iPad might not be so bad...

l, not short of the norm, I was seen waiting in line this past weekend to get my hands on Jobs' coveted iPad. A short while later I was tapping and sliding my way around the new App Store as well as some of the other interesting features that it sported. I actually take back some of what I said in my previous post, in which I gave it a 2.5 out of 5.

Although the device doesn't support Flash, I was extremely surprised to find out that some of the internet had prepared for the launch of the iPad and well....Flash didn't seem to be too much of an issue. I went to the New York Times website as well as CNN's to find that they had already changed the way their videos are delivered. Instead of them being Flash, they're embedded MOV files that are easily played with no more hassle. Unfortunately, after checking the sites on my iPhone, (then checking for an update through iTunes to no avail), I found that the update was only for the iPad.

Although there still is no multi-tasking except between native apps, (i.e. music and texting or some combination) there are some bonuses to having such a big screen with only one app at a time. First off, its a big screen. Seriously, it's huge compared to the iPhone of the iPod Touch and its functional too. I discovered increased responsiveness and tracking when I scrolled and played games and such. Second, the screen is gorgeous. I personally would've went with a matte finish on it (for better viewing outdoors) but the gloss brightens all the images and movies I tested, as well as YouTube HD and a clip from Battlestar Galactica that was on the iPad by default.

The UI is definitely something I didn't expect to be so good. I literally had no trouble at all going from app to app, page to page and scrolling around at all. The new Mail layout is fantastic with the ability to delete multiple e-mails at the same time and see them as you queue them for deletion. The Photo app still requires that you use iPhoto for creating your own albums or if you use Windows to sync everything after you organize them in different folders. Getting past that, the Photo layout was simply delightful. You can look at them from a few different ways like usual; album, individual or slideshow. The slideshow has a new setting called Origami which has a fun folding effect and displays multiple pictures on the screen at once without cropping them at all. While going through albums, you can pull your two fingers apart over any of them and see the contents in the album without actually going to it; pull them apart completely and the album opens up and you can pinch to tuck it away and keep browsing. Definitely an improvement over the iPhone/Touch.

The reason the iPad even caught my eye as somehting I'd want to buy was because when I first heard of it, I was in the market for an e-reader and I was severely onsidering Amazon's Kindle DX model for the large screen and capacity. Mr. Jobs then dropped the news and immediately I wanted to see the reader in action and the store it would have to obtain the books from. I was not disappointed in the least. I tested the normal features of an e-reader; text/page color, bookmarking, and (because my favorite author Clive Cussler likes to use maps/diagrams) how well it displayed in-book pictures. Once again I wasn't disappointed. Not only were those items taken care of, organizing your collection and the layout were just great. The iBook store was well done as well. Search by whatever you please and you should find something; Apple has been aquiring publishers like there's no tomorrow. I was very pleased to see that all of Clive Cussler's books were readily available to demo and purchase as well as many others. One thing that caught my eye though was the price of said books, slightly more than Amazon's $9.99 or less for all books deal. Most of CC's were about $12.99 and some I saw were a bit more as well.

I play a lot of games on my iPhone. Right now I'm actually playing Simpson's Arcade and I was playing Call of Duty: WaW Zombies. A great concern of mine was how do I play my favorite games on the hugeness of the iPad. Well its not too difficult at all really. All of your apps that you've poured cash out for will still work on the iPad and most I've discovered have updated for the iPad. Some you may find have different versions with newer and better layouts specifically for the iPad such as Twitterific and I'm sure others will follow. I noted that while playing the Simpson's Arcade on the iPad that there was a little x1/x2 zoom button on the bottom right corner. Tapping that switches between the app's intended size which is iPhone/Touch size and iPad size; surprisingly on the games I tried there were no issues with pixelation from the zoom at all.

All in all I definitely raise my original review of the iPad from a 2.5 out of 5 to a 4 out of 5. I was expecting a lot more than what they had put out but at the same time they made up for their shortcomings with features that are definitely things that are functional as well as look good. I still wish it had a camera and mic for voice notes or just general recording, as well as multi-tasking. I don't know if I'll be getting the original one or if I'll wait for the price to drop but with the V1 being a good device I know I'll be waiting in line with cash in hand for the second one.

-Armand