Review of the iPad 2 [Coming from a Galaxy Tab user]

Since I gave my Galaxytab to my dad as a Christmas present, I was left without a mobile tablet device for my ebooks, mobile entertainment and connectivity online. I was honestly holding off for the Galaxytab 7.7 [which in all indication is a not gonna show up anytime soon] and the Galaxytab 7.0 Plus is either out of stock or doesn't have installment. So in my mad desperation, I bought an iPad 2 [yeah, Android sell out, bad me].

I had my needs listed in a neat little list:
Must be Android
It's open source, easily customizable, torrents, easy file transfers etc.
7 inches or a little bit more in screen estate
The GT 8.9 might have sufficed but the next need nixed it
if, and its very likely to unify devices, it has 3g/3.5g, it should have phone functionality.
I really hate the idea of having another sim i could have utilized for calls and text, since I am gonna load it at intervals that would accumulate free text for use at least.
And it should have a way to import on the fly
The old Galaxytab [ok I admit this was one of the reasons I was able to let go] did not have the feature to use Samsung's connectivity kit [which looks suspiciously like a black iPad connectivity kit] which allows transfers from an SD card and a USB host connector.

But in the itch for new tech and a replacement for something I can bring along to the bathroom or in my travels, I hurriedly bought an iPad and so far, I'm still mixed but learning to accept it.

For starters, I came from Apple when Apple was just iPods and Macs. My first iPod is still with me, an iPod Video U2 ed, complete with box, manuals, cables and receipt AND it still works :D subsequent Apple purchases included 2 Macbooks, 1 Macbook Pro, iPhone 3g and 3gs but the buck stopped there. After my Macbook died [and later got ressurected] and my other Apple products except the ipod was sold off, I turned my back from jailbreaking Apple products for me and my friends and tried to live a simpler life of a hobbyist photographer.

So what I'm saying is, I'm not NEW to the Apple scene and definitely not unfamiliar with the tech and society involved with it. But even then I chose to go Android, till this pretty little #&^*&&$_&% dropped on my lap. The first thing I noticed [and greatly appreciated] is the screen crispness, with the GT, it felt like reading through a large phone even at 16m pixels and a higher density at that. It isn't really a bad thing up until I got to read on an IPS screen, the clarity, the colors and viewing angles are extraordinary. yeah my sense of wonder never ceases to amaze me [ehem], its one thing when you are testing it, its another when using it frequently. So that chalks up a win there [until the 7.7 with AMOLED comes around that is].

The next thing I noticed is responsiveness, granted the GT had a single core BUT the same RAM and still even at its freshest, the GT can get sluggish and slow to respond. Again, another one for the iPad there. [until yeah yeah, the 7.7 arrives with dual core to go above the iPad specs and Ice Cream Sandwich to sweeten the pot].

Now what I bought for clarity's sake is the iPad 2 16GB without the 3G add on. Why? Cause you can't use it as a phone, there's no way to utilize the free text on the sim or make calls [barring a Jailbreal which isnt around as of this writing]. And if I needed to, I could [and did, get a portable wifi device which can also send text messages if clunky, at least its there as well as share that connection with others] get a device to provide for my internet needs, like a phone or a portable wifi device. Considering the price difference of 7k, the portable wi-fi would make it cheaper or a real phone [like the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini] which would get me calls and text, as well as an extra device for internet access.

Now for some more good stuff, the connectivity kit for the iPad is better priced than the Samsung one but hard to find [most stores were out of stock], and the fact I use Sony MS Pro Duo cards doesn't help. Luckily I sold off the SD card adaptor and retained the USB for cabled transfers from my A77, yes it works, even at 24mp resolutions the ipad did great in importing them, if a tad bit slow. I also bought a Capdase card reader which included MS support [but you'd need the Duo adaptor to use it, otherwise you'll need a tweezer to take the pro duo card out, I know, I tried :D Sweeter thing is the Capdase has support for SD/HC, MS [and Pro Duo/HX with adapter], mmc, olympus cards, micro SD too! Unfortunately they costs much more than the Apple connectivity kit, expensive living.

The connectivity kit has several advantages over just the card reader, you can technically make tethered shots now because of the 'direct' connection to the camera, you can also use a normal card reader [I rationalize my purchase of the additional card reader as minimizing the connection to the connection to my ipad hehehe] and other usb gadgets tat you might think of, just try it and see if it works.

usb port] is clunky at best, nothing like the almost sophisticated interface provided by apple of opening the photo gallery to import the images AND video then segregate them into imported and last imported photos. Plus, the image you import isn't resized in anyway, there is also at least ONE free Raw conversion app in the store that you could use even with the latest and greatest cameras on the market. If you have the $$$ you could use filterstorm, I heard its a great program to have.

Now with that out of the way, one major gripe is that most of the things I enjoyed free [photography apps, blogging and documents/excel] on the Android platform are paid in the App Store. And I don't intend to get those through illegitimate hacks or jailbroken openings. I'll just have to pay up I guess but it irks me really.

Secondly [and third], the fact I HAVE to use itunes to start using my iPad is another irksome thing, syncing apps, images documents! Also flash, I know millions or maybe at least hundreds of thousands have raised the issue of having no flash support, even if its laggy and a drain on resources, I play some FB games not available in the app store that need flash, even my GT with a 1gh single core at 512mb ram could handle webpages in HD with flash, if quite sluggish but usable. Argh, cant I just frigging drag and drop into the iPad and have my flash and use it? Nope, it'll never happen, sigh.

One other thing is the fact the power requirements for the ipad to charge are pretty darn high, you can barely charge via usb port [same with the GT] but whats concerns me is that the first time I had to charge it from 10% it took nearly half the day to reach 100% but afterwards, around 3-6 hours is fine, slow then quick? crazy charging.

Also, regarding built in Apps, out of the box its pretty darn sparse! yes it doesn't have some of the bloatware apps found in the Android devices of today, but some of those free stuff are actually pretty darn useful, like a simple frigging calculator, yes its pretty weird calculating stuff on an ipad in say a supermarket but I DO use it that way with my tab, grocery list and prices, changes in prices, what I have in stock and need? easily done since the basics are covered, and no ALARM? what the heck is that about? you don't want to tell time with a giant ipod? What the frig is that all about? I had to download 2 non oem apps cause I needed an alarm clock and calculator. Not to mention the free word/excel programs found in Android is paid in the App store [at least the ones apple makes].

Lastly, the most irksome thing associated with an iPurchase is the associated purchase of iParaphenilia - from my capdase denim folio that folds into a movie/photo frame, typing angle and normal cover with magnetic sleep/wake function to of course the camera connectivity kit and the bluetooth keyboard am using now to type :D

Luckily, in the Philippines, the cheapest solution for a bluetooth keyboard is just 880 at cdrking, I got the 990 with aaa batteries for power as opposed to the same priced one with built in batteries. Surprisingly as i was shopping for iGear, the Belkin bluetooth keyboard was priced nearly the same as the apple keyboard with no distinct benefit except its a smidgen smaller. heck the cdrking keyboard is about the same size and way cheaper than the 3k plus price tag of the Belkin, what remains to be seen is how long this thing will last. Thats for another review.

Overall, the iPad is something I feel as a good buy if you need an easy and simple to use, no frills, no need to customize giant ipod and tablet in one and you have money to spare for apps, that is up until you jailbreak the thing and start to tinker with the innards and then really make the most of the hardware which even if technically dated, is pretty darn good. For everything else there's Android and its multitude of iterations, color me rainbow for my love of diversity but that's how it is with me at least.