Mike Griffiths

So, the Apple iPad came out a couple of months back. It’s advertised as being “unbelievable price of $499″, which at first glance is pretty unbelievable, as I can get a pretty high spec computer for that price.

However, I’ve had chance to play with them a few times and someone in work has one. As with most Apple products, it looks good. I like most Apple products apart from the computers (had a lot of issues with them in the past and find OSX to be difficult to work with), and the iPad is no exception.

I was privledged enough to have a play with one before they were released. I wasn’t too impressed with it. Ok, it seemed great when I slid the slider across and got to the menu, but that was about it. Because it was pre-release date there were next to no apps for it available, and those that come with it are fairly limiting. I was bored in less than 3 minutes.

I have since played with a few iPads that have been loaded with apps though, and they do, for the most part, seem pretty good. There are a few decent games, some of which have been ported over from standard platforms, others have been made specifically. Command and Conquer, for example, is pretty slick.

As much as I do like the product, I cannot justify buying them. People who own them swear by them, but whenever I ask them when they use them the only answer I get is “on the toilet mostly” – so it seems to be an expensive toilet break. I think I’d rather spend the money on a new laptop that I can take anywhere and run anything on. It probably won’t look as cool, but I’ll be able to run anything I want, wherever I want, and if I want 3G support I can just pay £5 a month for a dongle, rather than the ~£25 that Apple ask.

As with most Apple products, from day dot there have been a large number of iPad Accessories available, things like iPad socks, sleeves, screen protectors, etc. As with any touch screen device I would highly recommend getting a screen protector to try and protect against scratches. These things get grubby and marked very easily, so it is important to try and protect them.