iPad Hands On: What's It Really Like?

Just like everybody else, we've got a lot of questions about Apple's new iPad, and we'll be answering them in our full review very soon.  We've had a chance to try one out, though, so here are our first impressions ...

The Screen

Is the glossy screen annoying?

OK, so there's a glossy screen but it looks great.  It's not easy for me to admit that: as many of you know, we've spent years trying to encourage manufacturers to use matte displays.  Even for reading text and with lots of direct light sources, the display is good enough to produce first class results.  That's helped along by the fact that the device itself is small enough to move around easily: if a reflection suddenly starts to shine on the screen when you're halfway through a movie, you can tilt it out of the way much more easily than you can with a laptop.

The screen uses IPS technology, which is known for poor contrast.  Is that the case here?

Seriously, the quality of the display really stunned us.  It's accurate, the colours are deep and the contrast is perfectly good enough.  The best example we can show you is this Marvel comic: the picture is absolutely incredible.


We did't notice any problems at all with responsiveness.  At last: a 'laptop computer' with a decent screen!  And it uses an IPS panel, which has wide viewing angles in every directions, unlike the TN panels found in most laptops and digital photo frames which lose contrast when you look at them from the sides and dip to black when you look at them from below.  None of those problems here though!

A 9.7" screen: too big or too small?

It's neither one or the other.  We found the iPad comfortable for surfing the web, reading text and watching video.  It's small enough to be portable, but big enough to give you a good view.  And if you want to look a little closer, you can zoom in or increase the size of the text whenever you want.

Using the iPad

680 grams: how does it feel?

Most netbooks weigh about a kilo, so you'd think that something weighing 700 g would feel light.  Well, it doesn't quite work like that: you put a netbook down on a table to use it, but you have to hold the iPad at arm's length, and it isn't very comfortable to use flat on the table.  If you hold it in two hands, instead of one, you end up with sore fingers.  When we were trying it out, we noticed that everybody else had the same problem: all of the other journalists were shaking their wrists and stretching their fingers out.  The next version of the iPad is going to have to be a lot lighter ...

Is it easy to use?

Yes--incredibly easy!  Even the biggest PC fans will be at home here: running this simple computer with just a single button couldn't be easier.  You never get stuck.  A beginner will be able to get used to it straight away, and anybody who's used a computer before--even if they've never been anywhere near an iPhone--will be able to use it immediately.

Is it fast?

Yes, and it's totally responsive.  The touchscreen display responds instantly to taps, scrolls and multitouch gestures like pinch to zoom or wipes to move from one virtual desktop to another.  Or to put it another way, it's even faster than an iPhone.

How do you hold it?

That's the real big question.  It doesn't seem to work well at arm's length.  If you use two hands, how do you control it?  And if you use just one, it's too heavy.  Laying it flat leads either to sore wrists or leaning over the top of it.  It slides over a cushion, and doesn't look that great resting on your knees.  The main challenge is finding a comfortable position to use it.  We aren't the only ones to complain about this, so we're wondering if version 2 will come with a stand of some sort.

So it's perfect?

Of course not!  We would have really loved a USB port, or at least a memory card reader to look at photos without having to go via a computer.  We would also have complained about multitasking, if it wasn't already slated for version 4.0 of the iPhone OS this autumn.  What it is missing is a forward-facing webcam, which will disappoint anybody that likes video calls, which is by no means everybody.

What can you do with it?

Games

We tried three: a Sudoku puzzle, Real Racing HD and Tinker Bell.  And yes, they all looked great.  But for the time being, we can't see the iPad replacing a portable games console.  Some people have suggested that it will be great for kids, and it's a good size for younger users.  But it's still pretty big for small hands, and don't forget, it's heavy too.


Real Racing HD looked excellent, but it doesn't actually do that much.  The gears are automatic and so is the acceleration, so all you do is brake by tapping the screen and turn left or right by tilting the screen.  It's a clunky interface and we weren't really convinced by it.  Developers will need to work out better ways of exploiting the hardware.  It was actually playing with Google Earth that we found the most fun.

E-book reader

The usual criticism the idea of using the iPad as an e-book reader is that its backlit screen is much less comfortable than dedicated e-books which are much closer to the traditional printed page.  But then again, if you think about it, most people already spend several hours a day reading text from an LCD screen, so perhaps it isn't as bad as all that …


We were keen to try the iPad out, and we reckon we would use it to read books without any problems.  Apple has designed an attractive interface, with a very realistic simulation of turning pages where the previous page's text becomes transparent.  There's a choice of three different sizes of text and you can also adjust the brightness from quiet dark to a setting we thought was far too light.


Is the iPad going to kill the e-book, as some people have suggested?  We're not sure, but the e-book itself has hardly made great inroads into the market.  The iPad is certainly going to shake things up a little.

Magazines

Some magazines look great on the iPad while others are dreadful.  Some publishers have managed to successfully port their content across with a lot of multimedia features.  The US version of Wired looks great, for instance, but French paper Le Monde only offers a very straight-laced PDF.

MP3 Player

Firstly, there's no Cover Flow!  You can see all of your album covers in a grid, and then start playing one by tapping--and that's when things get controversial.  For some people, the audio quality is a pleasant surprise as they were expecting far worse, while for others, it's absolutely unlistenable and headphones are the only option.  One amusing detail is that the iPad vibrates at the same rhythm as the music.

Reading and typing: e-mails and longer documents

Unless you want to buy the external keyboard that's available as an optional extra, you have to type using the iPad's onscreen virtual keyboard.  You can't type with two thumbs like on the iPhone though as the screen is too wide, and it soon becomes obvious that the only way to type is to put it down.

It'll take time to see if we can learn to love typing like this: because you're touching a flat surface rather than pressing keys in, you have to be very gentle.  Tapping your fingers onto the screen takes some getting used to ...

It's a cookbook too ...

 

The iPad is also a virtual cookbook … we loved playing with the Epicurious app.

The iPad in the wider market

Will it replace your computer?

Yes, we think it will.  Not your main computer, though, but a secondary one.  The iPad is perfect for standard web browsing: at 1024 x 768 pixels, you can enjoy just about any website without relying on a mobile version.  It's also great for reading your e-mail, looking at photos, watching video, reading e-books and magazines … the list goes on.  We can also think of plenty of ways for business customers to use it too, either in a shop, for making presentations or taking inventories.  It could also be a great way to introduce be able to technology, or new ways of communicating, to groups that have so far resisted taking the leap.  Whether it's young kids or the very oldest members of society, this new tablet PC has got a big future and is a sign of things to come.

Is it a game-changer?

Let's be honest: this device has got what it takes to change our behaviour--and then some.  It really inspires creativity.  One company that's understood that is Gap, whose app you can see above.  It's rich, varied and completely interactive: in the part you can see above, you can swap tops and bottoms to put together your favourite outfit. 

But do you really need one?

That's where there are still some doubts.  Opinion here in the office is divided too, but there are two big tendencies.

On the one hand, there are power users who can't abide having anything to hold them back who are inevitably be frustrated by the restrictions here.  We've already known people who rushed out to buy an iPad only to be disappointed and end up selling it on a few days later.  It just isn't the most technologically advanced gadget, that's all.

On the other hand, there are some people for whom the iPad will be a second, or even a third computer, and we can see it fitting in much better there.  We can see it changing the way families kit themselves out: after adding a laptop, or two, to the single family PC, will the day arrive where everybody, kids included, has their own tablet?  It's another way to keep driving consumption, but thank goodness the whole things works with WiFi as we'll only need a single printer and Internet connection per house …

Using the iPad is fun, but it's also useful: it can do most of things that most people use their computer for today--browsing the web, communicating with friends and watching video.

So when can I get one?

Apple's website claims a UK launch will be coming 'late April', and given the previous launch of big Apple products like the iPhone on Fridays in time for the weekends, then April 23 could be the big day.

> Buyer's Guides: Our Pick of The Best Products