Is the Apple iPad tablet computer as good as the hype suggests?

Apple’s iPad, released last year, is either a pointless, yawn-inducing bore-gadget or the most amazing thing to happen to computers, depending on who you speak to.

The truth is that, for some users, it’s a fascinating new way to access the internet, games and digital media but, for others, it’s less useful. We’ll take a look at what it’s good for and what it isn’t.

What is it?

In many ways the iPad isn’t anything new. It’s a tablet computer, which means it has a touch-sensitive screen and no keyboard, and is controlled by tapping symbols on the screen. If you need to enter text, a keyboard appears on the lower part of the screen, and you can tap the on-screen letters and numbers to make them appear.

Tablet computers have been sold before but they have never been popular among home users (they have been slightly more popular with business users, but not by much). The clever thing Apple did was to make them much easier to use.

Just like the iPhone is a smartphone that is easier to use in some respects, the iPad has taken the hassle out of using a portable computer, which has made it much more palatable to the average user. It’s also true that some of the iPad’s popularity is down to fashion – Apple is a fashionable brand and some people are happy to pay a premium for Apple’s design principles, which, in fairness, are reflected in its ease of use as well as its stylish looks.

What’s it good for?

Our review of the iPad pointed out how it’s surprisingly easy to use, especially if you are not used to using computers. The clean design and colourful icons are more intuitive than the windows and mouse pointer of a conventional PC.

Another advantage of the iPad (although not everyone would agree on this) is that Apple has the only say in the software it will run. If you have a Windows computer (or even a Mac) you can access a wide range of software from a variety of different sources.

With the iPad and iPhone, however, the whole system is controlled by Apple. Any program you want to load on it must be approved by Apple and distributed through the Apple App Store, which in turn takes a cut of the sale proceeds (unless the app is free to download).

You can visit websites on it, but the iPad’s browser is also locked down so it’s not possible for those sites to load anything onto the iPad or do any harm.

The iPad’s battery life is much better than you would expect from a similarly priced laptop, and the size and shape make it easy to pick up and carry around. You can see more of the iPad in our video.