Even as the Apple iPad is all set for a weekend launch at the stores, the first reviews are already in. And like the product itself, the first reaction is mixed.
David Pouge, reviewing the product for the The New York Times, has done two separate reviews – one for the tech community which collectively seems to hate it, and another one for regular folks who have taken to it quite well.
In his review for the geeks, Pouge has this to offer: “The Apple iPad is basically a gigantic iPod Touch” and describes it as “a half-inch-thick slab, all glass on top, and aluminium on the back. Hardly any buttons at all — just a big Home button below the screen. It takes you to the Home screen full of apps, just as on an iPhone.”
The much talked-about e-book application fails to excite Pouge. “There’s an e-book reader app, but it’s not going to rescue the newspaper and book industries. The selection is puny (60,000 titles for now). You can’t read well in direct sunlight. At 1.5 pounds, the iPad gets heavy in your hand after awhile (the Kindle is 10 ounces). And you can’t read books from the Apple bookstore on any other machine — not even a Mac or iPhone”.
The New York Times reviewer described the typing experience on the on-screen iPad a painful experience. “When the iPad is upright, typing on the on-screen keyboard is a horrible experience; when the iPad is turned 90 degrees, the keyboard is just barely usable (because it’s bigger). A $70 keyboard dock will be available in April, but then you’re carting around two pieces”. The biggest drawback of the iPad, Pouge feels is the inability to play Flash videos.
In his second review, Pouge writes: “The simple act of making the multi touch screen bigger changes the whole experience. Maps become real maps, like the paper ones. Scrabble shows the whole board, without your having to zoom in and out. You see your e-mail inbox and the open message simultaneously”.
Even the e-reader application, according to Pouge, is going to provide a fulfilling experience. “The new iBooks e-reader app is filled with endearing grace notes. For example, when you turn a page, the animated page edge actually follows your finger’s position and speed as it curls, just like a paper page. Font, size and brightness controls appear when you tap. Tap a word to get a dictionary definition, bookmark your spot or look it up on Google or Wikipedia. There’s even a rotation-lock switch on the edge of the iPad so you can read in bed on your side without fear that the image will rotate”.
With almost 150,000 iPhone apps in the iPad, Pouge says, "The real fun begins when you try the apps that were specially designed for the iPad’s bigger screen”.
He concludes saying that, “For most people, manipulating these digital materials directly by touching them is a completely new experience — and a deeply satisfying one”.
Walter S Mossberg, in his review for The Wall Street Journal has given a thumbs-up to the iPad. He writes:“If you're mainly a Web surfer, note-taker, social-networker and emailer, and a consumer of photos, videos, books, periodicals and music—this could be for you. If you need to create or edit giant spreadsheets or long documents, or you have elaborate systems for organizing email, or need to perform video chats, the iPad isn't going to cut it as your go-to device”.
Impressed with the battery life (a fully-charged battery can last up to 10 hours, which is almost four times of a regular laptop) and the functioning speed of the iPad, Mossberg feels that the iPad has taken browsing experience to an entirely new level -- with a really fast processor, things open, scroll and load in a jiffy.
Gung-ho about the iPad, Mossberg writes in conclusion: “All in all, however, the iPad is an advance in making more-sophisticated computing possible via a simple touch interface on a slender, light device. Only time will tell if it's a real challenger to the laptop and Netbook”.
Till the time you actually manage to lay your hands on one, here’s enough food for thought on the pros and cons of the iPad.
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