I wanted to write down my thoughts about the iPad, after using it for a few days.

The Good

  • It was fully charged when I unpacked it. This made it very easy to start playing with it.
  • Feels solid and durable. It is not as heavy as I thought it would be.
  • The screen is bright. It works like the iPhone screen, adjusting the brightness depending on the environment.
  • Simple to sync with iTunes, just like an iPod or iPhone.
  • It’s easy to find iPad apps via the App Store link on the iPad.
  • Works like an iPhone/iPod Touch. If you know that system, then this is second nature.
  • Sound from the speaker is good for both movies and music. I don’t know how it would do in a noisy room, but it works in a quiet room.
  • Battery life has been 10+ hours so far.

The NOT So Bad

  • The screen does get fingerprints on it after hours of use. I didn’t notice the fingerprints while looking at the screen directly. But looking at an angle you notice the prints. Easily cleaned with a lint-free cloth.
  • Looking for iPad apps on iTunes - via the computer - is painful. This has since been corrected.
  • The ABC iPad app kept crashing on me while trying to watch a program. This has been addressed by an app update. Though there is a new screen orientation issue.

The Ugly

  • So far it’s good for writing short emails and tweets. But I don’t like doing long blog entries on the touch keyboard. I may need to get a bluetooth keyboard for it
  • Some apps have a single download that work for both the iPhone and the iPad (e.g. Evernote) while others require separate apps to download (e.g. NYTimes ), and others can have three different versions (e.g. 1Password)! Confusing, isn’t?
  • Re-buying addictive games that you have on your iPhone, such as Plants vs. Zombies, can be costly.
  • Buying accessories - a new case, headphones, keyboard - can add to the expense as well.

So that’s my 2 cents for now.