Tech with Tom: An Apple iPad review

Editor’s note: Tech with Tom Kirkham is intended to provide practical information about a wide range of electronic products, software and communication issues. Tom has promised to use layman terms, where possible, and to avoid geeky acronyms unless using said acronyms are the build up to an off-color joke built largely around sophomoric innuendo. Seriously, this should be good stuff and it will post on Fridays (barring any breaking news from Steve Jobs or elsewhere in the Tech world). Enjoy.

Some techno-geeks will tell you that the iPad sucks.

“The iPad doesn’t do Flash, it doesn’t multi-task, and it doesn’t have a USB port.”

I say, “So what?”

This is a different type of computer, creating a different category. Apple has rolled up an Internet tablet, an eBook reader, iPod, personal movie and TV show player and email machine in a lightweight, sturdy, and beautiful package that in many ways is more useful than a laptop or a desktop.

Apple released the iPad on April 3, surrounded by the type of media coverage money can’t buy. Television, radio, newspapers (huh?), and of course web sites covered the release of the Steve Jobs “magical” device. Jobs is a master of PR.

I ordered two online from the Apple Store from practically the first minute they were taking preorders. On April 3, a Saturday, I was in my office hoping to see the UPS truck pull up before having to go do my radio show on KWHN at noon.  At about 11 a.m., I heard — then saw — the big brown truck pull up. With the fervor of an 8 year old on Christmas morning, I ran out to the truck with a grin, signed for the boxes, and headed straight to the unboxing. After turning the device on, reality set in.

Powering up the iPad for the first time is a little bit disappointing. You are immediately greeted with a connect to computer message. Nothing can be done until the iPad is connected to a computer and registered. Then it begins syncing everything with iTunes. Being impatient, I stopped syncing my large music collection just so I could actually use it.

I said before that the iPad is a game changer. Now, after using it for 2 weeks, I can confirm that my prediction was correct. Apparently, 500,000 other people think so too, and sales are ahead of schedule. So much so, that international sales were delayed so Apple can get caught up in the U.S.

The iPad is not just a big iPhone. In fact, the touch screen is so natural, the screen so vivid and clear, and the overall design so perfect for consuming web content, that someone hiding in a cave for the last five years not knowing a thing about iPhones, iPods or iPads would naturally assume the iPad came first and the others are mere imitations, compromised with a smaller screen and less than ideal user experience.

Construction is solid. The touch screen is 9.7 inches, with a great resolution of 1024 x 768, lit with a vivid LED backlight. The touch screen must be used with bare fingers, because it uses skin to conduct electricity. Take the gloves off.  The back is a curved aluminum cover that wraps around the edge, creating a small frame around the black touch screen. The touch screen and aluminum cover together create a very stiff device.  The screen automatically re-orients itself from landscape to portrait as you rotate the device just like the iPhone and iPod.

In addition to the common Home, Sleep/Power, volume controls, there is a button to lock screen rotation, which is a thoughtful addition for using the device when laying down. A built-in speaker and headphone jack is provided for sound. The standard Apple power/sync cable is used, but beware, most computers will not charge the iPad – it draws too much power, so it must be plugged into an AC outlet. With 8 hours or more between charges, that is not much of an inconvenience.

Apple’s new A4 processor chip is the GPU. The chip was designed by P.A. Semi, a company Apple purchased to form an in-house chip design department. It runs fast. Faster than the chips used in iPhones and iPods.

When using the iPad, one of the things that is striking when compared to an iPhone is that Apple rewrote the built-in apps to take advantage of the larger screen. Most third party application providers are doing the same thing, although apps written only for the iPhone or iPod render either in the normal 4-inch size, or you can press a button to blow them up to full screen. They become a little less sharp at the larger setting, but they don’t look too bad.

The iPad especially shines at video. Download the free ABC iPad app, and sit back and stream television shows straight to your hand. The video is sharp and smooth. Expect NBC, CBS and others to create their own iPad apps soon. You Tube works great as well, but if you are in the Hulu crowd, you are out of luck until they change their site to non-Flash apps. Through Apple’s iTunes, you can buy and rent movies and TV shows. The Weather Channel app for the iPad is great, especially the radar.

As an eBook reader, the iPad works well too. Not just because of the 8-hour battery life, but because illustrations, pictures, and even the covers of books are shown in full color instead of shades of gray. Another very cool thing is that in landscape mode, iBook convincingly portrays an actual book, rendering pages side by side, and page turns are animated, following your finger as you turn the page. It’s not gimmicky either. Keep in mind though, that the bright color screen washes out in direct sunlight — something the Kindle does not do — making it a less than ideal reader for beach or poolside.
 
Even with the direct sunlight disadvantage, the iPad is likely a Kindle killer. Not necessarily because it is a good eBook reader with a color screen and long battery life, but because it does so many other things as well. Rest assured that Amazon is feverishly working on the next version of their device, the question is how soon can they deliver a new device that competes effectively. The odds are long on that: Amazon would have to build a tablet computer that is a good eBook reader, not an eBook reader with add-ons. In other words, a complete change in product focus and company strategy. The smaller Kindle 2 does have a price advantage of about $240, and presumably Amazon has room to drop the price, so perhaps they can fill a niche as a unitasking device.

The iPad starts at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only model. There will also be a Wi-Fi + 3G model shipping late this month with pay-as-you-need it data access via AT&T 3G service. In the Fort Smith area, the 3G service works very well. The 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G model tops out at $829. If you consider that this device could replace your laptop, the pricing is not bad.

There are many other features that contribute to the great user experience, but once you hold one and use it for 5 minutes, it all becomes clear. In fact, the iPad does so many things so well, it would be tough for me to say it would be right for you, but nevertheless, I would bet the answer would be “Yes.”

Notes on Tom
Tom Kirkham is the publisher and co-owner of The City Wire. Tom also is host of the Tom Kirkham Show on Newstalk KWHN 1320 AM, which airs each Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. He also owns and operates Kirkham Systems, a computer, communication and networking company. Tom has more than 20 years of experience in business and technology, and claims to be a photographer, jazz lover, Cajun food expert and dog rancher.

You can reach Tom at [email protected]