DesignIf you've ever seen one of Apple's new LED Cinema Displays, you'll recognize the design inspiration for iPad. It's a display housed in a curved, half-inch-thick aluminum shell. The look of the iPad is at once boring and beautiful; in other words, typical Apple industrial design. The iPad has a thick, black bezel surrounding its multi-touch display. This bezel has garnered criticism, but is absolutely necessary as a resting place for thumbs. If the screen went to the edges (which would look very slick, I'll admit), you'd inadvertently touch the screen as you held it. This aspect of the iPad's design is its only aesthetic setback, but a necessary and functional one. The tablet's weight, on the other hand, is a minor utility setback. 1.5-pounds sounds feather light, but it's enough to have you unconsciously shifting your elbow toward a leg or sofa arm for support after several minutes. Considering its speed and utility, the engineering is impressive, but the weight is a bit much. I hope to see lighter models in the future - and have no doubt we will. Hardware controls are few. No surprise there. Below the screen you'll find the ever-present Home button. Along the right side is a volume rocker and a handy screen lock switch. On top is a 3.5mm headphone/headset jack and a hold/sleep switch. The bottom edge houses the standard Dock Connector and a speaker. From a usability standpoint, the only limiting aspect of the tablet is keyboard input. Because of the iPad's larger shape, you can't hold it with one hand a type with a thumb; but if you hold it with two hands, you're holding with fingers and stretch-typing with thumbs, which can at times feel dangerous (in a drop-to-the-floor-shatter-and-cry-like-a-baby sort of way). The most reasonable typing position options are tablet in lap, fingers on touchscreen or hold with one hand, type with the other. Neither are great. Users who want to lasso the iPad into production service will need a hardware keyboard add-on.
The ScreeniPad's screen is a 1024x768 9.7-inch, capacitive, multi-touch IPS LCD display. It's also LED backlit, like many late generation notebooks, which makes for a very vivid display. If you've used a new MacBook Pro, you've seen the amazing screen quality. But also like the MacBook Pro, the screen is highly reflective. When there's a dark area on the screen, or when it's off completely, it becomes a smoky mirror. This can be distracting; watching movies, for example, often results in black bars across the top and bottom. These bars reflect everything. I wish the surface medium were more matte than gloss. One thing that will matte things down a bit are the oils on your fingers. Although coated with an "oleophobic" substance, the screen quickly becomes awash in fingerprints. During a typical day's use, I'll clean the screen with a microfiber cloth at least once times. Oleophobic coating or no, there's probably no way around this other than using capacitive gloves. I don't hold this against Apple, but it is something to keep in mind.
The GutsApple describes the iPad as a "magical" device. That came off as campy when I first read the ad copy, and while it is largely marketing hokum, there's unquestionably a sort of science-fictionesque awe inspired by Apple's tablet. Not in its software or minute-to-minute functions, but with respect to its being a relatively powerful computer in arelatively small, thin, cool and silent shell. There's no heat. There are no fans. There is no drive clicking away as you access data. These aspects, along with the tablet's solidity, make it seem like nothing more than an aluminum slab running software. The iPhone and iPod touch share these qualities, but the iPad's larger size and more computer-like user experience clarify how the ad folks came up with the "magical" description. But however magical it may seem, the iPad is a computer. Inside is a 1GHz ARM processor (the Apple A4 SoC, touted as a breakthrough, but it's really more or less what's already used in high-end smartphones), 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes of flash memory for storage, 256MB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.1 and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, a 24.8Whr Li-Ion battery, and an array of sensors. The Wi-Fi + 3G model also has a transceiver for mobile broadband data service from AT&T Mobility and built-in GPS.
The SoftwareThe iPad runs a variant of the same iOS that powers the iPhone and iPod touch. If you've used either of these devices, you'll be instantly familiar with how to interact with the iPad. Sadly, iPad doesn't ship with all of the software titles included with the iPhone or the iPod touch. There is no voice memo, calculator, stocks, or weather app, though there are many third-party replacements for each in the App Store [ iTunes Link]. Because the 9.7-inch iPad runs the same OS and apps as its 3.5-inch siblings, the majority of software you'll find in the App Store runs within a small window in the middle of the screen. You can enlarge this window through "pixel doubling," but this results in a fuzzy render. There are also tens of thousands of iPad-specific apps which are written to work on the larger screen; in addition there are universal apps containing both the 3.5-inch and 9.7-inch versions of the software. This is great if you have both an iPad and an iPhone or iPod touch, as purchasing the app once allows you to use it on multiple devices. The iPad is blazingly fast, which is immediately apparent when you begin using it. Everything from browsing the Web to checking email to viewing videos is responsive, slick and without lag.
File Management & SyncingiTunes, email attachment tricks or third-party apps are required if you want to get content you already have onto the iPad. File management is one of the truly obvious setbacks of iPad's implementation. Music, podcasts, audiobooks and videos are synced via iTunes. eBook files you may already have can also be transferred to the iPad using iTunes (iPad can view EPUB and PDF eBook files via the iBooks app). But if you're thinking of copying documents or other file types to the iPad via drag-and-drop, think again. Like the iPhone and iPod touch, there is no mass storage option, no file manager, no way to view the bare files stored on the device, or to easily open files with specified applications. So, if you have, for example, a PDF you'd like to move to the device for viewing, you have to jump through several hoops to do so. I understand why Apple wants to keep the iOS simple, but file management seems rather fundamental and is an absolute must for the iPad's notebook replacement possibilities, limited though they are. A couple of third-party file manager apps are worth noting here. Air Sharing HD [ iTunes Link] and GoodReader [ iTunes Link] each provide interesting file transfer and file management solutions. There is still no wireless syncing with iTunes, you'll have to use the included USB cable.
Media: Music, Videos, & BooksThe iPod software on the iPad has been redesigned to take advantage of all the extra screen real estate, and generally speaking media consumption on the iPad is top notch. While some familiar features like Cover Flow are absent, the iPod interface is not a radical departure for Apple. It is more like iTunes on a PC or Mac than the iPod app on the iPhone. You can view content by songs, artists, albums or genres, and you can listen to podcasts and audiobooks. Playlists can also be created on the iPad, which is great. Genius is supported, too. Video is a separate app, and while the interface for videos is pretty bare bones, video files look amazing on the iPad's display. Playback is smooth and beautiful. A+ The exception to the iPad's media domination is its eBook reading utility. Backlit screens just aren't great for reading for long periods at close range. iBooks, the app that allows you to purchase, download and read eBooks on iPad, is a beautiful app with cool effects and fairly easy store navigation, but regardless of the interface, you're stuck with the screen. Reading for short periods is much better, and magazines and news sites/apps look fantastic.
Battery Life (Updated)If you've seen a teardown of the iPad, you know the thing is mostly battery. And that's a very, very good thing. Apple rates the iPad's battery for ten hours of normal use. In my testing, I got 10 hours and 7 minutes before the thing died. Considering what the iPad can do, and the speed at which it does them, this is remarkable. I expected far fewer than 10 hours - maybe 7 - so I was pleasantly surprised. Update 10/16/10: After six months of daily use, the iPad's battery has lost a bit of its longevity. In a recent test, I got just under nine hours of use out of a single charge.
Laptop Replacement? Not Really. Netbook Replacement? Maybe.The iPad really is a different type of device. As has been stated more than once by many observers, its strength is content consumption, not creation. There is an on screen keyboard, and I've managed to type emails and notes pretty quickly on it. But it does not replace a hardware keyboard for substantial typing jobs, and is difficult to position for typing of any kind other than Twitter-length blurbs. There is an optional Keyboard Dock, and you can use Bluetooth keyboards with iPad, but then you're carrying around more than the device itself, so why not have an all-in-one? Only laptop users who rarely type and don't produce much while on the go can be satisfied by the bare iPad as a full-time alternative. The tablet is capable and powerful, but at this point lacks the versatility of a traditional mobile computer. That said, casual netbook users will likely find the iPad a viable alternative; after all, typing on a netbook is no dream either, and the iPad's speed leaves netbooks in the dust.
To 3G or Not to 3GYou can choose an iPad with only a Wi-Fi connection, called the Wi-Fi model, or one with both Wi-Fi and 3G mobile broadband from AT&T, the Wi-Fi + 3G model. So, who needs onboard 3G? A minority of users, I think. The iPad won't fit in a pocket, and you won't be whipping it out while shopping or in the car. Users who always carry a bag and want the iPad to replace a laptop or netbook will likely enjoy always-on Internet connectivity, but most users will get by just fine without it, thank you. There are plenty of apps that help you find free and paid hotspots, and most of these locations - airports, restaurants, hotels, coffee shops - are ideal iPad use venues. Plus, if you have a smartphone, you're already paying for mobile data. Pity iPhone tethering won't be made available for the iPad, at least from what we've been told. Unlimited data from AT&T is no longer an option for new iPad Wi-Fi + 3G adopters, though users who got in while it was still available can continue to pay for it. Today, there are two tiers of AT&T data alotments for the iPad: 2GB ($25/month) and 250MB ($14.99/month). No contract is required.
What's MissingApple's decision not to include expandable storage, while expected, is inexcusable. The company could have released two 16GB iPad versions, one with 3G and one without, and provided a microSD card slot for storage expansion. Rather than doing this, however, a tiered capacity model was adopted to force users with higher expansion needs to buy much more expensive models. Other notable omissions include no voice control/dictation, lack of a front-facing camera (or any camera, for that matter), no user accounts and no support for flash video, which is used by much of the web. Multitasking, something the iPad would benefit greatly from, isn't included, but will be added when iOS 4.2 is made available in the fall.
Revolutionary?My most significant challenge during this long review has been to properly place the iPad on the revolutionary or evolutionary spectrum. At times, it does seem like little more than a big iPod touch. But more often than not, I feel the iPad is best described as a preview of what's to come. Is the iPad a revolution? Only in that it is the first device to steer a new course, a proof of concept. That concept isn't new - tablets have been around for years - but the implementation of iPad does change how we think about tablets and their utility. This 1st generation iPad won't change computing as we know it, but it does hint at the major changes to come.
Conclusion (Updated)Over the course of six months, the iPad has become a major part of my computing life; I use it daily to read the news, check and sort email, browse the web, read full-color ebooks and magazines, work crossword puzzles, edit documents, manage my DropBox, listed to Internet Radio and even cook. The iPad doesn't really solve any new problems; it provides a better way to solve old ones. And there's undeniable value in that. I can't wait to see version 2.0.
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