Mail

Apple gives you most of the essentials with the iPad. You get Safari, which we just finished talking about and an iPad version of the Mail app.

This is another one of those situations where it’s just a pleasure to read email on the iPad. I actually found myself unlocking my iPad just to read email on it while I was sitting in front of my desktop.

I hate to sound like a broken record but the combination of the touchscreen and the awesome display really help make the Mail app great. Switching between accounts still requires far too many taps, and there’s no easy way to select and mark a bunch of messages as read.

Mail, like many apps, is a bit more useful in landscape mode (you can view your inbox and selected message at the same time).

Being based on the same iPhone OS as the iPhone means that the iPad suffers from the same glitches. Sometimes when I get a new email it will appear then disappear. I have to wait for the app to check my email again or manually force it to see that message.

Another annoyance is the total lack of scroll bars on the iPad. While scrolling via touch works well in most cases, once you start displaying a lot of information (e.g. my entire inbox) you have to do a lot of touching to scroll from top to bottom. A simple grab and hold scroll widget would help a lot. It’s odd to me that there isn’t a single app that ships with the iPad that has this.

But if you’re away from your desk, the iPad can serve as an excellent stand in email client.

The Calendar and Contacts Apps

I've rarely used Digital planners, they never really felt right to me. The exceptions were my time with the Palm V, some years with Blackberries and more recently the iPhone. Something about the way their calendaring apps worked just seemed to fit well with my mental routine. Even then I didn't use them as much as I actually needed to, only critical events and reminders got entered in.

The iPad calendar is the closest thing I've seen to a daily planner in digital form. Apple just got the feel right with this one. Date selection is fast as is event input. I find that the UI of a good calendar app determines my likelihood of using it, and Apple got it right with the iPad. Ultimately it's just a scaled up version of the iphone app (like most apple iPad apps) but the visual flair it got in the transition from small to big is awesome.

The calendar uses the scrubber UI element, but instead of flipping through photos you're scanning through dates. Flipping through pages also uses the popular page turning animation.

I'm sure heavy calendar users can easily find limitations with the app. But for regular users, it's very impressive.

The contacts app is straight forward port from the iPhone. It works and is one of the only apps to use the equivalent of a vertical scroll bar. Just run your finger over the alphabet on the left side and you can scroll through your virtual rolodex.

Apps like contacts are simply easier to use just because of the increase in screen size and resolution compared to the iPhone. Apple did an amazing job making the iphone UI very efficient and with some minor tweaks it scales very well to a nearly 10" screen.

WiFi and Web Browsing, the Killer App User Interface: The Next Generation
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  • BeAloud - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link

    The rumored new smaller iPad could solve the ergonomics flaws of the current device. I would probably be interested in getting one if these rumors are true!
    http://www.bealoud.com/technology/ipad-mini-rumors...
  • Lunarlog - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link

    I read your article and it was well-written. I do have to disagree that it is a disappointment. In fact, I find the contrary. Part of the issue is that we are coming out of an economic recession - some people are still on hold as to whether or not to part with $500 when they already have a computer. Was is the same spree as the first iPhone? No. But I wouldn't expect it to be - not in these times. I wrote two articles as well on the topic. I'd appreciate it if you would give them a glance:

    This article came out the day after the iPad was released:
    http://www.lunarlog.com/ipad-review/

    This article was written shortly after the iPad's initial announcement:
    http://www.lunarlog.com/the-apple-ipad-the-good-an...
  • TheHolyLancer - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link

    only when a pokemon rpg comes to the ipad, either with an emulator or otherwise, will it be a gaming platform for it's targeted audience. or maybe let it double as a guitar hero / rock band instrument.

    of all the games one there, rts is the only one that seems to be fleshed out. fps, driving, action games involving the taps are mostly broken. only rpgs or tower defense / rts games seems to be the games that should have a better experience on touch based input. who don't want to be like a commander that directs battles via the touch interface.
  • Sahrin - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link

    Anand, I've got to say the Apple conversion you've gone through has really cost you a lot of respect in my eyes. I know, as an Apple fan, this won't matter to you (as facts don't). But the reality of it is, Apple is ultimately like religion. When push comes to shove, there is no quantitative difference between Apple and everything else. What it comes down to is technological laziness, and a blind acceptance of Apple as superior to everything else. Jon Stokes at Arstechnica had the same problem. He OC'ed one too many CPU's, or troubleshooted one too many oddball configurations - and something broke, he just gave up; surrended all his technological know-how and competence to the quiet, white cell provided by Apple. I don't mean to say either you or he got 'dumber' - just that, rather than "do it yourself," rather than apply your knowledge on a daily basis you've just declared yourself smart enough and handed over control and understanding of what you do to Apple. It's like the engineer who builds his own car from scratch finally going over and buying a Ford. Is there anything particularly 'wrong' with that? No. But it's a kind of ... lessening of the man to see him surrrender a passion to something because it's easier.

    I'm really sad to see someone as intelligent as you are (certainly smarter than I am) give yourself over to this kind of laziness. AT is one of the most trusted review sites on the web; and I hope that over time it doesn't erode the way Ars did into a whining, fawning mess.
  • splatl - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link

    WTF
  • SilverBack - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link

    The IPad is junk, inflated price and virtually no feature set, why would anyone want this?
    No USB? WTF!
  • manicfreak - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link

    I also feel the same way.
  • samirotiv - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link

    You are an ass, a hypocrite, and you're absolutely nobody. I don't think you can comment about Anand's intelligence. Your unwarranted hate towards Apple makes you feel that anybody who appreciates an Apple product is unintelligent.

    You say there's no quantitative difference between Apple products and other products. So can you tell me another currently existing tablet that I can buy that's half as good as the iPad? Is it the pathetic JooJoo?

    If you don't want the iPad because it doesn't have some feature you think you need, then don't buy it. Vote with your money. Stop trolling. I think Anand has mentioned most of it's drawbacks in the review.

    Even if a tablet as good or better than the iPad exists, just writing a favourable review doesn't make Anand unintelligent. I think the review was quite unbiased.

    Your armchair psychology makes your post sound even less credible. Someone ban this clown.

    BTW that was an excellent review Anand, like every other review of yours. Keep up the good work..!!
  • splatl - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link

    Apple said from the beginning this is not a laptop replacement it is intended to be a device between a Smart Phone and a Laptop. For all waiting for Slate to come out it is still HP crap.
  • ds1817 - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link

    Always refreshing to read a review on Anandtech. The thoroughness and attention to detail are why I've been reading your website for 12 years now. Keep up the good work!

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