Apple iPad (Wi-Fi)

Web-Browsing and E-Mail First, a word about the on-screen keyboard, since the lack of a physical keyboard is probably the biggest difference between the iPad and, say, a laptop or a netbook (aside from those missing USB ports). As someone ipad dock oem who's all thumbs when it comes to iPhone's tiny on-screen keyboard, I wondered if the iPad's larger keyboard would help me master this touch screen typing thing. In a word: Yes. I'm writing this review on the iPad's horizontal keyboard, in which the keys are large and nicely spaced. (The vertical keyboard is a little tighter, but still ipad cover definitely useable.) If it weren't comfortable, I would have abandoned the iPad for my laptop 1,000 words ago. That said, it would have been less comfortable without Apple's $39 iPad case, which helped prop the iPad up in my lap to get the screen at an ideal viewing angle. Other solutions for long data- and text-entry sessions include the $69 Keyboard ipad dock Dock, which props the iPad up and provides a full physical keyboard, or, for iMac owners, the bundled wireless Bluetooth keyboard—which pairs easily and works seamlessly with the iPad. (The Magic Mouse—or any mouse, for that matter—won't work with the iPad.) The biggest bummer about the built-in Safari browser is, of course, the lack of support for Flash video. Sites with Flash animation won't fully load, and Flash-based online video content won't play—so cuddling up on the sofa with the iPad to watch Glee on Hulu isn't happening—at least not now. Getting past this means accepting that you can't have the entire Internet within your reach when you use the iPad. Even so, browsing in Safari is impressive—and fast. I checked out Gmail using the browser before setting up my account in Mail. The screen is large enough that I got a more-or-less full desktop view of my Gmail homepage, and I was on apple peel case Gmail Chat talking with friends within seconds of logging in. My biggest lament: There's no Webcam here, since this screen seems ideal for video chat. In my tests, the New York Times home page fully loaded in about 5 seconds, while other sites with less content, like Pitchfork.com, loaded in about 3 seconds over 802.11g wireless. On an 802.11n network, times were slightly faster. Specifications Email Access Dedicated email app Storage Capacity (as Tested) 64 GB Dimensions 9.6 x 7.5 x 0.5 inches Networking Options 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n Screen Size 9.7 inches Weight 1.5 lb More Hitting the Windows icon Bluetooth headsets in the Safari left-corner toolbar grants one-click access to up to nine sites you've recently visited; just tap on the icon for the window you wish to return to, and it will fill up the entire screen. To close windows, click on the X in the top left corner of that window's icon. Adding bookmarks is a piece of cake, as is typing URLs with the virtual keyboard. Just click in the address bar, and the keyboard will pop up so you can enter the URL. The keyboard disappears once the page loads. I'd rather be surfing on Firefox, but Safari for iPad works so intuitively with the touch screen, it's hard to complain. Setting up accounts in the Mail app is a breeze, and is virtually identical to the process on an ipad keyboard iPhone. The app supports Microsoft Exchange (more on that in a bit), MobileMe (which you have to pay $99 per year to use), AOL, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail—or you can try your luck by tapping "Other" and filling in your account info. Checking my Gmail in Mail rather than accessing my account via Safari had its ups and downs. When I was in Gmail in Mail, I couldn't find a way to chat, though I was able to do that in the Safari version of Gmail. On the positive side, I could download most attachments, and view almost all of them. In Safari, I could only view attachments, but not save them. In the Mail app, any saved photo attachment is immediately added to an album in the iPad's Photos app, which is a nice touch. When I downloaded the template for the Word document I am currently using for this review, the iPad automatically asked if I wanted to convert it to a Pages doc. When I did, I was immediately using a doc that looked exactly like my original Word document. Sending attachments is just as easy, as Pages can also convert your document back to Word when you're finished editing—and you can send via the Email f ipad keyboard case app by just clicking an arrow beneath your document's icon (you don't need to be in Mail). The tight, thoughtful integration of the Mail, Photos, and iWork apps is one of the more impressive features of the iPad. Using Microsoft Exchange in Mail, I was able to easily access my corporate e-mail and have it "pushed" to the iPad. If you want to push your Gmail account, you'll have to use Google Sync to route your account through Apple's Microsoft Exchange connector, which means you can't use Exchange for another account. Each account works on its own, but, just as with the iPhone, you can't have two accounts set up on Exchange simultaneously. AOL, Yahoo, and MobileMe accounts push e-mail independently. Apps, Apps, Apps! There are 12 preloaded apps on the iPad: Calendar, Contacts, Notes, Maps, Videos, YouTube, iTunes, App Store, Safari, Mail, Photos, and iPod. Maps is particularly useful and entertaining: I found every bar and Chinese restaurant in my ipad dock neighborhood in Brooklyn, and got driving directions to my parents' house in Virginia, all in a matter of seconds. If you haven't seen it yet, Maps is basically Google maps with an interactive search feature—you type in "Tex Mex" and arrows will scatter across the map you are viewing, each one clickable with a brief description of that particular restaurant. If you are searching your current location, you will appear as a blue dot, and will receive automatic directions to  ipad stylus whatever destination you choose. The Non-3G version uses Wi-Fi triangulation to pinpoint you on the map, while the 3G version can also use A-GPS and cellular signals to find you. The infinite potential of the iPad rests in the hands of third party app developers, and at review time, there weren't too many  ipad keyboards iPad-optimized apps. At launch, Apple anticipates more than 1,000 iPad apps in addition to the over 150,000 currently available for the iPhone and iPod touch, almost all of which will run on the iPad—they just won't be optimized for the iPad's screen. sim cutter Many of the new apps will be "3D" games, which look pretty fantastic on the big screen. The gaming experience on iPhones is fun, but not always immersive, while iPad's new games have the advantage of screen-size to more fully involve you. Most iPhone apps can run on the iPad, but they won't take advantage of the larger screen. You can tap on the screen to make them larger, but then they're not as crisp. I was able to sample a few that were iphone 4 case designed specifically for the iPad. Among the cooler made-for-iPad apps I tried were the Marvel Comics app, which is a visually-stunning encyclopedia of Marvel's free and pay-for content; Theodore Gray's interactive Table of Elements, with animated graphics and facts—much neater than it sounds; Hasbro's Bluetooth-enhanced Scrabble, stunt car which allows iPod touch and iPhone owners to use their devices as tile trays and the iPad as the main board—when it's your turn, tap the letters on your iPod touch and they appear on the iPad's virtual board; Epicurious, which curates tried-and-true recipes and will walk you through the cooking process and even compile a shopping list; and Real Racing HD, a 3D driving game that can be viewed from above the automobile or from first-person vantage points—the rev of the engine through the internal speaker makes the iPad vibrate as you speed along.