Top 7 Features of the Apple iPad

As you are probably aware by now, Apple's newest gadget, the iPad, has garnered some well deserved attention from technology lovers worldwide. I have provided the following guide below [via cnet.com] for you in hopes of giving you some additional insight on the excellence of this device. Here are just a few reasons you should consider investing in the iPad:


1. Everything old is new again

The iPad can be pushed much further than any non-laptop mobile device, including the iPhone. Because of the iPad's extra screen size, default apps such as the Safari Web browser, e-mail, iPod, video, maps, photos, and YouTube all look and behave much more like full-blown applications. The photos app could easily be mistaken for Apple's iPhoto, with its opening view of photos arranged in event-specific stacks. The iPod app looks and behaves like an abbreviated version of iTunes, for better or worse. And the YouTube app plays out like a prettier version of the actual Web site. Paradoxically, the two apps that have changed the least, Maps and the Safari browser, give the most radically different experience thanks to the iPad's big screen.

2. Size is meaningless without grace

Luckily, the iPad has both qualities in equal measure, helped by a new 1GHz Apple A4 processor, capacitive multi-touch display technology, and an integrated Wi-Fi antenna compatible with the latest 802.1n wireless spec. Apps launch within seconds; waking from sleep mode is nearly instantaneous; and even a cold boot-up takes just 18 seconds. Even if your local Wi-Fi network isn't up to 802.11n speeds, the Web-browsing experience often feels faster than on an iPhone or iPod Touch on the same network, simply because you're doing a lot less scrolling and zooming to get to the information you need.

3. The Apple iPad as an e-book reader

The presentation of books on the iPad is gorgeous. Cover graphics and illustrations display in rich color, book pages have a deliberately paper-like tone, and turning pages by tapping or flipping is intuitive. Page turns also render much faster than with e-ink technology, allowing you to quickly flip through pages. Unique features, such as in-book music and video playback (when supported), and one-touch dictionary definitions further distinguish the iPad from its e-reader competitors.

4. Gaming on the iPad

Just like the iPhone and iPod Touch, third-party apps for the iPad are a big deal. Generally speaking, apps made by these developers branch off in every conceivable direction, from cooking recipe journals to Twitter clients. But if there's one type of app that rules over all the rest in both quantity and popularity, it's games. All of the thousands games available for the iPhone and iPod Touch can be played on the iPad, scaled up to fit the screen or played at their native resolution. The more than 21,000 games account for more titles than the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, combined. And those are the games that predate the iPad. In every instance, the iPad-optimized games look and feel radically different from the experience of playing on an iPhone, or even a PSP.

5. MobileMe

Apple's MobileMe service gives iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch owners a way to keep e-mail, contacts, and calendars in sync with their computers without ever having to dock the device. The service runs $99 per year (after a 60-day free trial) and also provides a Web-based photo gallery for your digital photo collection, an iDisk service for storing files remotely, a utility for locating the device if it becomes lost, and a security feature that can remotely erase the device in case of theft.

6. Accessibility features

At first glance, a touch-screen tablet may seem like a poor choice for anyone dealing with a physical impairment, but Apple's pioneering work with improving the accessibility of the iPhone and iPod brings some noteworthy enhancements to the iPad. Visually impaired users may find using Apple's VoiceOver feature a functional method for navigating menus and typing messages and e-mails. As you drag your finger around the display and tap a button, the iPad will read a description of that button. The iPad will also read the text of dialog boxes, the time of day, the status and orientation of the display (locked or unlocked, portrait or landscape), and detail information, such as the battery level and Wi-Fi signals. What's more, it speaks each character as you type a message, and it will suggest auto correction choices. Voice Over can read text messages, e-mails, and even Web pages.

7. Performance

For a product that's between $500 and $900, the iPad smokes. The custom Apple 1GHz A4 processor wields some power, which is most evident in apps that don't depend on the Web, such as photos, iBooks, or games. Hand in hand with the processor speed is the responsiveness of the multi-touch screen, which also manages to dazzle the eye with its sharp 1024x768-pixel resolution backlit by even-toned LEDs. Screen angles are unbelievably good, thanks to the same IPS (in-plane-switching) screen technology Apple uses in its desktop displays. Audio quality is indistinguishable from our trusty iPod Touch, offering a smooth and balanced sound, provided you pair it with quality headphones.


Purchase:

• Apple iPad (16GB, Wifi) [$598.99]

Related Products:

• Apple iPad Case [$62.95]
• iPad Dock [$42.95]