IT Pro Verdict

The iPad is a great tool if you only need the capabilities of an iPhone with a large screen. Sure, email and the browser excel here, but to make it perfect for everything else, it needs much better security and you’ll have to purchase the extra dock and keyboard to make working on the move viable.

By Clare Hopping

Published 12 April 2010 In Reviews

We have an iPhone, a BlackBerry, MacBook and the iPad and used all three of them five metres from our router. The iPad is the only device that is struggled to keep a constant connection to Wi-Fi. The only way to rectify this is to turn the iPad off and then on again. Fingers crossed this fault will be eradicated with the 3G version of the iPad.

The Apple iPad is a great gadget for showing off to friends and colleagues and, as more iPad apps appear on the App Store, it does offer an exciting tablet-like experience.

However, it's never going to revive the tablet scene because it's not designed to be a business tool. Multitasking may make this a more attractive solution for business users, although there's still no proof to show the processor will retain the speed when multiple apps are open in the background.

For now though, it steams along and is massively effective for carrying out one task at a time. But it just doesn't match the usability of a netbook in terms of business capabilities.

Verdict

The iPad is a great tool if you only need the capabilities of an iPhone with a large screen.

Sure, email and the browser excel here, but to make it perfect for everything else, it needs much better security and you’ll have to purchase the extra dock and keyboard to make working on the move viable.

Processor: 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip

Storage: 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive

Display: 9.5in, 1024x768 pixels touch screen display

Features: accelerometer, 3.5mm headphone jack, built-in speaker, microphone, micro SIM card, up to 10 hours battery life for web surfing and watching videos

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth, A-GPS

Dimensions: 189.7x13.4x242.8mm (WxDxH)

Weight: 680g

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Clare is the founder of Blue Cactus Digital, a digital marketing company that helps ethical and sustainability-focused businesses grow their customer base.

Prior to becoming a marketer, Clare was a journalist, working at a range of mobile device-focused outlets including Know Your Mobile before moving into freelance life.

As a freelance writer, she drew on her expertise in mobility to write features and guides for ITPro, as well as regularly writing news stories on a wide range of topics.