January 27th 2010 was a special day for us Sri Lankans for 2 reasons. One was the announcement of the 6th executive president of Sri Lanka. Secondly, Apple introduced the latest device that will be a big hit among book lovers and internet users. A lot of rumours had been published about this device and I am sure most of it helped in Apple’s marketing campaign. We also had an article on it based on rumours in our November issue (see http://digit.lk/Nov_hardware). Anyhow, let’s now take a look at the real product that Steve Jobs introduced to us on 27th January.

Some might say this is a giant iPhone which can’t make calls! But as Steve Jobs highlighted in his keynote address, he was addressing a device that stands between a Smartphone and a laptop, and the iPad is his solution. A device that can be used for browsing the web, checking emails, going through pictures, watching videos, enjoying listening to music, playing some nice games and most importantly reading eBooks. A device to enjoy during leisure times or on the go.

The Multi-Touch screen is similar to the iPhone but obviously in a larger scale. Hence Jobs reason to state that it’s the best way to browse the web using the most natural pointing device: your finger. Scroll through a page just by flicking your finger up or down on the screen. Or pinch to zoom in or out on a photo.

Due to the device being able to detect the way you hold it, it automatically fits the orientation. This is useful when checking email. In landscape, you get a split-screen view showing both an opened email and the messages in your inbox. To see the opened email by itself, turn iPad to portrait, and the email automatically rotates and fills the screen. No matter which orientation you use, you can scroll through your mail, compose a new email using the large, onscreen keyboard, or delete messages with nothing more than a tap and a flick.

The Photos app displays the photos in an album as though they were in a stack. Just tap the stack, and the whole album opens up. From there, you can flip through your pictures, zoom in or out, or watch a slideshow. Getting photos from your computer or via email is easy with the sync facility.

The iPad specification gives a resolution of 1024x768 and this is enough quality to watch a good video. However I feel that due to its near square screen, viewing widescreen videos would not as worthwhile. Although it gives the option to go widescreen using a double tap, I feel that either a percentage of the video won’t be shown or there will be too much black screen which makes the viewing pleasure a bit on the low side.

As all were expecting, this would be a device that will give the Kindle a run for its money. With the release of the iBooks app, it puts a new dimension to reading books. The device promises to give a sharp, rich color even in low light making it easy to read. Also iPad supports ePub overcoming publishers’ resistance to having to support a proprietary format such as Kindle’s. When compared to a Kindle where you have to press a button to turn a page, the iPad allows you to swipe through pages in a more natural manner.

The iPad has a number of other worthwhile applications including Maps, Notes, Calendar, Contacts which are all useful in organizing workload and for time management purposes.

The device is thin and light when compared to a netbook (I don’t think Steve Jobs would have liked that comparison though, since he feels netbooks are inferior and can be used for absolutely nothing these days). The iPad is 9.56 inches in height and 7.47 inches in width. It weights just 0.7kg and the design of Apple is first class to say the least with the slight curve to the back makes it easy to pickup and comfortable to hold.

So you have an iPad and you are on the move, so how long will the device last until it requires recharging again? That is the basic question we would normally ask for a device such as this which will be used during movement. You would be surprised to hear that the device can last 10 hours!