So I’ve had some quick hands-on experience with the Apple iPad and a few hours to think about it, and there’s a lot about the device that impresses me, and a few things that depress me. On the whole, though, it’s a winner.<\/p>\n
First off, the thing is fast. Touch response is snappy and immediate, apps launch instantly and even action scenes in video (I watched a few scenes from Star Trek) are skip- and freeze- free. Apple’s in-house chip design arm (formerly known as PA Semi) has seemingly produced a beautiful piece of silicon in the A4 processor. Which leads one to wonder if the company’s relationship with Intel is bound to be short lived.<\/p>\n
For the most part, the thing works like a really big, and far faster, iPod Touch. Which may sound a bit anticlimactic given the hopes for this thing, but it’s really more important that you might think. The larger screen makes all sorts of things that seemed like compromises before\u201d\u201dreading, movie watching and, frankly, Web browsing\u201d\u201dinto rich, rewarding experiences.<\/p>\n