fortunately it is possible to lock it.

So, the Ipad is excellent for web viewing or ebook viewing (yikes, books are so expensive to download). Excellent for chess (so you never lose your pieces) Yes there are endless apps to play with.

I give it 3 stars (out of 4)

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