Apr 10
14
Editor’s note: In the spirit of covering all things mobile, I asked contributing author (and childhood pal) Peter Knowles to write up a review of his first week with the iPad for one of our initial posts to the site. Yes, there are 4 billion iPad reviews already out there, but I wanted to kick off the new site with one of our own. Take it away, Pete!
It’s been 1 week since I received my new iPad and only now do I feel comfortable in writing this review.
Summary
Great device for surfing the web from the living room/kitchen. The iPad is NOT a content creator device, you would not write the next great American novel with the onscreen keyboard, but rather you mostly consume content on this device. Checking the News, retrieving information from the web, updating your Facebook page is made easier and more location accessible than other forms of connectivity. (I have tried reading e-books and surfing the web on a phone/iPod touch, it is possible but it is not enjoyable on these small form factor devices, the iPad is a major step forward when compared to these devices)
Where does this fit in…the date of the iPad introduction will be looked upon, in the future, as the beginning of the death of paper periodicals be it magazines or newspapers (the Amazon Kindle may get this name for the demise of the paper book). The iPad has further opened (blown open maybe) the idea of delivering all content, electronically.
Pros
- Simplicity
- Size/Form Factor
- Ease of Use
- Screen Image
- Speed
- Battery Life
Cons
- Weight – it could be a tad lighter
- App Store – too many apps that are worthless (need to add a 1 minute app trial period before final purchase a’la iTunes music store)
- No Handwriting recognition
- Unknown ruggedness – I find myself being very careful were I leave the unit, how easy or hard can it be damaged? Can the cat step on it? Can it survive a fall from the couch?
Overall 8.5 out of 10.
