Regular readers know I'm an avid Apple fan. iPhone. iPod. iMac. MacBook. Got 'em all.
Regular readers also know that I'm psyched about the iPad. It's got that same gotta have it vibe that I remember feeling when I was a kid waiting for my Kung Fu Grip GI Joe to arrive at Christmas.
Not surprisingly, however, it looks like the first generation version has some teething problems:
The power issues arose after someone was unable to restart their iPad after shutting it down. Only after a resync with iTunes could the iPad be used again. Apple have commented saying this is actually a defect and those who have this issue should return them for an exchange.
Next up is wifi problems where some users are reporting spotty reception. It is unknown at the moment if firmware can fix this as wireless issues can happen from time to time depending on interference from other devices.
Next are some problems relating to charging the device by USB. Consumer Reports suggest that you can only charge via a Mac USB port or the 10W power brick that comes supplied. They tested on several Windows machines and none were able to charge it. This potentially could be that there is just not enough power on a PC USB port. Perhaps try from a powered hub or try different ports on a Windows PC. I haven’t tested myself yet.
Finally there are problems with the iPad over heating where a message can be seen saying “iPad needs to cool down before you can use it”. Again, we don’t know the exact details of when this happened although some have been reported to put their iPad in the fridge to cool it down. I personally recommend you don’t go to that extreme just yet.
These problems are added to the issues we already knew about: The lack of a USB port. The lack of support for Flash. The odd position of the headphone jack. The need to pay for basic accessories, like a case.
So wait. Grumpily and restlessly.
But if you've got one, let me know how you're feeling about it.
