Apple iPad

The iPad is a new tablet-style computer from Apple – it is operated using its touch-sensitive screen.

Unlike some similar computers there's no physical keyboard on the iPad. If you've seen or used an iPhone you'll immediately notice the similarity between the two.

There's very little to the iPad other than the 9.7in screen with just three buttons and one switch. There are no USB ports or memory card slots, but there is an Apple dock connector. This can be used to attach keyboards and a memory card reader to transfer pictures, but as yet the only accessories available are from Apple.

The iPad we tested had 32GB of storage (two other editions are available, with 64GB or 16GB). To add confusion there are two versions of each iPad, one of which has a 3G mobile phone connection to connect to the internet. There are extra charges for this, similar to when using a mobile phone. Both versions can connect to wireless networks, but for non-3G one that is the only internet connection.

The iPad isn't all that different from a laptop in some senses: you can browse the internet, get emails, listen to music and watch movies on it. It felt unusual at first and felt relatively heavy too. Even though it weighs only 700g, it’s often held at arms length so the weight soon begins to show. That said, it's more a case of finding a comfortable way to hold the iPad than it being too heavy to use comfortably.

Apple has highlighted the book-reading capabilities of the iPad and has launched a bookshop that allows users to download novels directly to the device, although that’s not available to UK users. Instead, you can use the Amazon Kindle application and other free ones to download and read books.

There’s no question that the screen is one of the best features of the iPad: it was was clear, bright and sharp (almost too bright – we had to turn the brightness down when reading documents). Movies looked great on it.