Apple iPad Review
The first flight from San Francisco (after the start of sales of the iPad) flew to Moscow ... as many as 1,200 devices.
It was possible to "fuck" one of the copies - let's begin until it is cold. Traffic !
Perhaps, Habré already had a full review of the Apple iPad (in addition to the Engadget topic , which local humorists turned into a topic of evil) - after all, the hype around the novelty once again raised such that ogogo. Then you and the numerous montages, and videos " Shit your iPad " from the BBC and ... but what just was not. But, I hope, there are still people left on the site who would be interested to read exactly my review - so I tried to be at least “in the top ten”.
')
Immediately warn you. I am not an ardent fan of Apple products - yes, they are doing amazing things, but I “didn’t get caught up in the wave” - I didn’t buy an iPod and an iPhone in my time, didn’t put iTunes ... well, life went by me. Therefore, I will try to be as objective and impartial as possible and, as always, just share the experience of communicating with the device, but if I suddenly make any mistakes (due to ignorance of the lineup of previous devices), I suggest not to swear, but, for example, unsubscribe in comments .
Hmm, I remembered. I still had my iPod (which had long been supplanted by the players from Cowon): I once won somewhere and still has a small plastic container left from it - almost an ideal place to store all kinds of cogs and jumpers. Minimalism in the packaging has been preserved since then - this time it is a small white box of hard cardboard, which doesn't really have anything besides the image of the iPad.
Inside, there was unexpectedly little of everything - the device itself, the wire for connecting to the computer and a small adapter (not yet adapted for local outlets). Neither you detailed instructions, nor you at least regular white headphones. Well, so be it, although for such an expensive thing I really wanted ... well, at least a case.
You can talk a lot about what this is before us - a big iPhone / iPod, digital photo frame, netbook killer or something else ... but firstly all this has long been discussed, and secondly the company itself calls it “Internet tablet ”- I propose to take it as a point of reference and get rid of mental agony. The tablet is like a tablet ... although it has nothing to do with the Wacom tablets) Okay, okay, I’m not talking.
There are several complete sets of the device. Initially, they differ in the amount of installed SSD-drive - it is 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes. Not thick, but not empty. And in the older version, in my opinion, there is a need only if you want to carry a lot of movies or music with you.
A bit later, there will be models that can work with 3G networks (at the moment only BT 2.1 and Wi-Fi - 802.11 a / b / g / n are available from communications) - obviously, these are more interesting devices, as they will help to significantly increase the functionality of the thing .
The device is built on a new (specially developed) Apple A4 processor, which operates at a clock frequency of 1 GHz. I cannot say anything else about the hardware stuffing - you can visit the page on the official site.
It's still cool outside - the metal case pleasantly cools the hands. Actually, the "reliability suggestion" began already from this moment - the back side of the device is completely made of aluminum, which provides the necessary (on such and such thicknesses!) Mechanical strength.
By the way, speaking of the dimensions of the novelty, it is 243x13.4x190 mm and weighs 680 grams. Slightly less than an A4 sheet, of course, you can't put it in your pocket, but it holds up normally in one hand. Although the episodes of an accidental fall will definitely be there - after all, there is practically nothing to grasp at smooth forms. For me, the weight of the device is very comfortable, but for girls, it may be an aggravating circumstance (a kilogram of netbook weight does not count - it means using it on any surface). Deformations such as "twisting" the device perfectly withstands - it does not creak or crunch. Excellent build quality, perfectly fitted parts and no backlash. Expected.
The entire front surface is occupied by the screen (and the Home button below it), hidden behind the glass.
It is even strange that the screen is made in gloss, which is VERY branded (contrary to the statements on the offsite site) - from Apple I was waiting for more practicality.
The fact that on the matte IPS-screen you can get a great picture, proved my new Dell U2410 - so this is perhaps a subtle hint at the purchase of the film. The rest of the screen is simply gorgeous - this is a 9.7-inch touchscreen IPS-matrix with a resolution of 1024x768 and with multitouch support. The picture is very beautiful, clear and juicy - you'll love it. With viewing angles and illumination, everything is also good - more or less everything is visible in the sun (at maximum brightness), but in the dark it can be set to a minimum, which will give a very comfortable light to the eyes. Above the screen is a light sensor, which is almost invisible. Around the screen there is a fairly thick black frame, which is needed, perhaps, to save the user from accidental clicks.
"Perimeter" has rather sharp edges - what I liked in comparison with the iPhone. The left end of the device is empty, below - the speakers and the connector for the connection, on the right - the volume swing and hardware lock screen rotation. On top - the power button and headphone jack. All buttons are black and pressed with a quiet click.
Some discomfort is felt when you turn the device a couple of times (at first it’s all you do is twist it back and forth). Due to the fact that he has several axes of symmetry and there are no obvious details (except for the inconspicuous Home button), you periodically get confused how the device is oriented at the moment - you start looking for the buttons mentioned above and all the other controls. By the way, it’s good that there is a hardware screen lock button - the first time I didn’t give it any importance, but when in one of the races (in the game) the screen suddenly turned 180 degrees - it was a complete surprise. Well, I also didn’t like the fact that the device is very inconvenient to take from the table - fingers under it (like on the couch, for example) can’t be dropped, but I don’t feel like taking and dragging there - the slightest specks of dust will leave on the back side of the scratch.
Despite the fact that there is very little space for the speaker, it is loud enough - it will not work for listening in the office, but for local use it is very even. But when you hold the iPad in your hands and turn on some track loudly, unpleasant vibrations are felt - this is not similar to feedback, as well as to the bass.
It’s strange that they didn’t do a webcam - if it’s almost not needed on netbooks (except for skype), it wouldn’t be too much here. If you want to - chat on Skype, if you want to do pictures for your address book, if you want - save everything in Evernote ... but the “smart” guys didn't provide us with any of these features.
The device comes to full alertness in 15 seconds - so much time I had to watch the “apple” at the beginning of my acquaintance with the device. This, of course, is difficult to compare with the load time of the same netbooks, but there is a full-fledged multi-tasking OS.
The rest of the time I did not turn off the device - just turned off the screen with a hardware button on the case. In this case, the device "wakes up" almost instantly. After switching on, a familiar iPhone-picture appears in front of the user - a clock, a background and an unlock slider. I will not describe all the insides of the shell - firstly, I did not see its original state (a couple of “pages” of applications were put by my friend), secondly, something tells me that the shell and software have a lot in common with the iPhone. Therefore, I will dwell only on some points. All screenshots are reduced to 75% who are interested in the originals - Wellcome (24 mb).
Settings
There are many of them and they are placed in a separate item on the "desktop". In the left part are all the menu items on the right - the settings themselves. Depending on which software is installed, additional options appear.
I was pleasantly surprised by the tenacity of Wi-Fi - the scanner found many networks that I hadn’t even known about before (and I wasn’t looking, to be honest). I connected to my grid without any problems. It is possible to be on the network even with an “off” device so that, for example, mail is checked, etc. (check and synchronization intervals can be customized)
The screen brightness, as I said, is regulated in a large range - from “almost nothing is visible” to the maximum, with which you can work even in bright sun. On the same tab, you can change the background images.
In a separate menu item rendered the possibility of an iPad to be a photo frame. Different transitions, an increase in the scale of the faces in the photo and something even more - everything would be fine, but there is no stand in place, and the photo frame is not needed, IMHO. The same with the possibility of being an iPod.
Another pair of screenshots:
Built-in keyboard
It appears wherever you can type text. It occupies a good half-screen, but at the same time allows you to print with two hands - the buttons are large, separated. The key travel is minimal) There is a Russian layout - everything is fine with it. It’s more than normal to print text, but I wouldn’t dare print it.
Contacts
Well, when you can call from the address book right away - this option does not provide a Wi-Fi version of the iPad. But just to always have on hand a beautiful and functional (and most importantly - interactive) address book is useful. It is made in the form of, oddly enough, the book - on the left page there are all contacts in alphabetical order (with search and letter bookmarks), and on the right displays information about the selected character. Records can be synchronized, edited, added-deleted - in general, really cozy is a place for contacts.
Notes
This application is also very beautifully designed and for me it would be one of the key points in this device - on the right there are yellow “lines” on which you can write anything, and on the left - a list of all the notes (well, search them). Stylish design "under the skin" - to Moleskine, of course, as before the moon, but overall it looks very nice. Any note can be sent by mail.
The calendar
Well, where do without it ... it is everywhere - from the clock, to electronic books. Only in this case does the “calendar” really fit on the screen, and not the modest calendar grid that you want to aim at. The icon on the "desktop" displays the current date - after clicking, the application itself starts. At the top there are 4 buttons - “Day”, “Week”, “Month” and “List” - respectively, they open the desired time scale, and the last button simply displays all the planned cases in a list. Below there is a timeline on which you can always choose any desired date - in general, everything is well thought out again. Again, an imitation of a real calendar - done quite conscientiously.
Cards
Ordinary GoogleMaps with the ability to draw maps or view from the satellite. I am writing about them only in order to compare it with the speed of “loading” the map fragments with the same HD2. So - the speed is about the same, fast, and there and there.
YouTube
Almost full service - new, popular videos. Selection, sorting, rating, favorites - whatever. You can login and fuck all the benefits of this - “my videos” are at hand, adding comments, etc. With my Wi-Fi signal, everything works more than tolerably - it is quickly searched and loaded. View without problems, including in full screen mode.
iBooks
One of the most interesting applications made about which only lazy did not speak. In short - the reader for books that can be downloaded from the network. Really good - made in the form of this book (1 or 2 pages on the screen, depending on the orientation in space). Conveniently, the brightness settings of the screen can be changed directly during the reading (as well as the size and type of the font). Convenient paging (with a stroke), switching to any page, built-in search and the ability to translate any word are very, very cool. All books can be placed on a virtual shelf, which will certainly facilitate the search for the desired cover. Initially, only the English version of Winnie the Pooh is loaded - with pictures, so I will soon read.
iTunes and AppStore
I think this is what many owners of "fruit" technology pray for. Let me just say that the screen again has a positive effect on the usability of the services - it is really convenient to browse through directories, comments and pictures. There is nothing new in the application installation mechanism.
Safari
Browser) It works very fast and shows even the most complex layout. No flash banners are good, but without, for example, videos on VKontakte, not so much. Scaling pages - a fairy tale.
There are no tabs in explicit form, but you can keep several sites open at once. In essence, it avoids the use of some applications targeted at all sorts of online services.
Mail
Several types of user accounts are supported - Microsoft Exchange, MobileMe, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL or some other service. I tried only Gmail and there were no problems - I entered a minimum of data and already in the system. Almost complete work with mail - folders, filters, search, writing and sending letters, attachments, etc. - pleasantly surprised.
iPod
No matter how strange it may seem, this icon leads to musical worlds. More precisely, not only musical ones - inside both podcasts and audiobooks. There is a lot in common with aytyuns - convenient sorting of music by artists, albums and genres. I liked the visibility of the interface and work with playlists. The sound quality through the headphones is comparable with previous iPods, but not more.
View photos
All graphic files (whether they are photos taken, filled pictures or screenshots of screens) can be viewed here. There is a possibility of splitting into albums, events, there is a binding to the locality (through Google). You can use the slideshow, but it's much more pleasant to flip through at the tempo you want - strokes across the screen. No brakes, everything is bright - and flipping and zoom.
The built-in player can display movies quite well - “H.264 video with a scan rate of up to 720p (30fps, basic profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC sound up to 160 kbps, 48 ​​kHz, stereo sound in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov formats) and MPEG-4 (up to 2.5 Mbps, 640x480 pixels, 30fps, basic profile with AAC-LC sound up to 160 kbit / s, 48 ​​kHz, stereo sound in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov) formats. " Due to certain difficulties with aytyuns, I could not load films for the test on the device, but those files that were on the ipad, went without problems - to the full screen, without the slightest brakes when rewinding. It was pleasant to watch the video even on the HD2 screen - what to say about the iPad screen ...)
Everything else is delivered separately. The big disadvantage at the moment is that so many iPhone applications are not adapted to the new device in terms of resolution. Accordingly, they run small, occupying only a quarter of the screen. You can always press the "2x" button in the corner of the iPad, which will increase the size of the application, but in this case, the applications look just disgusting, never according to Apple. I think it is a matter of time - for popular, uninhabited and popular programs will not rust.
From the applications that I have installed.
The first was TweetDeck , sharpened specifically for the iPad. To be honest, I hoped to see an analogue of the Windows client and at first even closed my eyes to the average rating of the application in the AppStore. In fact, the program really turned out to be very weak - the castrated functionality and it works in a strange way. Upset, albeit cute.
Wikipanion is a great solution for those who like to read Wikipedia (I am one of them). Despite the fact that this can be done in the browser, I liked the separate program more - at least there is a convenient search, table of contents and text scaling.
Evernote - I am not yet an active user of this service, but I want to merge everything) The application is already fully working - there is all the necessary functionality.
Adobe ideas - free drawing tool from the great and powerful. It is the most primitive (there is only a couple of colors and the ability to change the thickness of the brush), but it allows you to quickly draw something - it is strange that this functionality was not in the device initially. Surely this is not the best choice for a solution for artists, but this is the first thing that came across in the top of the AppStore.
NFS Shift - it looks like the one that was on the iPhone. Only, again, on the big screen - which means with more or less normal graphics. Very playable - control due to the built-in accelerometer, which is very sensitive. The game Driver also went fine, but the graphics and controls in it are just awful (by modern standards).
Conclusions about the sensitivity of the G-sensor did not from scratch - helped toy Labyrint . It was tightened - HTC Teeter nervously lit up to the side.
Skype
Put a clumsy mobile version, but it earned. The interface, of course, is primitive, but the main functionality is - communication (chats), calls. And we managed to call a regular number - SkypeOut earned itself quite well.
Work time was very surprised. Initially, I was pessimistic - my phone (HTC HD2) with a gigahertz on board and a screen diagonal of 4.3 '' with active use lived no more than a day. Here, in my estimation, taking into account the size (of the screen and the case as a whole), brightness and Wi-Fi of every kind, the device should have worked ... well, certainly not longer than average netbooks, i.e. hours 5. Ha! For all the time, I never had time to plant it, although this is only because the iPad often turned out to be "on the wire."But in general, the intensity of the battery discharge (judging by the icon on the display) is very small - I think, in normal mode, the device will quietly work for 15 hours. In the mode of working with a network or watching a video, the manufacturer promises about 10 hours. This is a remarkable result - it is even surprising that such a capacious battery could be shoved into such a compact case.
I remember an unpleasant moment - the device did not want to charge. I connect - iTunes sees it (ie, the wire is working), but writes "Charging does not go." I connected to a netbook, laptop, monitor, system unit - the same song everywhere. The familiar apple-maker only shrugged his shoulders and advised “to buy a normal comp”)
Later, I noticed that the iPad is still charging, but only when the computer is in sleep mode. Maybe this is an instance of this, maybe the computer is really buggy (although nothing like this had ever happened before), maybe the hands are crooked, maybe ... well, the sediment remained.
And yes - as before, everything, everything, everything goes through iTunes - a cumbersome program that is loved and hated by approximately the same crowds of people. For the time being, I belong to the second - on a 64-bit Windows the last aytyuns decently slowed down (on a smart computer), refused to connect with the ipad in every possible way - I had to take screenshots through a neighbor.
When writing an article, I tried not to go into details, because they are very, very much. I hoped that I would show it on video ... I tried to take it off once - I missed it in 15 minutes. From the second attempt - at 13, but there did not show much. As a result, he wrote down two clips that could take you 20 minutes to watch. If you do not mind - look, I think, you can get general impressions about the operation of the device. Cooked up in a hurry, because Youtube has been processing such posts for a very long time, sometimes half a day. If you're lucky - look in HD , there is more visible.
This device can be found a lot of applications, even with regular functionality. And with additional software, the field for fantasy becomes completely boundless. You want - a photoframe, you want - a notebook, you want - CarPC, you want - a half of the netbook's functional (with an eye to the work in the network). The device is really mobile - to operate it, for example, in the subway or bus is much more convenient than a netbook. But there are enough shortcomings - one multitasking is worth it ...
By the way, speaking of CarPC - there is already one craftsman who attached an iPad to his Toyota and filmed all his work on video. Marvel at:
He came to the end of the article and realized that in fact he did not say anything - there are still so many words and emotions that ... all that remains is to control oneself. Naturally, in one article you will not tell everything and will not show it - if you have any specific questions, then ask. I will try to answer while the device is with me.
A new class of devices is always interesting;
Nice design, robust case, excellent build quality;
A separate item is the screen. Bright and colorful - everywhere would be so.
A huge amount of any ryushechek in the iPhoneOS itself - it is captivating.
Good performance; almost no brakes;
Sensitive G-sensor, loud speaker.
Long time even in video mode.
Poor grade;
Glossy screen - very easily soiled;
Weight - it will be uncomfortable to hold the device in one hand for a long time;
CapsLock / Shift on the virtual keyboard does not visually change the letters;
Some applications still “yell”, even if the sound is turned off by hardware;
Bass speaker "give" to the body; but did not find feedback;
There is no slot at least for microSD (not to mention microUSB). The
webcam would be very useful, for example, in Skype.
Mm yes, I would like to multitask :)
Low availability and high price.
It is implied, apparently, that the user must lay out additional accessories for accessories - ranging from headphones and all kinds of adapters, ending ... but with the same covers and a cloth for the screen. Is it for this that they have made it a brand? “Buy our branded rags and sleeves with the logo and taste of an apple”) The rest of the sacrifices of minimalism for Yabloko’s players are not the first time.
On the first day, more than 300,000 devices were sold, which is very good (although analysts of the company expected twice as many figures).
Speaking of those first "Shuttle" 1200 devices that leaked through customs - almost all of them were sold at a price of 40-65 thousand (depending on the characteristics of the device). Not surprising statistics - 75% of shoppers already have a Mac, and 65% of shoppers own an Apple iPhone. The official start of sales in Russia is still unknown - perhaps officially it will be possible to purchase by the end of this year - while for Russia Apple is not a priority market.
Swearing at the prices of those who sell from us is stupid - pricing is quite logical. If you really want and want right now, then kindly pay. To someone really impatient, they are ready to give any money for a new toy, which many people use. The rest is just to wait - in the foreseeable future, the hype will calm down and prices will more or less normalize, although the price level "like them" is still very far and long. If anyone is interested, I know two reliable stores where right now (not on pre-order) you can buy an iPad - this is Amac and iCult .
To say that the device touched me to the depths of my soul and I melted away means to lie. But I admit honestly - to test and write about such things is incomparably more interesting than about ... well, you understand. A large number of positive aspects, excellent technical characteristics - all this is not without flaws, but on the whole is very, very well balanced, but simply - really great. Slowly I am even starting to understand what many fans are trying to endure :) I agree - a very wide audience will like this product, but whether it really needs it is a very controversial issue that many people didn’t give peace to even before sales. I would find such a thing a lot of applications, especially along with Yota Egg. So I can say I want to. Although there will definitely be an army of those who say "fi, photo frame." If you know in advance where to attach such a device - I advise him with a clear conscience.
Apple once again showed that they have not forgotten how to do rarely, but neatly. In essence, this is a challenge to two promising classes of devices, namely netbooks and MIDs. And if you dig deeper, then this is a completely different class, a new need that can still be monopoly satisfied. Why do you say bye"? Yes, because many will definitely copy. Well, because "bye"! :)
Successes!
It was possible to "fuck" one of the copies - let's begin until it is cold. Traffic !
Perhaps, Habré already had a full review of the Apple iPad (in addition to the Engadget topic , which local humorists turned into a topic of evil) - after all, the hype around the novelty once again raised such that ogogo. Then you and the numerous montages, and videos " Shit your iPad " from the BBC and ... but what just was not. But, I hope, there are still people left on the site who would be interested to read exactly my review - so I tried to be at least “in the top ten”.
')
Immediately warn you. I am not an ardent fan of Apple products - yes, they are doing amazing things, but I “didn’t get caught up in the wave” - I didn’t buy an iPod and an iPhone in my time, didn’t put iTunes ... well, life went by me. Therefore, I will try to be as objective and impartial as possible and, as always, just share the experience of communicating with the device, but if I suddenly make any mistakes (due to ignorance of the lineup of previous devices), I suggest not to swear, but, for example, unsubscribe in comments .
Hmm, I remembered. I still had my iPod (which had long been supplanted by the players from Cowon): I once won somewhere and still has a small plastic container left from it - almost an ideal place to store all kinds of cogs and jumpers. Minimalism in the packaging has been preserved since then - this time it is a small white box of hard cardboard, which doesn't really have anything besides the image of the iPad.
Inside, there was unexpectedly little of everything - the device itself, the wire for connecting to the computer and a small adapter (not yet adapted for local outlets). Neither you detailed instructions, nor you at least regular white headphones. Well, so be it, although for such an expensive thing I really wanted ... well, at least a case.
Inspection
You can talk a lot about what this is before us - a big iPhone / iPod, digital photo frame, netbook killer or something else ... but firstly all this has long been discussed, and secondly the company itself calls it “Internet tablet ”- I propose to take it as a point of reference and get rid of mental agony. The tablet is like a tablet ... although it has nothing to do with the Wacom tablets) Okay, okay, I’m not talking.
There are several complete sets of the device. Initially, they differ in the amount of installed SSD-drive - it is 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes. Not thick, but not empty. And in the older version, in my opinion, there is a need only if you want to carry a lot of movies or music with you.
A bit later, there will be models that can work with 3G networks (at the moment only BT 2.1 and Wi-Fi - 802.11 a / b / g / n are available from communications) - obviously, these are more interesting devices, as they will help to significantly increase the functionality of the thing .
The device is built on a new (specially developed) Apple A4 processor, which operates at a clock frequency of 1 GHz. I cannot say anything else about the hardware stuffing - you can visit the page on the official site.
Go-go-go
It's still cool outside - the metal case pleasantly cools the hands. Actually, the "reliability suggestion" began already from this moment - the back side of the device is completely made of aluminum, which provides the necessary (on such and such thicknesses!) Mechanical strength.
By the way, speaking of the dimensions of the novelty, it is 243x13.4x190 mm and weighs 680 grams. Slightly less than an A4 sheet, of course, you can't put it in your pocket, but it holds up normally in one hand. Although the episodes of an accidental fall will definitely be there - after all, there is practically nothing to grasp at smooth forms. For me, the weight of the device is very comfortable, but for girls, it may be an aggravating circumstance (a kilogram of netbook weight does not count - it means using it on any surface). Deformations such as "twisting" the device perfectly withstands - it does not creak or crunch. Excellent build quality, perfectly fitted parts and no backlash. Expected.
The entire front surface is occupied by the screen (and the Home button below it), hidden behind the glass.
It is even strange that the screen is made in gloss, which is VERY branded (contrary to the statements on the offsite site) - from Apple I was waiting for more practicality.
The fact that on the matte IPS-screen you can get a great picture, proved my new Dell U2410 - so this is perhaps a subtle hint at the purchase of the film. The rest of the screen is simply gorgeous - this is a 9.7-inch touchscreen IPS-matrix with a resolution of 1024x768 and with multitouch support. The picture is very beautiful, clear and juicy - you'll love it. With viewing angles and illumination, everything is also good - more or less everything is visible in the sun (at maximum brightness), but in the dark it can be set to a minimum, which will give a very comfortable light to the eyes. Above the screen is a light sensor, which is almost invisible. Around the screen there is a fairly thick black frame, which is needed, perhaps, to save the user from accidental clicks.
"Perimeter" has rather sharp edges - what I liked in comparison with the iPhone. The left end of the device is empty, below - the speakers and the connector for the connection, on the right - the volume swing and hardware lock screen rotation. On top - the power button and headphone jack. All buttons are black and pressed with a quiet click.
Some discomfort is felt when you turn the device a couple of times (at first it’s all you do is twist it back and forth). Due to the fact that he has several axes of symmetry and there are no obvious details (except for the inconspicuous Home button), you periodically get confused how the device is oriented at the moment - you start looking for the buttons mentioned above and all the other controls. By the way, it’s good that there is a hardware screen lock button - the first time I didn’t give it any importance, but when in one of the races (in the game) the screen suddenly turned 180 degrees - it was a complete surprise. Well, I also didn’t like the fact that the device is very inconvenient to take from the table - fingers under it (like on the couch, for example) can’t be dropped, but I don’t feel like taking and dragging there - the slightest specks of dust will leave on the back side of the scratch.
Despite the fact that there is very little space for the speaker, it is loud enough - it will not work for listening in the office, but for local use it is very even. But when you hold the iPad in your hands and turn on some track loudly, unpleasant vibrations are felt - this is not similar to feedback, as well as to the bass.
It’s strange that they didn’t do a webcam - if it’s almost not needed on netbooks (except for skype), it wouldn’t be too much here. If you want to - chat on Skype, if you want to do pictures for your address book, if you want - save everything in Evernote ... but the “smart” guys didn't provide us with any of these features.
Turn on and work
The device comes to full alertness in 15 seconds - so much time I had to watch the “apple” at the beginning of my acquaintance with the device. This, of course, is difficult to compare with the load time of the same netbooks, but there is a full-fledged multi-tasking OS.
The rest of the time I did not turn off the device - just turned off the screen with a hardware button on the case. In this case, the device "wakes up" almost instantly. After switching on, a familiar iPhone-picture appears in front of the user - a clock, a background and an unlock slider. I will not describe all the insides of the shell - firstly, I did not see its original state (a couple of “pages” of applications were put by my friend), secondly, something tells me that the shell and software have a lot in common with the iPhone. Therefore, I will dwell only on some points. All screenshots are reduced to 75% who are interested in the originals - Wellcome (24 mb).
Settings
There are many of them and they are placed in a separate item on the "desktop". In the left part are all the menu items on the right - the settings themselves. Depending on which software is installed, additional options appear.
I was pleasantly surprised by the tenacity of Wi-Fi - the scanner found many networks that I hadn’t even known about before (and I wasn’t looking, to be honest). I connected to my grid without any problems. It is possible to be on the network even with an “off” device so that, for example, mail is checked, etc. (check and synchronization intervals can be customized)
The screen brightness, as I said, is regulated in a large range - from “almost nothing is visible” to the maximum, with which you can work even in bright sun. On the same tab, you can change the background images.
In a separate menu item rendered the possibility of an iPad to be a photo frame. Different transitions, an increase in the scale of the faces in the photo and something even more - everything would be fine, but there is no stand in place, and the photo frame is not needed, IMHO. The same with the possibility of being an iPod.
Another pair of screenshots:
Built-in keyboard
It appears wherever you can type text. It occupies a good half-screen, but at the same time allows you to print with two hands - the buttons are large, separated. The key travel is minimal) There is a Russian layout - everything is fine with it. It’s more than normal to print text, but I wouldn’t dare print it.
Contacts
Well, when you can call from the address book right away - this option does not provide a Wi-Fi version of the iPad. But just to always have on hand a beautiful and functional (and most importantly - interactive) address book is useful. It is made in the form of, oddly enough, the book - on the left page there are all contacts in alphabetical order (with search and letter bookmarks), and on the right displays information about the selected character. Records can be synchronized, edited, added-deleted - in general, really cozy is a place for contacts.
Notes
This application is also very beautifully designed and for me it would be one of the key points in this device - on the right there are yellow “lines” on which you can write anything, and on the left - a list of all the notes (well, search them). Stylish design "under the skin" - to Moleskine, of course, as before the moon, but overall it looks very nice. Any note can be sent by mail.
The calendar
Well, where do without it ... it is everywhere - from the clock, to electronic books. Only in this case does the “calendar” really fit on the screen, and not the modest calendar grid that you want to aim at. The icon on the "desktop" displays the current date - after clicking, the application itself starts. At the top there are 4 buttons - “Day”, “Week”, “Month” and “List” - respectively, they open the desired time scale, and the last button simply displays all the planned cases in a list. Below there is a timeline on which you can always choose any desired date - in general, everything is well thought out again. Again, an imitation of a real calendar - done quite conscientiously.
Cards
Ordinary GoogleMaps with the ability to draw maps or view from the satellite. I am writing about them only in order to compare it with the speed of “loading” the map fragments with the same HD2. So - the speed is about the same, fast, and there and there.
YouTube
Almost full service - new, popular videos. Selection, sorting, rating, favorites - whatever. You can login and fuck all the benefits of this - “my videos” are at hand, adding comments, etc. With my Wi-Fi signal, everything works more than tolerably - it is quickly searched and loaded. View without problems, including in full screen mode.
iBooks
One of the most interesting applications made about which only lazy did not speak. In short - the reader for books that can be downloaded from the network. Really good - made in the form of this book (1 or 2 pages on the screen, depending on the orientation in space). Conveniently, the brightness settings of the screen can be changed directly during the reading (as well as the size and type of the font). Convenient paging (with a stroke), switching to any page, built-in search and the ability to translate any word are very, very cool. All books can be placed on a virtual shelf, which will certainly facilitate the search for the desired cover. Initially, only the English version of Winnie the Pooh is loaded - with pictures, so I will soon read.
iTunes and AppStore
I think this is what many owners of "fruit" technology pray for. Let me just say that the screen again has a positive effect on the usability of the services - it is really convenient to browse through directories, comments and pictures. There is nothing new in the application installation mechanism.
Safari
Browser) It works very fast and shows even the most complex layout. No flash banners are good, but without, for example, videos on VKontakte, not so much. Scaling pages - a fairy tale.
There are no tabs in explicit form, but you can keep several sites open at once. In essence, it avoids the use of some applications targeted at all sorts of online services.
Several types of user accounts are supported - Microsoft Exchange, MobileMe, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL or some other service. I tried only Gmail and there were no problems - I entered a minimum of data and already in the system. Almost complete work with mail - folders, filters, search, writing and sending letters, attachments, etc. - pleasantly surprised.
iPod
No matter how strange it may seem, this icon leads to musical worlds. More precisely, not only musical ones - inside both podcasts and audiobooks. There is a lot in common with aytyuns - convenient sorting of music by artists, albums and genres. I liked the visibility of the interface and work with playlists. The sound quality through the headphones is comparable with previous iPods, but not more.
View photos
All graphic files (whether they are photos taken, filled pictures or screenshots of screens) can be viewed here. There is a possibility of splitting into albums, events, there is a binding to the locality (through Google). You can use the slideshow, but it's much more pleasant to flip through at the tempo you want - strokes across the screen. No brakes, everything is bright - and flipping and zoom.
The built-in player can display movies quite well - “H.264 video with a scan rate of up to 720p (30fps, basic profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC sound up to 160 kbps, 48 ​​kHz, stereo sound in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov formats) and MPEG-4 (up to 2.5 Mbps, 640x480 pixels, 30fps, basic profile with AAC-LC sound up to 160 kbit / s, 48 ​​kHz, stereo sound in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov) formats. " Due to certain difficulties with aytyuns, I could not load films for the test on the device, but those files that were on the ipad, went without problems - to the full screen, without the slightest brakes when rewinding. It was pleasant to watch the video even on the HD2 screen - what to say about the iPad screen ...)
Everything else is delivered separately. The big disadvantage at the moment is that so many iPhone applications are not adapted to the new device in terms of resolution. Accordingly, they run small, occupying only a quarter of the screen. You can always press the "2x" button in the corner of the iPad, which will increase the size of the application, but in this case, the applications look just disgusting, never according to Apple. I think it is a matter of time - for popular, uninhabited and popular programs will not rust.
From the applications that I have installed.
The first was TweetDeck , sharpened specifically for the iPad. To be honest, I hoped to see an analogue of the Windows client and at first even closed my eyes to the average rating of the application in the AppStore. In fact, the program really turned out to be very weak - the castrated functionality and it works in a strange way. Upset, albeit cute.
Wikipanion is a great solution for those who like to read Wikipedia (I am one of them). Despite the fact that this can be done in the browser, I liked the separate program more - at least there is a convenient search, table of contents and text scaling.
Evernote - I am not yet an active user of this service, but I want to merge everything) The application is already fully working - there is all the necessary functionality.
Adobe ideas - free drawing tool from the great and powerful. It is the most primitive (there is only a couple of colors and the ability to change the thickness of the brush), but it allows you to quickly draw something - it is strange that this functionality was not in the device initially. Surely this is not the best choice for a solution for artists, but this is the first thing that came across in the top of the AppStore.
NFS Shift - it looks like the one that was on the iPhone. Only, again, on the big screen - which means with more or less normal graphics. Very playable - control due to the built-in accelerometer, which is very sensitive. The game Driver also went fine, but the graphics and controls in it are just awful (by modern standards).
Conclusions about the sensitivity of the G-sensor did not from scratch - helped toy Labyrint . It was tightened - HTC Teeter nervously lit up to the side.
Skype
Put a clumsy mobile version, but it earned. The interface, of course, is primitive, but the main functionality is - communication (chats), calls. And we managed to call a regular number - SkypeOut earned itself quite well.
Another spoon of honey
Work time was very surprised. Initially, I was pessimistic - my phone (HTC HD2) with a gigahertz on board and a screen diagonal of 4.3 '' with active use lived no more than a day. Here, in my estimation, taking into account the size (of the screen and the case as a whole), brightness and Wi-Fi of every kind, the device should have worked ... well, certainly not longer than average netbooks, i.e. hours 5. Ha! For all the time, I never had time to plant it, although this is only because the iPad often turned out to be "on the wire."But in general, the intensity of the battery discharge (judging by the icon on the display) is very small - I think, in normal mode, the device will quietly work for 15 hours. In the mode of working with a network or watching a video, the manufacturer promises about 10 hours. This is a remarkable result - it is even surprising that such a capacious battery could be shoved into such a compact case.
I remember an unpleasant moment - the device did not want to charge. I connect - iTunes sees it (ie, the wire is working), but writes "Charging does not go." I connected to a netbook, laptop, monitor, system unit - the same song everywhere. The familiar apple-maker only shrugged his shoulders and advised “to buy a normal comp”)
Later, I noticed that the iPad is still charging, but only when the computer is in sleep mode. Maybe this is an instance of this, maybe the computer is really buggy (although nothing like this had ever happened before), maybe the hands are crooked, maybe ... well, the sediment remained.
And yes - as before, everything, everything, everything goes through iTunes - a cumbersome program that is loved and hated by approximately the same crowds of people. For the time being, I belong to the second - on a 64-bit Windows the last aytyuns decently slowed down (on a smart computer), refused to connect with the ipad in every possible way - I had to take screenshots through a neighbor.
My demo
When writing an article, I tried not to go into details, because they are very, very much. I hoped that I would show it on video ... I tried to take it off once - I missed it in 15 minutes. From the second attempt - at 13, but there did not show much. As a result, he wrote down two clips that could take you 20 minutes to watch. If you do not mind - look, I think, you can get general impressions about the operation of the device. Cooked up in a hurry, because Youtube has been processing such posts for a very long time, sometimes half a day. If you're lucky - look in HD , there is more visible.
This device can be found a lot of applications, even with regular functionality. And with additional software, the field for fantasy becomes completely boundless. You want - a photoframe, you want - a notebook, you want - CarPC, you want - a half of the netbook's functional (with an eye to the work in the network). The device is really mobile - to operate it, for example, in the subway or bus is much more convenient than a netbook. But there are enough shortcomings - one multitasking is worth it ...
By the way, speaking of CarPC - there is already one craftsman who attached an iPad to his Toyota and filmed all his work on video. Marvel at:
He came to the end of the article and realized that in fact he did not say anything - there are still so many words and emotions that ... all that remains is to control oneself. Naturally, in one article you will not tell everything and will not show it - if you have any specific questions, then ask. I will try to answer while the device is with me.
Check weighing
A new class of devices is always interesting;Nice design, robust case, excellent build quality;A separate item is the screen. Bright and colorful - everywhere would be so.A huge amount of any ryushechek in the iPhoneOS itself - it is captivating.Good performance; almost no brakes;Sensitive G-sensor, loud speaker.Long time even in video mode.Poor grade;Glossy screen - very easily soiled;Weight - it will be uncomfortable to hold the device in one hand for a long time;CapsLock / Shift on the virtual keyboard does not visually change the letters; Bass speaker "give" to the body; but did not find feedback;There is no slot at least for microSD (not to mention microUSB). Thewebcam would be very useful, for example, in Skype. Low availability and high price.It is implied, apparently, that the user must lay out additional accessories for accessories - ranging from headphones and all kinds of adapters, ending ... but with the same covers and a cloth for the screen. Is it for this that they have made it a brand? “Buy our branded rags and sleeves with the logo and taste of an apple”) The rest of the sacrifices of minimalism for Yabloko’s players are not the first time.
On the first day, more than 300,000 devices were sold, which is very good (although analysts of the company expected twice as many figures).
| “ This is a great feeling - to see how the iPad went into the world. This product will change the rules of the game on the market, said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. “ IPad users downloaded an average of three apps and one e-book each during the first few hours after unpacking the device .” |
Speaking of those first "Shuttle" 1200 devices that leaked through customs - almost all of them were sold at a price of 40-65 thousand (depending on the characteristics of the device). Not surprising statistics - 75% of shoppers already have a Mac, and 65% of shoppers own an Apple iPhone. The official start of sales in Russia is still unknown - perhaps officially it will be possible to purchase by the end of this year - while for Russia Apple is not a priority market.
Swearing at the prices of those who sell from us is stupid - pricing is quite logical. If you really want and want right now, then kindly pay. To someone really impatient, they are ready to give any money for a new toy, which many people use. The rest is just to wait - in the foreseeable future, the hype will calm down and prices will more or less normalize, although the price level "like them" is still very far and long. If anyone is interested, I know two reliable stores where right now (not on pre-order) you can buy an iPad - this is Amac and iCult .
The end
To say that the device touched me to the depths of my soul and I melted away means to lie. But I admit honestly - to test and write about such things is incomparably more interesting than about ... well, you understand. A large number of positive aspects, excellent technical characteristics - all this is not without flaws, but on the whole is very, very well balanced, but simply - really great. Slowly I am even starting to understand what many fans are trying to endure :) I agree - a very wide audience will like this product, but whether it really needs it is a very controversial issue that many people didn’t give peace to even before sales. I would find such a thing a lot of applications, especially along with Yota Egg. So I can say I want to. Although there will definitely be an army of those who say "fi, photo frame." If you know in advance where to attach such a device - I advise him with a clear conscience.
Apple once again showed that they have not forgotten how to do rarely, but neatly. In essence, this is a challenge to two promising classes of devices, namely netbooks and MIDs. And if you dig deeper, then this is a completely different class, a new need that can still be monopoly satisfied. Why do you say bye"? Yes, because many will definitely copy. Well, because "bye"! :)
I hope at least this time the people will not turn into sheep and minus everyone
Successes!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/90308/
All Articles