There has been a lot of hype around the iPad and I have to confess that after watching the original advertisement I was hooked. But was all the hype justified?
On first use if you are an iPhone user there are few surprises. The larger touch screen is truly superb as an interface and the apps load quickly. I was disappointed that the iBook application was not installed by default and it took me a while to realize I had to download it from the app store.
Generally the zoom feature for iPhone apps works well but I am sure that iPad versions will be out for the few that are not available In that form yet.
Pages and keynote especially work well on the iPad. But apple were not kidding when they said that email, calendar and addressbook were fantastic. For me having all my calendar entries laid out on a touch screen makes a lot of sense. As well as being great to look at.
The keyboard will take a little getting used to and I am not sure if I will be able to touch type on it. My hands are just too big.
One disappointment is the small docking station is not compatible with the protective sleeve. I don’t want to keep taking the iPad out of the sleeve so I suspect that the dock will find little use for me unless I pair it with my wireless keyboard.
Overall I am really impresses there are some UI querks that take a little getting used to but the form factor and UI in general more than make up for it.
Tomorrow will be the first day of iPad in a meeting - makes going to meetings much more fun :)