When Apple released the iPad last year with great fanfare and following weeks of rumors, I figured the device would be an excellent replacement for both my well-worn Palm Pilot and my outdated iPod.
But just as I wouldn't want to be the first to buy a home in a new development, see an expensive Broadway show on opening night, or dine in a newly minted restaurant, I planned to let reviewers and early adopters put the new tablet computer through the trials before I shelled out my hard-earned coin.
Hint, Hint
About a year and 15 million iPads sold later, I began dropping not-so-subtle hints to my wife and kids that the revolutionary gadget might make a splendid birthday/Father's Day gift (lucky for me, those dates are in close sequence).
Since the iPad 2 is not only slimmer and lighter but also packs an A4 processor that's twice as fast, double the RAM, the upgraded operating system iOS 4.3, and front- and rear-facing cameras, it was definitely worth the wait; all the more so since I'll probably be using the iPad 2 when there's an iPad 7. (Although I write about the latest gadgets, I don't get free samples.)
The hints paid off and my new iPad 2, complete with Apple's clever magnetic "smart cover," has been in my life for two weeks now.
So how does it live up to the hype? Should you get an iPad for your dad?
To answer the second question first, you probably can't in time for Sunday, because it usually takes a few weeks to get an iPad from Apple's online store (three in my case), and it's hard to find them in stock at retailers. But you could give him an I.O.U for one.
Now for the hype question.
Instant Start
First the praise. As someone accustomed to switching on a laptop or desktop 10 minutes or so before I'm ready to work, I love the instant start-up. Lift the cover and the touchscreen comes to life with your apps obediently ready for action. If your Wi-Fi is already configured, tap Safari and you're on the Internet in seconds.
The gorilla-glass touchscreen feels durable and scratch-resistant, although I'm surely not going to put it through more serious testing other than letting my 10-year-old use it and carry it around the house. Some reports of rough testing say it can be fragile.
Apple's e-mail app is pretty basic compared to, say, Mozilla's Thunderbird, but is perfectly serviceable, as is the calendar and notepad, and there are, of course, numerous better apps available for these functions from the App Store, downloadable in seconds.
Now the gripes. Here are a few things that bother me about the iPad.
? No trash. To remove an unwanted icon from the desktop, you have to hold it down until an X appears and then click it. If you remove it by mistake or change your mind, you're out of luck. The trash can was one of the great user-interface innovations of the Mac, and the best thing about it is it keeps items in limbo until they are permanently disposed of.
? iTunes video navigation. Here's where the lack of mechanical buttons other than the home key becomes a problem. Video playback is superb, but if you miss an important plot point or punch line (as I often do) and want to rewind just slightly, you have to drag a tiny sliding ball with your finger, nearly impossible for precision playback, and often end up jumping back to a previous scene.
? No arrow keys on the keyboard. It has been widely noted that the iPad is primarily a media-consumption device not well suited for productivity. If you discover a mistake in an e-mail or note, or want to insert text, good luck getting back to that spot. You can either delete everything between the mistake and the cursor or try to put your finger on that spot to move the cursor there. Sans mouse, it's very hard to navigate through text without arrow keys. You can, of course, get a dock or Bluetooth keyboard.
? Oversensitive rotation. The iPad's supersensitive gyroscope is great for playing games, but if you're using it to watch videos or read, any slight movement can send it from landscape to portrait mode, whether or not that's what you intended. You can, however, choose to use the side button to disable the rotation instead of using it to disable mute.
? No Flash. Many videos will not play on the iPad because of Apple's notorious aversion to Adobe's rendering program. You can download SkyFire to do an end run around this. Under the same heading, there is also no flash for the cameras.
? Ghosts in the machine. Sometimes, for no explicable reason, apps quit or the screen goes dark and locks, probably also owing to oversensitivity to gestures.
? Recharge Time. The iPad's power shows no discernible difference from short plug-ins. Based on posts in user forums, the typical time to fully recharge is three to four hours, and it will not charge at all from a USB connection to a non-Mac computer. A wall charger is included.
As for the smart cover, which is sold separately for $40, it doesn't attach very well and can come off while you're using it as a stand.
None of these problems are what you might call a deal breaker, and some may be corrected by apps or system updates, but they were something of a disappointment, given all the hype I've been listening to for the past 17 months. So if your dad is a perfectionist and complainer, like me, you may hear about some of the above.
But one thing you most likely won't hear is "Did you keep the receipt?"
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