iPadvantage

tastewar let me play with — excuse me, I mean evaluate — his iPad today. (As you can see, my LG clamshell cellphone doesn’t take great pictures.)

• iPad touchscreen is very shiny. Makes a good mirror when it’s powered off.
• 802.11g wifi reception is very good, although there are reports of some people having trouble. Maybe they’re trying to connect to 802.11n?
• Portrait mode is easier to hold in your lap than landscape position.
• As expected, there’s no Adobe Flash playback, but Safari browser supports HTML5 video, which comes up automatically on YouTube.

• Netflix Watch Instantly plays smoothly, but on the 1024×768 screen the aspect ratio for 16:9 video is wrong. This isn’t a problem in Windows on my 1024×600 netbook or my 1280×1024 desktop monitor. How did they miss this?

• The Marvel Comics app has caused something of a stir in fandom. (Where’s the concept of collecting if there’s nothing physical to hold?) I’m mostly not interested in new stuff, but it would be great if the Silver Age reprints in Marvel’s Omnibus series were available on the iPad.

• Screen doesn’t clear when you hold it upside down and shake. Needs an Etch-a-Sketch app! 😉