This is a gadget and digital media blog, so despite the fact that Apple iPad reviews have been done to death, I feel the need to weigh in with my own initial thoughts after a week with one in our household. My husband is the rightful owner of the new iPad, but he’s been gracious enough to let me spend some time with it.
First of all, there’s no adequate way to describe how well the iPad display works for photos and video. There just isn’t. If you’ve seen anything close up in 3D, it’s kind of like that. The screen isn’t really 3D, but it feels like there’s an extra layer of depth in high-resolution pics and flicks. Because of the touch screen, you also get to interact with photos – zooming in and out, moving pictures around. It’s nothing you can’t do on an iPhone or iPod touch, but the screen size improves the experience exponentially. And Netflix? Forget it. The iPad is a sure travel companion if you’re going anywhere with Wi-Fi. Even if it’s just upstairs to watch a movie in bed.
As good as the iPad display is, it’s a shame more apps don’t take advantage of it yet. Google Earth, for example, only runs at iPhone size, which is extremely disappointing on a 10″ screen. And when I tried out a couple of shopping sites, I was underwhelmed by product shots that seemed to be begging for high-res, 360-degree views. In the New York Times Editors’ Choice app, one enterprising watch manufacturer has claimed all of the apparent ad space with stunning, rich-media display ads. Unfortunately, no other companies have jumped on board, so the same inescapable ads are rotated endlessly. Photos from stories in the newspaper app are generally disappointing too. They certainly don’t live up to what the iPad can deliver.