Apple has a history of bringing out path breaking products.All the rest are usually followers/Me too type of products.With the introduction of the Ipad, Apple has lived up to its awesome reputation.Another historical baggage that they have lived up to -they still do not consider India as a consumer market and you will get product launches about a year after it is launched in the rest of the world!
I too got taken in by the Ipad hype and kept going to their website and watched all the demos of the product.At the same time the Ipad 2 was getting ready for a launch in USA in March 2011 and I had to make a business trip to Houston.On the day of the launch I also stood in queue in a Best Buy store to purchase the Ipad 2 .Unfortunately it had a three week waiting period after the booking and what’s more, the store( like most stores across USA) lowered the price of the original IPad by 100 Dollars on the same day.At 399 USD the original Ipad was a steal and I did not let go of the opportunity.
I bought the basic version which is 16 GB one with Wifi only.I was a little worried about Wifi coverage at home but MTNL broadband put this to rest.All you have to do is to replace your wired modem with a wireless one( make sure the replacement is done by MTNL/BSNL) and Wifi will be on the road.
I have now been using this regularly for about a month.The product is amazing but the best part by far is the video playback.Even on the fastest broadband you will have stutters on a PC on’ You Tube’ but this is not the case while watching on Ipad.Not sure if it is something to do with the product or the operating system but you can watch videos just like you watch it on TV.
The other features are well known -touch screen, screen resolution etc.The icing on the cake is the Ipad applets.There are thousands of applets for the Ipad which is where the real power of this gizmo is.For eg the Times of India edition for the Ipad feels better than reading the actual newspaper.Similar is the case with the ICC World cup applet.You want to watch all ten wickets of an innings in 35 seconds -this is the application to go.I am not much of a games man but there are hundreds of free games that can be downloaded.The touch screen keyboard is however not very easy to operate for typing and certainly not with both hands like you would on a conventional keyboard.
Basic web surfing is a breeze and very easy to Navigate.The browser is the Apple standard Opera.There is a bookshelf which looks and feels exactly like your favorite bookshelf at home where you can stack up all the ebooks.
Two main complaints or rather three against the product are the following:
-Nowadays we cannot think of a computer product without a USB drive.The Ipad has none.There was some talk of the Ipad 2 being fitted with a USB but even that does not have any.I suppose Apple consciously wants you to move away from any file transfers through USB.If you have to transfer music, photos, bookmarks etc, it has to be through ITunes( ie you must have Itunes downloaded and installed both on your PC and your IPad).
-No camera, you can use the Ipad like an Ipod and it has the same look and feel but users have been sorely missing a camera on the Ipad. Atleast they could have provided a basic camera like that on a phone.
-Does not run Flash and therefore you will be unable to run some clips from Youtube and other sites which have been recorded on this platform.
To sum it up, the Ipad is a path-breaking product, beautiful for everyday surfing and checking mail, the perfect in between your PC/Laptop and the mobile!Take it to bed at bed-time;you will love it!