Here are a few tips, having used an iPad for a couple of weeks (and no-one dare suggest taking it away from me!).
If you already have an iPad, skip this first section, and start at "3G Contracts".
Obtaining an iPad
Unless you are lucky enough to be given an iPad, you'll need to buy it outright (there are no monthly “iPad + 3G SIM” deals yet, for example). There are currently only three [now five] stockists in the UK, plus Apple online:
- Apple online
- Apple stores
- Selected PC World stores
- Selected Currys stores
[Since this article was written,
Comet and
John Lewis have also started selling iPads]
There are six models being the combination of:
- 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of mass storage
- Each with or without 3G (where the chassis has a slot for a 3G microSIM).
All models support WiFi, for accessing wireless LANs and other hotspots.
As there are significant differences in price, the 16GB versions should suffice unless you anticipate storing masses of videos, and/or using lots of highly graphical software applications (“apps”).
Is it then worth an extra £100 inc VAT for a 3G slot? To use it you'll also need to buy a Pay-As-You-Go microSIM, or pay for a monthly 3G contract. The slot cannot be added later, so worth getting a 3G model if affordable. [Added since originally written:]However there is now an alternative way to connect to the internet using "MiFi". This means that you may be able to save the £100 (see "3G Contracts" section below).
[Revised since original article:] So for most people the entry-level 16GB iPad without 3G at £429 inc VAT will suffice. The 3G version at £499 inc VAT will suit people who need 3G connectivity and prefer the one-gadget convenience (and possible subscription fee advantages - check at the time) of using a micro-SIM rather than MiFi.
3G Contracts
The iPad uses a different type of “microSIM” than other devices. If you go the 3G route, the original approach was to
choose from one of the major networks (O2, Orange, Three and Vodafone). They all provide monthly contracts, but there is a significant disparity in prices and contract lengths to consider.
At the time of writing, Three provides the most data per month for your money. As they are
investing substantially in improving their network, they may be a better long-term bet. But for the short term worth considering coverage from each network in the area(s) you expect to use your iPad, and reviewing any web pages that provide a network comparison.
[Added since originally written:] There is now an alternative approach. Mobile operator
Three have introduced a
MiFi system, which is yet to be offered in the UK by other operators (who only offer data dongles). The MiFi system consists of a small device you can carry in your pocket which provides the following benefits according to
BBC Click and Three:
- WiFi connection for up to 5 devices to share the 3G SIM
- A USB slot is not needed, so can be used for iPads and any other WiFi-enabled devices
- Internet access speeds at least as good for a PC as a Three 3G dongle (so presumably just as good for iPads)
- If you already have a Three data SIM, which you can't use directly in an iPad, you can use it in a MiFi unit which you can buy on Pay-As-You-Go (about £40-50)
If a MiFi unit makes sense to you, then there's no need to pay the extra £100 for a 3G-enabled iPad. It's especially interesting to existing Three data contract customers who can continue to use their SIM in the MiFi device.
Otherwise if you may need to access the internet away from WiFi points it is worth paying the extra £100 for a 3G-enabled iPad (plus obtaining a micro-SIM either on Pay-as-you-go or on contract).
Vital Accessories
(1)
CASE: The one thing to definitely buy for your iPad is a case. Whilst various screen covers are available to protect the screen, a suitable case will also provide a stand for 1-2-1 presentations and makes a world of difference for personal use.
The InCase “Vertical Book Jacket” (pictured above) is only apparently available at Apple stores (and possibly online). It is better than Apple’s own case, or anything else I’ve seen in PCWorld, Currys (and apparently Comet or John Lewis). The Incase VBJ provides five positions at different angles in landscape mode (3 official + 2 extremes) , but only a vertical one in portrait mode. I tend to agree with the
criticism, but in practice the disadvantages are not a real problem and are well exceeded by the advantages. Closed up to protect the screen it is rather understated, so doesn’t attract unwanted attention. Costs around £50, but as a screen protector is no longer necessary, worth every penny.
(2)
iPAD DOCK
This provides several facilities, including:
- Portrait stand, laid back at a slight angle to the vertical
- Optional link to external powered speakers
However it looks like you would have to take the iPad out of its case, and if you also have a pair of headphones, the dock is unnecessary. Unless there’s a very good reason to get one, save your money.
(3)
EARPHONES OR HEADPHONES: The speakers are remarkably good for their size, but nothing compared to good earphones or headphones. Unlike many phones or iPods, no earphones come in the iPad box. The unit’s headphone socket takes a standard jack, so you have two key options:
- You may already have a suitable pair of headphones or earphones. Otherwise it’s worth getting a pair with good bass response to get the most out of the iPad.
- Alternatively the iPad also provides Bluetooth to connect to headphones
You can also use the headphone jack to connect to external powered speakers.
(4)
MAINS/CAR CHARGERS: Initially you set up the iPad using the USB cable supplied. It is easy to forget that there is a mains adaptor in the box. Even so, if you don’t already have another iPod/iPhone mains charger or car charger, it’s worth getting a spare.
(5)
QUERTY KEYBOARD: The iPad is not intended to be a laptop replacement, especially if you are reliant on Windows-based applications. Other than games and other interactive apps, the iPad is best used for passive consumption of music, pictures, video, webpages etc. However all these things need entry of passwords and other words, so an onscreen QUERTY keyboard pops up automatically when needed.
This is perfectly adequate for most purposes, but if you insist on doing a lot of typing, such as for emails, then external keyboards are available with or without a dock.
(6)
CONNECTORS: Using the power dock:
- VGA cable to connect to external monitors
- Connector to load pictures from a camera
(7)
ADDITIONAL APPS: You can then load various “apps”, ranging from free to around £10 each, with a few a bit more expensive. I’ll cover apps separately, below
Opening the Box
The first thing you’ll notice is how heavy the iPad is. Long-life battery and glass screen. It won’t bounce! That’s another reason why a soft case is essential.
Help and User Manuals
The next thing you’ll notice is that in the box there is only:
- A cardboard quick start guide, that suggests that you first connect to your PC or Mac, to transfer and synchronise your iTunes files on to the iPad. (The iPad can be charged up directly, using the mains adaptor, when you don’t want to re-sync)
- A flimsy booklet that looks like it would be legalese, but is in fact mainly useful tips worth reading, like how definitely not to clean the screen (the booklet’s small print makes legal small print look big, and is one of only very few aspects of the iPad and its packaging I would change)
As soon as the iPad powers up, you’ll see some icons along the bottom of the screen, and a few towards the top. All functions are available by tapping these and any additional icons, with just a few notable exceptions:
- Volume is not adjusted on-screen, but using the buttons on the edge
- To turn off the screen, but to keep the unit running, press the power button briefly. To turn it completely off or on, press the power button for a few seconds until it responds.
- There is no “Help” icon
In fact help is available from two sources:
- Click on “Safari” (the web browser), and then the book (actually bookmark) symbol top right.. “iPad User Guide” is one of the options. also contains chapters for help on specific apps.
- A full user guide, for the iPad and standard apps only, is at http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/iPad_User_Guide.pdf . This is useful to view on your PC whilst using the tips on the iPad.
There is a plenty of information about the various standard apps and other aspects, that I won’t duplicate here. I’ll just highlight a few key points:
External Buttons & Sockets
There’s just a few control buttons and sockets around the edge of the iPad, which are worth locating:
- On/off button – long press to switch on/of, and short press to sleep/wake
- Volume up and down buttons (the latter also used to mute sound)
- Screen lock button, to lock it in landscape or portrait mode, if required
- Headphone socket (with microphone next to it)
- Speakers
- Dock connector, which can be used:
- To connect to PC or Mac
- For mains charger
- For cable to external video monitor (cable available separately)
- Menu button on screen
Touch Screen
The iPad is operated through the touch screen, which is intuitive and a joy to use. How this is done is partly trial and error, partly looking at the manual.
Connecting to a wireless LAN or WiFi service
This is simply a matter of choosing from the list of available networks, and where required entering the required password. This is typically the long code number the network device generated when the original password was entered.
Partial Multi-tasking
There’s a button on the screen to get back to the original menu icons. For most applications, pressing the button means that the application is “frozen” in that place until you return to that application later. (If there’s a problem with an application, you’ll have to turn the iPad off completely and restart).
However a few applications carry on working in the background when the menu button is pressed. Notably music on the “iPod” will continue to play.
Useful Settings
If you rotate the screen, it automatically changes from landscape to portrait to landscape etc. If you want to lock one particular format, there is a button on the edge.
The “settings” icon contains some useful facilities:
- A PIN “passcode lock” number can be set up, to be entered on start-up (many people will otherwise want to play with your iPad when you’re not looking!)
- You can change the brightness of the screen, especially important to use the iPad in bright sunlight (as demonstrated by Jake Humphrey at each Grand Prix)
- You can set “Airplane mode” to use it in an aeroplane
Battery Usage
The battery provides many hours’ usage, but it’s worth either running the iPad plugged into the mains, or re-charging it overnight.
Lack of Adobe Flash support
When the iPad was launched, Adobe took great exception to Apple refusing to let Flash software run on the iPad. One reason quoted by Apple was the number of problems Flash can cause. That has certainly been the case on my PC, where “The Flash plug-in has crashed” message has been far too frequent this last week.
But many websites use Flash either to run their videos or audio files. This is notably the case with most TV and radio services and MySpace (except for embedded YouTube videos). YouTube itself runs videos with ease, either from Safari or from its own YouTube app.
BBC iPlayer
The lack of Flash support has meant that the BBC has had to adapt their iPlayer from the “big screen” mobile version used for devices such as the PS/3. The iPlayer appears to use Apple's QuickTime technology
Sadly there is no specific app for the iPlayer, although one is likely. Currently you have to access
iPlayer through the Safari web browser, by using a Google search or typing in the URL.
When the iPlayer works, it is brilliant. But it is also a highly frustrating and time-wasting experience:
- For some reason it has been difficult to run some programmes, notably the long Formula 1 programmes. Even when have run the start of a programme successfully, re-trying often gives messages such as “File not found”, or continuously trying to load the programme. It’s not clear why this is, by comparison to successfully accessing the same programmes (albeit it Flash versions) using a PC through the same router and broadband line. Reducing the iPad setting for picture quality from “High Quality” to “Normal”, which does not affect sound quality, has made little difference (using the “Settings” button visible when not using iPlayer menus)
- If a programme is paused, re-starting it can sometimes make it re-start at the beginning.
- If you have to stop and exit a programme part-way for some reason, you can’t simply continue from where you left off. It doesn’t like adjusting time position, and can take ages by exiting and re-trying to get it to re-start in anything like the required place.
However there is one other useful setting - the “S” button in the bottom left of the screen . This toggles sub-titles on and off – particularly useful if you can’t use the speakers (in an office, say) and don’t have earphones.
Accessing TV and Radio Programmes
Unlike BBC iPlayer, BBC TV and radio programmes rely on Flash, both for live transmission and their archive. Only the programmes that have been specifically made available on iPlayer can be played on the iPad. I hope it isn't long before they can all be played!
Many commercial TV & radio channels, including "ITV player", Channel 4's "4OD" & 5’s "Demand 5" currently don't work on the iPad, as they rely on Flash. However there is talk of providing a combined service with the BBC, just like they collaborate for other forms of transmission.
eMail
If you use GoogleMail or other internet-based email systems, you can configure one or more into the iPad. As emails come in, a count of unread messages appears on the email icon on the menu screen.
iPod
The iPod icon plays your music and any other items sync’d from iTunes on your PC or Mac.
New music and other media can be purchased from the iTunes store direct downloaded onto your iPad, and can then be sync’d back to iTunes on your PC/Mac
eBooks (iBooks)
Again these are available from the iTunes store. The free “Winnie the Pooh” ibook clearly demonstrates how ebooks work on the iPad. Turning pages using a flick of the finger on the pages on the screen is simply brilliant.
Purchasing new Apps
All new apps, including free ones, are obtained from the iTunes App store. This can be accessed using the App Store icon
Notable apps include:
1. Three of Apple’s own “iWork” apps at £6.99 each. They are relatively simple, but worth buying just so they are available. However don’t expect much in terms of compatibility with either Microsoft Office or iWork apps on a Mac – see
review:
- “Pages” word-processor, which can open simple Word files
- “Numbers” , which is too simple to use most Excel files, and cannot export Excel format
- “Keynote” which cannot use many PowerPoint files, nor is any where near as good as the full Mac version. You can only really create simple presentations directly.
2. Various weather apps
3. YouTube, Twitter clients and other social media
4. Games & trivia
5. Musical
6. etc etc etc. There are now well over hundred thousand apps
Many of these apps are actually for the iPhone, such as the free “Stadium Vuvuzela button” (yes it is as annoying as the real thing!). These are designed to be used in portrait mode, as on a phone.
There are plenty of books and websites recommending some of the better apps.
Linking to a bigger screen
There are times where you would prefer a bigger screen – for presentations to bigger audiences or just to watch videos. A special VGA cable is available to plug a monitor or projector into the main docking socket
MobileMe
This
app provides a range of functions, including the ability to locate the device (if you’ve mislaid it and its switched on) and if necessary remotely wipe the files on it.
Keeping the screen clean
As you operate the iPad using the touch screen, finger marks quickly appear. Apple suggests that as the screen has a special anti-grease coating, the screen is simply cleaned using a slightly damp cloth (see further details in the “iPad Help” from the Safari bookmarks menu)
IN CONCLUSION
After a few days’ use, it’s clear the iPad is a fantastic device that everyone wants to use. With the exception of problems accessing iPlayer programmes, it has been a sheer joy to use.
Pricing
[can someone explain this massive gap, that's not obvious from the HMTL code?]
| Memory: | 16GB | 32GB | 64GB |
| Wireless (WiFi) | £429
(£365 ex VAT) | £499
(£425 ex VAT) | £599
(£510 ex VAT) |
| Wireless + SIM** | £529
(£450 ex VAT) | £599
(£510 ex VAT) | £699
(£595 ex VAT) |
