Should I Buy an iPad

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I ordered my iPad from a Kuwaiti site called Kuwait- mall because the Appel store was declining my orders on the ground that the available supply of iPad’s was not enough for the US market. So, I waited until the 3G model was available and ordered the highest capacity available. The order was done on May 9, 2010. I received the iPad after 17 days. The US price was $849 (KD245) and I paid KD 289 ($950) which is a reasonable price if you consider the shipping and handling cost. The official price in UK is £699 ($950 or KD300).

The iPad screen resolution is fantastic, I did not know that a screen this clear does exist in the world. Now, while I am looking at what I am typing, I feel like reading clear text from a printed paper, the graphics even better. The keyboard is excellent. I practiced for about half an hour to get used to the keyboard. Now I type at the same speed I would type on a normal keyboard. The auto spell checker and the auto correction make my typing even better because the spell checker would display the full word while I am still typing it, all I need to do is to hit the space bar and the full word Is there. The spellchecker is excellent and the definition function is more convenient. If you are a Mac user you would know what I am talking about.

Most of the available applications are simple but powerful. When you check the iToons store you will find many applications to chose from. Most of applications are reviewed and ranked by users like you who purchased the application and posted their thoughts for others to read. The count reached 180,000 application to choose from but most of those applications are made for the iPhone. The iPhone applications will work on your iPad but with smaller display. There is an option to enlarge the iPhone application by 100% of its size but it would not be as sharp and clear as the iPad applications. iWork applications are the perfect alternatives for the Microsoft softwares: Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Pages, Numbers and Notes are available for the iPad and they are powerful enough for a medium user who need the frequently used options to create documents, spread sheets and elegant presentations. iWork applications are stylish, powerful and simple enough to be learned and used by almost everybody. You can import Microsoft files to iWork applications effortlessly. You may see some minor error messages during the file conversions, but most of these error messages are due to the You will not retype or adjust a lot of the imported text and pictures. I imported some files and got the error report but could not figure out what was wrong because the document was fine. You may export your files in the original format or on Microsoft format (doc, ppt, xls) and pdf format that most of the users can import and read. I do not think that I will use Microsoft programs anymore as long as I can.

One of the best features is the iPad battery. I turned it on at 8:00 am and checked it’s power storage at 3:00 pm to find the power meter showing %47. We used the iPad for about 4 1/2 hours during that testing time. I say “we used it” because the kids were playing games on the iPad whenever they see it laying on the table and I am not around.

The iPad is cute, simple and light enough to hide in any bag or envelope. You would have to search for it between your printed materials in the bag! The question most of you are asking now is “Should I buy one?”.  My answer would be “it depends….”. If you are one of those heavy users who use specialized Programs and templets, then the iPad would not satisfy all of your needs. But if you need the iPad for regular use like: email, browsing, bloging, chatting on the Net, or writing stylish and professional documents (or presentations and spreadsheets) then the iPad would be a good choice for you especially of you need your laptop with you everywhere and most of the time.

You may be interested in reading “Are you new to the iPad” in this blog.