Here it comes in Singapore!

4days after shipping from USA, the new all so wanted gadget arrives in my hand. Proudly opening it at 2250 after landing from a trip, I start to open the box as eagerly as kids open their x’mas present…

No surprise, expectations are fulfilled. it is gorgeous….

How does it feel after 24hs ?

A bit heavy to be handled like a book that you carried on the beach but this is undeniable a great high tech piece of computer.

Is the iPad the future of a new kind of computer? Yes. True that it misses a couple of features but it brings more. It brings what laptop brought 20 years ago desktop, a new level of mobility and freedom.

Some USA-only apps

Totally immersed in the iTunes store, I confess I have been buying apps just to try. Some frustrations for the USA-enabled apps like netflix or ABC. Imagine the ABC app where you can watch all episodes of your favorite shows …no more TV needed…

Games

Games…those are more for casual gamers. Some are really great, some fun, some purely nonsensical, the usual mix of games for all. My favorite is dungeon hunter from Gameloft. A real well done Diablo like experience. Yes, Crazy Bird is fun but boring after a while. Yes, Real racing HD is really well done but does not bring the joy of GTA on PSP (however I confess the quality is very impressive)

Marvel apps is a must for all +30 years old who wants to remind the, the old school comic…

Previous apps for iphone are more a random choices of blurry, not working or not acceptable.

Video and pictures

The only moment of tiny pain is to wait impatiently in front of your new toy. It resizes the pictures to your desired format and transfers the video previously purchased. Quality of the videos purchased on iTunes for iPhone is surprisingly acceptable. Pictures quality are excellent with the great slideshow /music features. Navigating iPod has never been so easy

Internet

We know the drill: 75% of websites supports flash and ipad does not.

So this is maybe the only grinding moment of teeth you will have. Yes you can surf instantly and easily but you miss lots of actions. Fortunately for us, vendors will start to release some dedicated iPad apps that will allow consumers to watch their online video or surf differently (New York Times for example)

Despite this, I had a generally very good impression with the function though.

Always online

The main change is online connection. We are reaching here a new level of connectivity where almost all apps I tried requires an online connection to the server. In order to maximize the usage of the iPad, the 3g version seems a must. I will try to hook it up to a 3g-wifi key and let you know.

The best of it : incredibly practical to be carried anywhere, real pleasure to open it and play with it and a more than decent, (was about to say excellent) keyboard that allow you to type, finally, almost like on a regular keyboard.

iPad sets, again, a new bar in consumer electronics. We will review why and how in our next episode.

Gregory Birge