Early iPad Reviews Paint Positive PictureEarly iPad Reviews Paint Positive Picture

The usual, Apple-picked suspects have reviewed Apple's iPad, due on April 3. All of the reviews are generally positive, and offer only mild criticism of Apple's latest new gadget.

Eric Ogren, Contributor

April 1, 2010

4 Min Read
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The usual, Apple-picked suspects have reviewed Apple's iPad, due on April 3. All of the reviews are generally positive, and offer only mild criticism of Apple's latest new gadget.Like clockwork, The New York Times' David Pogue, The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg, and USA Today's Ed Baig have published reviews of the Apple iPad mere hours before the product launches. All three point to the iPad's ease-of-use, speed, and that element of "magic" that Apple claims it has. They also note the criticisms of the iPad that have been available since it was announced. Let's look at what each has to say.

New York Times

The Times' David Pogue tackles the iPad from two angles: one for techies and one for everyone else.

For the techies, Pogue points out that there is no Flash support, no multitasking, no camera, and no USB jacks. His summary, "The bottom line is that you can get a laptop for much less money - with a full keyboard, DVD drive, U.S.B. jacks, camera-card slot, camera, the works. Besides: If you've already got a laptop and a smartphone, who's going to carry around a third machine?"

For regular people, Pogue is a bit gentler. He notes that the applications are incredible, the battery life is ridiculously long, and it is superior at consuming content. His summary, "The iPad is so fast and light, the multitouch screen so bright and responsive, the software so easy to navigate, that it really does qualify as a new category of gadget. Some have suggested that it might make a good goof-proof computer for technophobes, the aged and the young; they're absolutely right."

Wall Street Journal

The Journal's Walter Mossberg spent a week using the iPad and was overall very impressed with it. His opening statement sets the tone for the whole review. "After spending hours and hours with it, I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades," he writes.

Mossberg complains that while it is great for consuming content, it isn't so great for creating it. Yes, light email, and document creation is possible, but laptops are still required for heavy lifting and computing tasks. He says, "If you're mainly a Web surfer, note-taker, social-networker and emailer, and a consumer of photos, videos, books, periodicals and music this could be for you. If you need to create or edit giant spreadsheets or long documents, or you have elaborate systems for organizing email, or need to perform video chats, the iPad isn't going to cut it as your go-to device."

In the end, he only dings the iPad for its lack of GPS (Wi-Fi version), lack of multitasking, and non-standard screen ratio.

USA Today

Ed Baig compares the iPad to Microsoft's first attempts to make tablet computing the norm. Where Microsoft failed, Baig believes Apple will succeed. "The first iPad is a winner," he writes. "It stacks up as a formidable electronic-reader rival for Amazon's Kindle. It gives portable game machines from Nintendo and Sony a run for their money. At the very least, the iPad will likely drum up mass-market interest in tablet computing in ways that longtime tablet visionary and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates could only dream of."

Baig goes on to give the iPad positive marks for its great display, fast processor, intuitive software, and abundance of apps. His complaints include its lack of Flash, lack of multitasking, lack of a user-replaceable battery, and that it's too big to fit into your pocket (really, Ed?).

Several other reviews were posted by the likes of PCMag, BoingBoing, and The Chicago SunTimes. All of the reviews share the same opinion: It's a great product for a version 1.0 release, but version 2.0 is likely to be better.

For the latest Apple tablet news, opinion and conversation, be sure to check out information's Special Report: Tablet Wars -- Can Apple Three-peat?

information will post a review early next week, so stay tuned.

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