Gadget review: Apple iPad

Published on Sunday 30 May 2010 12:10

It's got a 9.7in LED backlit display with a full multi-touch interface. You can browse the internet, check your emails, watch movies, and download thousands of Apps. Of course I'm talking about the iPad – Apple's latest creation aiming to take the world by storm.

It's a lot heavier than it looks – I was expecting a sleekly sculpted slab of loveliness. Weighing the best part of 680g, or five times the weight of the iPhone – I had to take regular wrist breaks.

There is no denying that the iPad is a web wonder. The high resolution screen is pin-sharp and websites pop up quicker than a meerkat.

Swishing, poking and pinching the LED display is ultra-intuitive, and websites fit like a glove on the iPad's perfectly proportioned 1024 x 768 screen. The absence of Flash support is a big mistake though – this means about 50 per cent of internet video clips won't work, plus there's no BBC iPlayer.

If you can get past this, you've got an impressive ten hours of movie watching, web surfing or music listening available on a single battery charge. As you'd expect, iTunes is integrated like an umbilical cord, transforming the iPad into a jumbo iPod at the touch of a button.

Apple has missed a couple of tricks though. The pop-up touchscreen keyboard is responsive, but irksome when using one hand. The screen may be lovely, but it's a finger print magnet. There's also no USB port or webcam.

The iPad is in essence a jumbo, rather pricey iPhone without the phone part. It delivers an incredible internet experience, as long as you don't try to play any Flash videos.

For me, 429 demands perfection, and the iPad falls a little short.

Available from 7 June from.apple.com/uk Prices for the Wi-Fi version from 429 (16GB)

&#149 This article was first published in The Scotsman on Saturday, May 29, 2010