Its not, really. its just the iPhone website, but bigger. It doesn’t use the extra space well at all. Compare with the native in-built app, which puts the comments by the side (seperately scrollable), categories are more sensible unlike the strict one menu one selection mobile version.
K, I think I’m confused. Clarification: so is there something besides that black and white TV icon on my first page that plays youtube videos? 
Huh! I didn’t know the resolution was different. Learn something new every day. 
Personally I prefer the Android UI with widgets so I can customize the home screen to direct show me whatever information is important to me: gmail, calendar, weather, news etc. The iOS interface feels a little barebones to me.
Secondly I might prefer a tablet even lighter than the Galaxy Tab 10.1 or the iPad 2. You often hold a tablet with one hand while controlling it with the other and the iPad isn’t light enough for extended one hand use IMO. I am seriously thinking about the Tab 8.9 which should be available soon and weigh around 20% less than the iPad2. This feels like the right balance between size and weight between the 7 inch tablets which are too small and the 10 inch tablets which are too heavy.
The only con I’ve come across with the iPad 2 is that the camera is really low-quality. I was hoping to use it in class as a quick way to get pictures on the projector, but the camera isn’t up to that. Apart from that, I really like it.
- It’s an Apple product.
Lol.
-golf clap-
All tiny-lens and tiny-sensor cameras suck. I’m actually impressed at how good it is despite the tiny lens and tiny sensor. But yeah, the cameras suck on all iDevices.
Oh, and LED flash on the iPhone 4 (unlocked now, so I upgraded)? At least white-balance can be corrected in software.
Maybe I’m a bit of a snob (and low-end one, though), but as they say: the best camera is the one you have with you. 
Not really, actually… the iPad camera is really, REALLY crap, compared even to the iPhone 4 camera. I’ll see if I can’t fish up some pics later for comparison.
My biggest problem is no USB port, so I can’t connect a serial cable to it to configure routers. No flash is more annoying than a major problem. I would like to have mine jail broken like my original iPad, but as others have said I’m sure it’s coming. Other than that I just wish it had external storage for movies and such (I think there are products that do this, but all of them are 3rd party) as I tend to run out of space often and end up having to switch out music, movies, apps (especially some of the larger games) and such when I travel. Luckily I still use my Zune for audio books so that’s not a problem…and the Zune has a huge hard drive.
-XT
I had the original iPad, and was very frustrated with the on-screen keyboard, e.g. having to switch modes to input numbers vs. characters. At that time, Apple did not allow third-party on-screen keyboards. Has that changed?
(I now have an EEE Pad Transformer and while I don’t particularly like the default keyboard, there are many alternatives available. I currently use Swype.)
The other thing I found frustrating on the iPad is the lack of an accessible filesystem and file manager. It was confusing how data files (PDF, images, etc) were shared between different apps. Android behaves more like a conventional OS in that respect.
I’ll take this a slightly different direction, my issue with the iPad has less to do with it’s limitations and it’s Appleness (which are notable ones) but more with the tablet itself as a device. I realize that sales figures are strong and that I might be a vanishing minority here, but I think tablets in general are pointless. They are essentially toys that don’t really do anything better than a smartphone or a desktop and they are in a more fragile and less usable form factor than both.
Everyone I know who has and loves their iPad, and there are admittedly many of them, really doesn’t use it very often. Every example of it being used is usually to say “hey, watch this video I watched on my computer the other day!” or “look at these pictures I took on my iPhone or camera”. It’s essentially a glorified mobile display. Now, that’s not entirely a bad thing since sharing stuff is a legitimate purpose and it’s clearly better at that than a smartphone and most computers which might happen to be in the other room. Why would you want to spend that much money for a device that is so limited in real world use?
It sucks for composing anything. Even a brief email is easier to compose on a smartphone than on a iPad. It sucks as a camera, royally, and doesn’t travel well at all. The battery life is not very good and it’s not very functional as a mobile video device because of the flash limitation, lack of a DVD/SD/USB drive and battery life. It’s OK as a web browser so long as all you’re trying to do is check the weather or some scores or read a new article, but if you’re doing anything more involved that requires composing (message boards, facebook, commenting) you’re almost certainly better off with a laptop or desktop.
My friend who’s your classic gadget snob, always buys the latest and most popular gadget regardless of need and value, was sitting at his couch a couple weekends ago browsing for movie showtimes on his iPad. When he was ready to purchase his tickets he set it down and picked up his MacBook and reloaded the website to enter his credit card info and navigate the Fandago login and purchase mechanism and to print his tickets. Of course he COULD have stayed on the iPad, but it’s a very good example of the types of annoyances that pop up with tablets once the wow factor wears off.
If we get to a point where battery life is so good that tablets can last all day with video, web and wireless running and they become full featured media devices for watching movies/TV in bed and on the train without restriction and extra cost over PCs they might become more practical. Additionally, something more durable would be key. The iPad is designed like they want you to slip and drop it every 3 weeks. I can’t say I ever see someone using one on the train, probably because it’s so fragile and expensive to a degree and because it’s not worth the hassle to get content on it, and that seems like the place where it should be the most appropriate.
The iPad is probably the best tablet on the market by a pretty wide margin. There are others that are more flexible and easier to get content on, but they don’t have the apps and the horsepower the iPad 2 has. However, are you sure it wouldn’t just end up being a $500+ paperweight after you stopped showing it off to people?
The “iPad has more apps than other tablets” factor is overstated, IMO. If the tablet has a good browser, there’s very little need for dedicated apps. On my Android tablet I’ve tried apps for the weather channel, engadget, facebook, etc but I hardly ever use them; it’s much better to just go to their web site.
I know a few people who use it all the time, including a couple of people who take the iPad and nothing else on business trips. My boss uses it to give Keynote presentations.
I don’t use my Android tablet for work (because I have a convertible tablet PC for work), but I use it for personal use every day. Watching video podcasts, reading books on the Kindle app, browsing the web while lying on the couch, etc. I even use it for singing - I’ve scanned all my sheet music and put it on my tablet so I don’t have to carry a big binder to rehearsals.
Things I hate, hate, hate about my iPad:
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No USB Support. I mean, what the heck? And yes, I must be the one person in the world who hates iTunes.
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No Flash. That’s just annoying. And it’s not that Flash doesn’t play/work on an iPad. It does. It’s that Apple has gone out of its way to make it difficult for end-users. For any websites I frequent that have Flash, I use the iSwifter browser. If Apple can allow a browser in their Store that plays Flash, why not just allow Flash in the preinstalled Safari? Like I said in a different thread, in my opinion, this is just Apple being dicks.
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Typing with the onscreen keyboard is cumbersome, to say the least, but I suspect it would be the same for any tablet device.
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Originally, I thought it would replace my Kindle as a book reader, but I can’t read on it for nearly as long as I can on my Kindle because of eye-strain caused by, I presume, the back lit screen.
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Using it to send emails, especially if you have copy and attachments, is a pain in the neck.
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No SD slots, so no memory or storage expansion
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No way to change the battery
Nope, I am not in love with my iPad, at all.
The ipad has not, by any means, proven to be the be all end all replacement to other computers which I own. But it does a lot of great things, and the things it does shitty I’ve gotten work arounds for.
I have a zagg 2 keyboard/case combo for it. The stand looks flimsier than it is. I use it to prop up my ipad even when I’m not typing, so I can watch movies in bed. And the keyboard is good. I’m typing this longass reply on it as I speak!
I use a VNC client or Splashtop if I need to edit files. Have I reduced my ipad to a PC client terminal by doing so? Yeah, sorta. But there’s also services like Dropbox, and the iCloud, that at least have you moving files in and out of it. And with the camera attatchment, there is a way of getting a USB port on the Ipad, though driver support is another question.
Omniscent, while you may be right that some people just buy it as a flashy toy, the ipad certainly does fill in some really key spots as a work device, as well. It was a replacement for my netbook when the AC pin broke on it, and when you take away the keyboard it’s a smaller, lighter dealy for internet browsing and e-mailing and instant messaging.
The battery life is at least 8 hours, if not Apple’s stated 10, after I leave it plugged in overnight…any comparably sized laptop is lucky to get three or four, so I frankly notch that as one of apple’s selling points here.
Even if I don’t have the Zagg on it, I can type just fine on the screen. But admittedly, I wrote my master’s thesis on a Toshiba nb-100, the keyboard to which at least one online reviewer described as unusably small and cramped.
I don’t show it off anymore, but I do use it every morning to read the newspaper, check my e-mails, facebook, etc. As I’m presently on summer holiday in between university degrees, I’m curious how it will hold up when actually put to a workload.
There are certainly things that it could do better, but I’m still in love with the concept of a “tablet computer” most of all! 
As I mentioned above, on Android tablets you can install any number of third-party onscreen keyboards, so you’re likely to find one that suits you. For a while I used Thumb Keyboard, which is what it sounds like - you hold the tablet with two hands, and use your thumbs to type on a split onscreen keyboard. But since the beta version of Swype for Android Honeycomb was recently released, I’ve been using it exclusively and it’s fantastic.
Hmm? I don’t think this is true at all. I’ve had both iPad 1 and 2 (I’m a developer, my works buys them for me) and the 10-hour battery claims are 100% true. I had an hour wait in the airport and a 5-hour flight last week, starting at 100% charge on my iPad2. After watching video almost the entire time (I got through 5 episodes of The Wire, so that’s 5 hours) my battery was still at 50%.
Now, the battery can take a long time to charge, especially if you don’t have it plugged into the charger brick that comes with it. Plugging it into a computer to charge is a fool’s errand, as it may not get enough juice to actually charge it.
Here’s a review that backs this up:
http://www.macworld.com/article/158223/2011/03/ipad2battery.html. They claim that iPad2 charge times are less - this may be true. I confess that the terrible charge times I remember are from iPad 1.
iOS 5 will include a new split keyboard option on iPad, so you can hold the iPad and type with your thumbs. I’m told by those with access to the prerelease version (wink wink) that it’s quite nice.
I have an iPad 1, but most of its disadvantages are the same on the iPad2:
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No Flash. I don’t know how often I can’t see a website, or have to use a half-assed version of it.
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Poor input device. The keyboard is useless for any real work, so you’ll have to get an add-on and carry it with you, defeated the purpose of the iPad. For other input, it’s far too easy to miss your target and have to go back, especially when browsing the web.
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Google Maps doesn’t offer most of the features it does for other platforms; it’s been cut down in features so it’s as bad as Apple’s own second-rate map program.
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Awkward to transfer data from the iPad to anything else and vice versa.
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Upgrading the OS wipes out your data and requires you reinstall much of your software.
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Battery life degrades rapidly. In the beginning it was great; after a couple months you have to recharge twice as often.
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Constant nags by website to get their app. There are some sites I visit once a month or so. In order to see what I want, I have to go past a screen that says “don’t you really want to download our app?” Some now won’t let you browse to the site – you need to get their app, or nothing.
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Safari web browser – the worst browser out there. Opera is available, but in an iPhone version. No Firefox.
The real advantage of the iPad is its portability and small size. I can use it to browse the web while watching TV (the browsing experience is second-rate, due to Safari, but you can check out things adequately).
Like many Apple products, it’s a cool toy, but not really a practical tool.