Apple iPad review

The iPad has finally landed in the UK and we've bagged one for a test. The launch was put back until the 28th of May while Apple scrambled to manufacture enough units to satisfy US orders, and even now there are still supply problems - orders taken after 13 May have been delayed until the 7 June, for example.

This has all been down to unprecedented UK demand - clearly anybody who thought the iPad's hefty UK price tag meant it was going to fail on these shores has already been proved wrong.

The Wi-Fi-only iPad starts out at £429 for the 16GB version, then goes up to £499 for the 32GB and £599 for the 64GB. You can add another £100 onto the price for the 3G model, but here we're looking at the 32GB Wi-Fi version. If you want to consider the 3G model, check out our iPad 3G review.








So, what is the fuss all about? The iPad essentially revolutionises the concept of a tablet computer. Previously tablet devices addressed a legitimate consumer need (casual, lazy, couch-bound computing), but left most people frustrated with a stylus-driven handwriting recognition system and an operating system that was really designed to be used on a desktop PC.

While it's not the perfect implementation of a tablet computer, the iPad is quite simply the best yet. The use of the iPhone OS and its clever data-entry scheme - virtual keyboard, multitouch gestures and all - turns the iPad into an immeasurably more usable device than any Windows-based tablet PC we've seen.


The iPad is also sleek and portable, sports a palpably speedy processor, and dines on battery power with the appetite of a strung-out celebrity ingénue in emotional distress.




That's the iPad's hardware story - but hardware isn't even half the story. Indeed, what really makes the Apple tablet kick ass are the apps that have been optimised for the platform. The extra screen real estate afforded by the jump from iPhone to iPad opens up a bold new world of user-interface opportunities.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/apple-ipad-681021/review#ixzz0sRgSA3iG








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