[Macworld]

Post your comments for The iPad: Macworld's complete review here

[gplawhorn]

I picked up my iPad this morning at 9 am, drove 2 hours home, set up a song database for my dance band (using Bento), and had a band meeting at 2 pm to set up a playlist for an April 10th gig. What an awesome product. The months to come are going to blow our minds.

[kbradnam]

I can easily imagine that for home use and when travelling, the iPad could replace my MacBook. In that sense, I'm curious as to how much 'greener' it would be. Presumably a day of using a single core device like this would use less power than a day of MacBook use? Just wondering whether this is another way to pitch the product as an 'energy saving' device.

[ChrisLJ]

Nice review Jason, and I also appreciated the video. I'm definitely going to get one, but I'd like to replace my almost six year old iBook first. But, it does still run like a top, so maybe ...

[SFrawley]

Thanks, Jason
My mouth is watering to get a bite of this animal when the 3Gs are out.
For now I will load up on the apps to populate it and watch for the early release promo deals from vendors.
In a way it is very good that the 3G is not out, because I have taxes to do for the next couple weeks and I couldn't force myself to work enough if my iPad was calling me at every turn . . . .

[bvid]

Quote

...if viewing Flash-based content on the Web is a major part of your life—I’m thinking specifically of all the Flash games out there for kids and Facebook users—the iPad is not going to satisfy you.

People who play flash games are either kids or Facebook users? Love the generalisation!

On a more serious note, I think you raise a valid point.

There is little other than flash games that cannot be created using web standards.

[sockimaging]

NO UNIFIED INBOX? Man, that is a huge problem.

[bonesb]

Thanks big time for the review - I'll be re-reading this again soon. I'll look at one next time I visit an Apple Store, but wait until the Rev A devices come out (after being burned too many times by being one of their early adopters, I finally learned my lesson...). This device might just fill in for my aging but still-useful MBP, since I bought a 27" iMac I'm not using the laptop anymore...

[MacTheSpoon]

I have to take issue with a couple things in this review. First, there is no mention that the iPad cannot be used as an e-reader outside, unlike a Kindle. You want to read your iPad at the beach, on your patio, or at the park? Tough.

Second, you wrote, "If you’ve considered buying a cheap laptop to keep around the family room in order to access the Internet, the iPad would fit the bill perfectly." Why? There are many cheap laptops that cost the came but offer much better browsing experiences.

For instance, the Toshiba Satellite L505 costs the same but has a bigger screen than the iPad (15"), runs Flash, lets you download and view any kind of file, offers multiple user accounts, and gives you desktop-class browsers with tabs that don't reload each time you switch between them, private browsing modes, the ability to download any file off the internet and play them, etc. -- the whole nine yards.

It seems to me that the iPad is one of your worst options if you just want to browse the internet from the family room.

[David]

MacTheSpoon, on 03 April 2010 - 03:27 PM, said:

I have to take issue with a couple things in this review. First, there is no mention that the iPad cannot be used as an e-reader outside, unlike a Kindle. You want to read your iPad at the beach, on your patio, or at the park? Tough.

Is this based on experience? Do you own an iPad? Have you attempted to use it as an e-reader in the sun? Reviewers who have done say there is only an problem is you wear certain kinds of sun-glasses; otherwise, the iPad-as-ereader works is quite usable in the sun.

[ChristopherDavisHisle]

I wonder why this is compared to the iPhone when it is constantly referred to as an entirely new category. Wouldn't it make more sense to compare it to the release of the Macintosh? Or the Apple? Those were personal computers when no one thought of needing one in their house.

[Jason Snell]

It's pretty simple - the iPhone is the closest device to this, and they share an operating system.

[probert]

ChristopherDavisHisle, on 03 April 2010 - 05:14 PM, said:

I wonder why this is compared to the iPhone when it is constantly referred to as an entirely new category. Wouldn't it make more sense to compare it to the release of the Macintosh? Or the Apple? Those were personal computers when no one thought of needing one in their house.

It;s comparable to an iphone because it uses a similar limited OS and has similar limited i/o capabilities. It isn't a computer as much as it is a media conduit. This review seems to boil down to - "it looks good" but doesn't do very much very well and we love it. I still don't get it and all I use is macs.

[trip1ex]

Got mine. Big screen makes a big difference. I agree about the iPod player. Feels incomplete. Mail is ok, but has some confusing parts - mailboxes as you said and i kept accidentally moving mail to my sent folder.

I even think safari should be tweaked for the iPad. I mean why do we need this big long address bar? I don't need to see these arcane urls. Plus scrolling through long pages gets tedious. Needs a gesture or tap sequence to page down/up.

Overall your review sums up my thoughts nicely.