Apple Ipad Experience

The much-awaited release of Apple’s new device has finally ended. Today, Apple iPad tablet device was released in public and many are eager to test the product. The product really looks interesting but upon conducting my own test of the device, I can say that it failed to impress me. There are many functional applications in iPad, but having a closer inspection on the product will show the similarities it has with iPhone or iPod Touch, just tweaked.

About the Hardware

Apple iPad is only half an inch thick and weighs one and a half pounds. The super slimness is impressive but the downside is that it is a bit heavier for an e-reader. Other e-readers such as COOL-ER and Amazon Kindle 2 are lighter and more comfortable to use with only one hand. iPad’s weight makes it uneasy to carry with only one hand, therefore if you are reading a long story using the device, your hands will easily tire.

The 9.7-inch iPad screen with 1024 x 768 pixel LED backlit display if compared to iPhone 3G appears much dimmer. Specifically, the while color when viewed in the iPad screen looks dull. Even Apple affirmed that the products need to be brighter.

iPad OS

According to rumors, there will be an upcoming release for a new interface for iPad. The OS 4.0 is still to be awaited and judged. But today, iPad is using OS 3.2 which is an operating system designed for iPhone.

Apple not creating a new interface for iPad failed to fulfill expectations. Although there are some improvements in OS 3.1 and 3.2, the look of the operating system does not suit iPad. This is of not doubt because what can we expect from an OS designed for a smaller device such as iPhone to be translated for a bigger device such as iPad. The only thing with the interface that suits with iPad is the touch screen mode. Due to iPad’s wide screen, joystick navigation is not needed. Moreover, icons, images and texts are not as sharp looking on a high-resolution screen of iPad. Apple not improving the operating system for iPad’s visual is a discouraging aspect.

The good side is almost all applications in iPhone looks pleasing when viewed in the relatively large screen of iPad. Most operations like video playback are functioning well in iPad. The other problem with iPad is that it does not support Flash drive. I think this omission is distressing.

Albeit the mentioned flaws of iPad, the photo viewer is in superb condition. Photos viewed in iPad look excellent and the photo application also has multitouch gestures like in iPhone, where you can flick the photo or pinch to zoom it in or out. Although the application is the same as iPhone’s, the one in iPad is much better. In iPad you can create slideshows with different designs and transitions and photos can also be viewed in different ways, such as sorting them by names of people, place or events and you can also create mini thumbnails bars which can be located at the bottom of the screen for easy access. Unfortunately, this feature is only available for photos edited using iPhoto application and will not work together with other imaging applications.

Touch Keyboard

The touch keyboard is another imitation from iPhone, but it is disappointing that there is no letter magnification for keys in iPad. Another missing feature is the haptic technology. Users are not provided with physical or visual information when a key has been pressed. The lack of this technology is unusual because most touch screen devices have this feature. The typing experience in iPad is similar to the old Android.

iPhone Application in iPad

Before iPad was released, there have been many talks about the capability of the phone to work together with iPhone applications. Gladly, they match, but the overall experience is not as good when used in iPhone. I tested the games Oregon Trail and Assassin’s creed in iPad and the pixels are so noticeable. The iPhone applications are viewed in a small window in iPad and the only option to make it bigger is to double the size to fill the whole screen but the effect is that the animation looks pixeled. Even Facebook when opened in iPad looks hazy.

The solutions to these flaws can only be created when developers of iPad actually make applications that fit iPad and not imitate those in iPhone. If only iPad will have optimized applications, 3D games and otherapplications will definitely look and functions better in the device.

The developers still have sixty days to improve these flaws and while many are still waiting for the products, we can just hope that these issues or even some of them will be noticed and fix before the release.

Base on my experience with the product, I was not impressed. But my opinion may still change if there will be changes on the content of iPad. Let’s just wait for the actual public release of iPad.