First impressions - iPad and apps!
I bought a 16GB iPad to use for school. I will be going to Grad School in the fall and wanted an iPad to take notes and to keep documents and PDFs on. Not to mention, eBooks!
Anyway...
The iPad is well balanced and feels great in your hands. It is not too big and I think if it were in a widescreen format, it would be awkward. The screen is GORGEOUS!! Very crisp and clear. It does show fingerprints and it did not come with a cloth, but I have the ones that came with my iPhone and MacBook. The speed...oh the speed! It is QUICK! Every bit as quick as the demos - I hope Apple puts the A4 in the iPhone!
The apps...
-iBooks is great. It comes with one free book, as previously mentioned, and gives you a chance to play with it. I am very impressed with the look of the text on the screen. Images are great as well.
-Calendar, Address Book, YouTube, Notes, iPod, iTunes and the AppStore are very user friendly as shown in the demos and quick!
-Maps - even better on the iPad! Clean maps and very nice satellite images!
-Safari - You have seen the demos and it is unbelievably fast! I really love browsing on the iPad. Bookmarks are easy to access and the pages are crisp and clean.
-Mail - again, the demos show it all! I really like the landscape view with my mailbox next to the message. It is as if I was not on a mobile device.
-Photos - amazing! HD images and great organization. What else is there to say?!
-iWork - I bought the iWork suite for $9.99 per app. It is a great deal and they are extremely fast! Pages is what I will use most and the typing does take a few minutes to get used to, but if you are a fast typer, you will have no problem in landscape. Portrait keyboard is to awkward for me, so I just lock the iPad in landscape. Numbers and Keynote are just as nice as pages. They are very quick, come with great templates, and are worth every penny. $30 for a full office suite that is all touch is a great deal!
-New York Times (Free) - This app is a little disappointing. Only shows the editors choice articles and there are not that many. It would best to go to the website.
AP (Free) - The AP has yet another strong app. This app displays top headlines over a light background in individual boxes. When you choose one it pops up over the top of the home page.
-BBC, NPR, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg (All Free) - They are all great news apps. Wall Street Journal requires a subscription.
-ESPN ScoreCenter XL ($4.99) - This is an awesome score app. The larger screen really gave ESPN more room to improve on the iPhone app. I have both, but the iPad's app is much more advance.
-National Geographic World Atlas HD ($1.99) - As a History Major, I have the full book atlas ($40) and buying a touch version for only $1.99 seemed like a no brainer. A 1.5 lb iPad vs. a 4 lb book - easy choice. It has a satellite view, provided by Microsoft and Bing, that rivals that of the Maps app. I highly recommend this app.
-Need for Speed Shift ($14.99) - WOW!! Not the most expensive app in the store, but it is up there. I am already addicted to this game! If you are into racing, this is the game for you!
OVERALL...
-Battery Life - I fully charged it and have been using it for 2 hours. Surfing the web, running web apps, and playing a graphic game - Need for Speed. Guess what?...My battery is still showing 95%!!!! This is amazing considering I have used almost every app I purchased at least twice!
-Hard drive space - 16GB does not sound like much, but I installed almost 100 apps (including the large ones listed above) and only used 1.26GB. I am keeping my music on the iPhone/iPod and only use the iPad for documents, pictures, and apps.
I am extremely happy with the iPad so far. The next big test will come in class on Monday when I take notes in class. Until then, I will continue to check out apps and play with the ones I have!

iPad is an amazing tool for me, and I cannot wait until Software 4.0!!
