QOTD: Did you get an iPad?

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Shaun

I guess this question is more for those of you outside the US, but did you get an iPad this weekend and what are your thoughts on it?

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22 Responses to QOTD: Did you get an iPad?

  1. gavinfabl says:
    May 31, 2010 at 9:57 am

    Yes, surprisingly. And guess what I’m loving it. Plants vs Zombies and Need for Speed are ace on the iPad. Web, email, calendar and contacts are excellent. Reading books brilliant. Battery life better than 10 hours with ease. Best gadget ever purchased.

  2. Philippa says:
    May 31, 2010 at 10:19 am

    I wasn’t planning on it, but once I had a play I just had to get one. Amazing device.

  3. jah says:
    May 31, 2010 at 11:00 am

    The potential of the iPad is significant. It’ll take me a few weeks before I fully explore the possibilities. I did try the 3G capability was pleased to see a strong signal on o2. A few issues with the web though. Couldn’t use my yahoo web mail as Safari did not recognise the email text area as editable. Also multiple tasking would be a great addition. I often switch between the web and apps such as the FT. Also surprised the quality of the PIM apps.

  4. jah says:
    May 31, 2010 at 11:04 am

    One more comment. Had a nightmare with screen protectors – very difficult to eliminate bubbles. Looks like I’ll have to wait till a quality make is available.

  5. lazyboy says:
    May 31, 2010 at 11:11 am

    “Best gadget ever purchased.”

    I would completely agree on that one.

  6. gavinfabl says:
    May 31, 2010 at 1:59 pm

    Jah , Brando Ultra clear. Got it on with no bubbles. Take 1st layer off first and align with home button to get it level. Carefully and slowly roll on. You will get a few bubbles but with a cardboard squeeZe out to sides and voilà. Finally take top section off to reveal one perfectly applied protector.

  7. Clark Fralick says:
    May 31, 2010 at 3:29 pm

    I love it. Although not a laptop replacement, the iPad is a great device that will only get better.

  8. jah says:
    May 31, 2010 at 3:59 pm

    @Gavin, Brando ordered!

  9. Philippa says:
    May 31, 2010 at 4:03 pm

    @Gavin @Jah – I’m getting one too. The screen is very bad for fingerprints!

  10. lazyboy says:
    May 31, 2010 at 4:37 pm

    I just use my spectacle cleaning cloth for the prints. I don’t find it’s an issue when the screen is actually turned on, except in bright sunshine.

    I’ve never been a fan of screen protectors – to me they always compromise viewing quality and feel. But let me know how the Brando one works out

  11. gavinfabl says:
    May 31, 2010 at 4:48 pm

    Lazyboy , I have always used brando , but in particular the ultra clear as they make no alteration to viewing colours whatsoever. I have one on my iPod touch, my HD2 in fact most devices or touch phones.

    I used the iPad for 2 days prior to fixing the protector, and I had a lot of finger prints, and yes they made no difference in use, but looked ugly with the screen off. I did clean the screen like you with a glass cloth and some spit :)

    Because I have the top end model, A small scratch could be tragically expensive. This is one gadget that due to it’s cost won’t be ugrading if and when a new model arrives. My next phone phone upgrade is a different matter ;)

  12. lazyboy says:
    May 31, 2010 at 4:57 pm

    Spit?!?

    I can see your logic about the screen and scratches – though it’s pretty tough, and people have tried keys and all sorts on it without managing to scratch it.

    I’m going commando on this one, just like my iPhone.

  13. jah says:
    May 31, 2010 at 8:32 pm

    For those that are interested, I also bought the Apple keyboard/dock for the iPad. Lovely little item and probably worth the `ukp55. Third party docks are available for a lot less but then you’d have to buy a BT keyboard for ukp50! The only surprise that you can’t use the arrow keys to navigate up/down on menus and in Safari. Perhaps this will be fixed in OS4.

  14. gavinfabl says:
    May 31, 2010 at 8:39 pm

    I am happy with on screen keyboard but interested in the camera kit and possibly the VGA connection cable.

  15. Philippa says:
    May 31, 2010 at 8:52 pm

    Just tried my old Mac Bluetooth keyboard which worked like a dream. No idea what the battery life hit will be – guess I’ll find out as I go along. The arrow keys don’t work for menus as you say jah. but that doesn’t bother me too much.

  16. lazyboy says:
    May 31, 2010 at 8:53 pm

    My son has been pretty happy with the VGA kit – he runs presentations in Keynote at school.

  17. gavinfabl says:
    May 31, 2010 at 9:05 pm

    Thanks lazyboy, thats good to know, on my list now. Thanks.

  18. Sid says:
    June 1, 2010 at 10:28 am

    I actually went to the Apple store on Monday. I managed not to buy one despite being very impressed. I’m trying all kinds of justifications in my mind to get one but haven’t found a solution yet. I’d want at least 32Gb but 3G doesn’t bother me too much so its £499 that I can’t quite justify.

    Sid

  19. jah says:
    June 1, 2010 at 10:34 am

    @Sid

    this time next year there’ll be lots of good alternatives to the iPad and at a lower price. I can see Android running under the new Snapdragon 1.2Ghz processors being Apple’s main rival.

  20. Howard Tomlinson says:
    June 1, 2010 at 1:26 pm

    Lovely device to use – and after just a weekend of use it makes me feel like the iPhone is a kind of cut down iPad ;)

    Mail and iBooks are fantastic, map browsing is even better.

    Another awesome use is watching UK TV… using iphone.tvcatchup.com – just browse there using Safari, register (free and easy), and then watch most of the UK terrestrial channels in lovely portable large screen. Being able to set it BBC News and wander round the house with it is great for a news addict ;)
    Remember you can set web pages as icons on your home screen with safari – go to the web page you want, tap the “+” in the menu bar, and select the option Add to Home Screen. You can then drag the icon wherever you want just like any other app.

    The BBC iPlayer is great too :D

  21. gavinfabl says:
    June 1, 2010 at 4:18 pm

    Howard , that is a great link, can’t believe how good watching TV is and I have more free view channels on my iPad than my TV.

  22. Alison says:
    June 1, 2010 at 4:40 pm

    TV Catchup is incredibly useful if you’re in UK hotels. Often there will be something you’ll want to watch on a Freeview channel, and many hotels don’t have all those channels available.