Welcome to the Big Apple

Cool. Sleek. Sophisticated. It looks like Apple have done it again. In the unlikely event that you missed the media frenzy surrounding the launch of Apple’s latest gadget, the iPad, here’s everything you need to know in a nutshell: the oversize-iPhone-that’s-not-an-iPhone is the next Big Thing (and if 3 million sales in 80 days doesn’t convince you than nothing will). Apple has once again created a product that looks good and feels great in your 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. Equipped with a 9.7-inch colour screen, up to 10 hours of battery life, WiFi, optional 3G and a virtual bookstore, all as standard, it may look like an oversized iPhone but Apple’s latest offering gives you so much more. Weighing in at 700g, it’s hefty but not heavy, feeling solid and responsive in the hand and, considering the computing power of the iPad, an impressively slim 0.5 inches thick.

But what was the idea behind the iPad? Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, has stated: “Everyone uses a laptop or a smartphone. The question has arisen lately: Is there room for a third category device in the middle?” Apple certainly believe so. The iPad, therefore, positions itself as something more than the iPhone but not quite a Macbook – a usurper (and successor) to the netbook throne, and possibly a sign of things to come for the entire personal computer market. Like most Apple products, it’s a beauty to behold, but the main ethos behind the iPad is practicality; this is a product you can pick up and walk out of the house with at a moments notice - forgotten are the bulky and cumbersome laptop cases with heavy power leads trailing behind, simply charge up and you’re good to go. No hassle, no fuss.

It is hard to overstate how much fun the iPad is, pages load quickly and smoothly and the colours are vibrant, with a flick of your finger the user interface falls away and you are left to tap, swipe, pinch, poke, prod and stroke your way through, quite literally, thousands of images, applications and videos. There’s something for every mood and for every whim.

The iPad, however, is not without its faults. The inability to multi-task is the major downside to an otherwise solid, all-round product, and has the potential to seriously damage its appeal. It becomes somewhat frustrating when you can’t listen to your latest iTunes playlist at the same time as writing an email, or browse the web while using an instant-messaging app to chat with friends. Like the iPhone, with the iPad it’s one or the other, and it’s at this point you are reminded that what you have in front of you, despite all it’s innovations and potential, just doesn’t have the functionality of a laptop.

But even with this limitation, the iPad is a tempting buy (coming in at just over half the price of the cheapest Apple laptop). Given most criteria, the iPad is everything you could ask for, it neatly combines all the bits you use the most in a laptop, but in a form that’s a little lighter and a lot more appealing. Overall, the iPad is a fantastic (not to mention, addictive) product, which represents, quite literally, hours of fun.

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Categories: Technology (Articles)

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