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Winnie the Pooh iPad application - Source: ONE News
When the hype ahead of the iPad launch started building, I admit I failed to see what the actual point of an iPad was. I didn't understand why anyone would want something that's not quite a laptop and not quite an iPhone.
My initial reservations over Apple's latest gadget were wiped within 10 minutes of playing with it. The iPad is seriously amazing, as well as being extremely easy to use.
Perhaps the best thing about it, is being able to personalise it with all kinds of applications (apps) to suit your needs. With something like 250,000 apps available, the choices are pretty vast.
Read it on the iPad
The thing that sold me is the books. I had always been against reading books on a screen of any sort but having seen them on an iPad, I've changed my mind.
The books actually look like books and the virtual pages flip visually like pages should. Something you can't do with a real-life book but can on an iPad is change the font and font size to suit.
There are features you don't get from a real-life book - the iPad book tells you how many pages are left until the end, or until the end of the chapter. That's a useful feature anyone reading to children will appreciate.
Speaking of reading to children, there are real advantages to reading kids' books from an iPad. The New Zealand children's classic Hairy Maclary has released an app that is a must-have for any iPad owner with children. Likewise, the Barnaby Bennett book app and probably many more similar.
These children's books allow you to read yourself, have the book read to you, have words a child may be struggling with spelt out, record yourself reading, and colour in the illustrations. And to ensure the book can be truly global, you can even change the language.
The iPad is also great for travelling - you don't have to worry about the weight of books taking up your luggage allowance. And if you need a travel guide for your destination, of course the Lonely Planet can be read on an iPad too.
The iPad has its own "bookshelf" that looks like the real thing. It isn't just a place to store downloaded books though, it's also a great way to keep any pdf documents organised.
The magazine apps are also something to be marvelled at. It makes the magazines totally interactive - users click on a picture or an advertisement and watch a video.
News apps are also a must-have. You can read your news instantly - watch it, listen to it or look at it.
The simple things
There are some simple and yet great little perks to the iPad. For example, if you are watching a video and want to show it to someone sitting opposite you, rather than having to turn it around, you simple flip it over and the image flips so the other person can see it.
Then there are the guilty pleasures, such as the games. You hold the iPad like a steering wheel for some, making them more realistic - even if you do look a little odd. The quality of the videos is impressive and with 10 hours of battery life, there's plenty of time-wasting to be had.
It's the perfect device for entertainment purposes. Browsing the internet, arranging photos, reading books, watching videos, playing games - it's all so easy and in amazing quality. It's not, however ,something you use to do write work reports on, or a university essay (although there is an app for taking university notes which is handy!). It's perfect for consuming, rather than creating content.
Those drawbacks aside, I have done a complete 180 in my opinion of the iPad. Its only downfall? It doesn't have any extra USB ports so you can't plug anything into it. If you want to download pics, you have to do that either wirelessly or by plugging it into your computer.
iPads in NZ: Cost from $800 to nearly $1400,
depending on the model.
Data charges: Vodafone - $20 for 250MB per month
and $50 for 3GB.
Telecom - $18 for 240MB per month, or $29.95 for 500MB. 2GB and 4GB
data plans will also be available.
