Apple iPad Tablet Review

Applications

As mentioned earlier, the iPad comes with several apps preinstalled. Of these, Maps is the most interesting. You can easily find all the local Chinese restaurants, the movie theatres, or just about anything else. The Wi-Fi version of the iPad uses Wi-Fi triangulation to pinpoint you on the map. The 3G version should be even more accurate as it uses GPS and cellular signals to target your location.

Almost all of Apple’s 150,000 current apps will work with the iPad. That means there is no lack of content for the iPad. Regular iPhone apps appear in a small box on the iPad screen. All those we tried worked seamlessly.

Many of the iPhone apps are being customized to run on the iPad and special iPad only apps are already starting to appear. These apps are especially appealing and we feel that these apps are what will make the iPad a success. Games that take full advantage of the iPad are amazing. They do, however, tend to cost more. For instance Scrabble for the iPhone is $4.99. For the iPad is $9.99. Some will allow you to use the App on both platforms, but at the current time, it is a little difficult to determine which apps you can play on both platforms and which are available for only one.

Apple has made several of their Mac programs available for the iPad. You can purchase three applications from the Apple App Store under the iWorks umbrella, for use on the iPad. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers are available for USD 9.99 each. The presentations, word processing documents, and spread sheets that you create with these programs can be transferred to your computer using iTunes and they can be converted to Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Excel format.

Newspapers and magazines are sure to be a big draw for the iPad in the future. Right now, apps like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today are adequate – and very readable – on the iPad. But they aren’t yet taking full advantage of this platform.

If you get an iPad or know someone who has one, download the Paris Match app, which is currently free. It is in French, but even if you don’t know the language, it is a perfect example of what the iPad can do for a newspaper or magazine. It uses full screen photographs, audio, video, and wonderful transitions, plus a great interface that will have your fingers tapping and your eyes fully entertained. This is the real power of the iPad.

The Marvel comic-book app also was impressive. It was wildly vivid and had great navigation. Another app that we tried was Alice in Wonderland, which features little animations peppered throughout the pages of the book. This is just a little taste of what is sure to be done for the iPad in the future. This was the app for Alice in Wonderland, rather than the book itself. As we shall see a little later, however, reading books on the iPad is another adventure.