The Apple iPad
By Steve Swoffer
Swoff Media
www.swofmedia.co.uk

To see this article as it appears in the magazine follow this link http://thegiven.co.uk/issue/apr_may/article/the-apple-ipad

The iPad has landed, we take it for a test drive, when you pick it up you first notice, how light it is, and how thin, weighing only 0.68kg, and only half an inch thick. Our impressions of the device are largely positive Apple has once again built a product that looks good and feels great in the hand, and the familiar user interface, borrowed from the iPhone and iPod touch, is perfectly suited to the bigger screen. The iPad whizzes along, opening applications, re-sizing web pages, and zooming in and out of maps almost instantaneously.

It's a great, fun gaming platform, and it's lovely to view full-size web pages while browsing the internet. Developers, no doubt, are already rubbing their hands with glee about the apps and services they could tailor specifically for this device.
The aluminium backing has a graceful curve, and the smooth glass screen with its attractive black border just begs to be touched. The iPad is well-balanced enough to hold in one hand like a tray of drinks while using the other hand to navigate, or to grip with both hands while you drive the UI with your thumbs, or even to balance on your knees while poking at it with both index fingers. We never felt like we were going to drop it, or that our hands were too small.

The 9.7-inch screen is brightly illuminated by LED backlighting, and the IPS technology kept the images viewable from wide angles without appearing to fade. Anyone used to the Iphone at maximum brightness, will be pleased to know the Ipad backlight is brighter. The multi-touch function works well with the photograph slideshows, but the fingerprint marks that are left behind disappoint.

The new touch-optimised iWork suite is beautifully realised, making it quick and easy -- and, dare I say, fun -- to piece together a spreadsheet or presentation. It also helps to elevate the iPad to more than just a plaything. But in several crucial areas, the iPad falls short of the functionality that would have made this more than just a large iPod touch. The lack of Flash support is a major issue; the iPad's big screen is designed to make the best of multimedia content and the full-screen browsing experience, but the sight of little blue squares dotted around web pages where embedded video should have been just makes you feel like you're being short-changed. The iPad's inability to multi-task could also severely hamper its appeal. It's being pitched as a portable device that you could kick back and use on the sofa at home, but you can't listen to your Spotify playlists at the same time as writing an email, or browse the web while using an instant-messaging app to chat with friends. It's one or other, just as it is on the iPhone and iPod touch, but for the extra money you're paying for the iPad, you expect something more akin to a laptop computing experience.

I love Apple's new e-reader application, iBooks. The virtual bookshelf, on which your digital tomes sit, is an example of Apple design at its best; elegant, simple, well-executed. The reading experience itself was also delightful, with the pages of the virtual books having the sort of patina you would expect to find on a printed novel. Turning pages is achieved with a swiping gesture, or a single tap in the right-hand margins.

In conclusion the iPad is a great device, in which Apple provide all the applications to match your creativity and allow you to complete each task with the minimum of fuss. Whether the launch of the iPad will signal the end of the notebook, for all the impressive versatility of the touch screen I doubt users will be throwing away their traditional laptops for Apples new innovation. A case in point, following their meteoric launch a few years ago, Netbook owners who hailed the mini windows systems are now returning to their old full size laptops. Only time will tell but the iPad could suffer the same fate, from all but the staunchest of Apple technology fan.

 www.apple.com/ipad

A word from Steve Swoffer:
"I aim to create attractive and usable websites that look good, perform well and convert business. You can also follow me on Twitter for more tech news: twitter.com/SteveSwoffer"
www.swofmedia.co.uk

By Steve Swoffer