All entries for Thursday 17 June 2010

iPad Day 1

I got an iPad today! Wow. Comes in a nice, white box, similar (but much bigger) to iPhone boxes. Also has the SIM card ejector, a USB cable and a UK plug for charging.

Now, I got the device to see if I can use it as an academic. Basically, I am reading many PDFs of professional science journals, mostly in two-column format and I want to see if I can transfer all my PDF collection onto the iPad and then use it as an ebook reader.

As I am new to the Apple world, I am curious to see what awaits me.

OK, you unpack the device and the first thing which you notice is its slim size and its heavy weight! 'Be careful', I think, 'not to drop it!'. Then when you get rid of the packing, you find instructions which tell you to install 'iTunes'. Right, never liked this software on my PC, but will have to do it then. At least it seems the iPad does not work without first talking to iTunes for a while (so you need a Mac or a PC to hand, Linux won't do it).

So, installed iTunes, connected the USB and 'horray', the iPad now works.

First impression: looks like a bigger iPhone. Same set of icons, preinstalled applications etc, but no phone (and my iPad does not have a SIM installed at the moment).

I also got a rubber 'case'. Not sure this is useful, but put it on anyhow. The case also doubles as a stand for about 10 degree (good for typing) and a full upright stand (like a picture frame).

Next, installed email (easy, use mymobilemail.warwick.ac.uk settings). For WiFi access to hotspot, one needs to type uid and pwd into a web browser screen. This is cumbersome, so I got eduroam to work (which was easy, used ITS uid and ITS VPN pwd, hit the 'accept' button for the certificate and woosh, it worked) so I never (fingers crossed) have to type uid/pwd again.

OK, once I was online, I tested some applications, installed some 'Apps' (this is what the Macianians seem to call software) and ready I was. 1/2 hour was all that was needed.

I next started to read some PDFs, using the inbuild PDF reader. After about 5 minutes, my left arm - holding the iPad - started to feel the weight. Also, the built-in PDF reader does not allow one to save the PDFs. Still, the quality of two-column PDFs from PRL, PRB, etc was quite good, this looks like it could work.

So stay tuned, next time I will tell you my adventures with downloading PDF reader apps from the iStore, with the charging problem (mine also only charges from the socket and not the USB).

Rudo Roemer : 17 Jun 2010 22:53 |  Tags: Ipad |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem