This is all taken from apple's website SAFARI "at a size thats actually readable" This strikes me as an insult to the iPhone and I feel it shows us no other features which make it better than an iPhone So apart from the grid, there are no new features when actually browsing, it is just up sized version of iPhone Safari. Wifi speed is really determined by the wifi where you are. "optional 3G" is a huge increase in price and makes the iPad look worse, but would be quite useful, being able to surf anywhere you want. "Because Safari supports the latest web video and audio innovations in HTML5" but it doesn't support flash, so you can't play any video, or any other flash websites, which is very annoying Syncing bookmarks is very convenient, but can it only be with safari? and any browser has built in search, but can you add bing or custom search engines. Homescreen apps have been around for ages on the ipod touch, so it's not an innovation
You've obviously never tried an iPad with safari. The browser works much better, pages load up much faster, and I can turn it in landscape mode and there's no need to zoom in any pages and focusing is a lot faster when zoomin in different sizes. The search bar and address bar is always there, typing is 100x better, and it feels like a pc web browser than some light version of safari like the one that's on the iPhone. A lot of streaming videos work fine on the web and a lot of web sites are switching over to HTML 5. Soon you'll be able to view Hulu.com, many of the video sites said they would be switching over, on the iPad with many sites you can already stream videos fine on the iPad and it doesn't open in a full window like on the iPhone, many cases it plays on the browser while you're surfing. Hopefully the clunky and resource hog known as Flash will be a thing of the past within a couple of years, with HTML 5 there's no need to run crappy flash anymore for a lot of sites. So unless you've actually used safari on the iPad for a while, you have no place to speak weather you like it or not
ATM I think it is worth it. I bought one for my dad and I played around with one of the ipads at the apple store. I liked the new format of the appstore, and music, etc. it felt a lot more accessible and it was just like itunes. The safari is perfect. Large screen so I can see everything on the screen and still be able to read the print. The keyboard can be awkward, but I got this case that doubles as a holder thing which holds it in the perfect spot for typing. It even has something like word (I don't use macs) so I can even type up a paper on it and send it to my computer to print. I think bluetooth actually works with the computer right? You can even make your own locks screen and background. Everything looks better on it. Played some Real Racing HD on it and it looks pretty damn good. I can see the graphics getting loads better too. I'm dying to try out warfare incorporated or a strategy game on it since I think it'll work out perfectly. It could match up with console RTSs for sure. But once I actually use it some more I won't know if it's worth the price.
The safari browser on the ipad is leaps and bounds better than on the iPhone. I'm using the iPad right now and I honestly enjoy surfing the Internet on the iPad more so than on my laptop. I just leave the iPad near the couch and can quickly look something up in seconds. Apart from the size of the screen, the speed of the iPad is what really makes the difference. There's no waiting for the screen to render and zooming is exceptionally responsive. The battery lasts all day even with extensive use. Having my bookmark bar that is identical to what is on my Mac is great. On my iPhone, I have to navigate through a bunch of menus to find the bookmark I want. Anyone who uses instapaper will appreciate this!
I love mine but I can't recommend the average technology consumer to adopt any kind of first gen device. With that being said, the iPad is something you really need to experience yourself rather than judging the specs and what the device doesn't offer. I was actually somewhat underwhelmed by the iPad unveiling but I had a friend convince me with hers and the instant browsing experience is so much better compared to my iPhone
I honestly thought it was pretty stupid when I first heard about it. Not to say that certain features don't piss me off and detain me from going out right now and getting it (besides the lack of $600), but the strong point here is really the interface and how you interact with it. It's a subtle difference, but when you tap, flick, or pinch something, it feels much more intuitive than moving a cursor, clicking, moving while in mid-click, and letting go. Play Command & Conquer on a Mac or PC, then try the (sadly incomplete) iPad version, and you'll notice the difference. The only thing that keeps it from being a laptop replacement (for a power-user, not someone that just wants to read the news) is really the apps system. Until the apps become more powerful, and there's someway to exchange information between them, it's not really a replacement. Honestly, just go out and play with one, and it'll be evident why we're all craving one but half of us aren't getting one.
