I went Saturday morning at 9:30 AM to the Apple Store at Opéra and got my iPad 2 an hour later. What surprised me the most was the attitude of the salespeople - they sell you the cool/Mac attitude along with the iPad.

I got a WiFi version, so no GPS geolocation. The iPad wasn’t geolocating me at all, which is quite annoying for apps like Allociné that offer “nearby” showings, or Google Maps for “nearby” businesses. After an update from 4.3 to 4.3.1, no more issues - I was located within 50 meters. The coolest part is that the geolocation changes when I move around the apartment. So WiFi-based geolocation, although not very precise, is quite usable.

For those who think the iPad is useless, let me share how I see things: In Google Docs, I put folders containing articles about what I’ve read or what I still need to read in folders I call “brain input”. The iPad is for me the “mega brain input” - you consume your emails, articles from various sites, newspapers, and magazines. You stay at a consumption stage, but it’s during moments when you probably wouldn’t do anything better, and most importantly, it’s in a state of comfort: everything is fluid, you access what you want in seconds.

All this to answer a friend’s question: “Come on Flo, tell us concretely what you can do with this iPad that you couldn’t do with your computer (which is 1 meter away)”. I can do a few more things and many fewer things, but I’m naturally encouraged to do it in many more situations.

And otherwise, to add my two cents to the commentary soup:

Positive surprises

  • The quite decent sound. Playing a bit of classical music while reading articles is very pleasant

  • The smart cover: super practical in vertical mode, locks the iPad when you close it

  • MobileRSS + “Read It Later”: MobileRSS syncs with Google Reader, you can send articles you want to read to “Read It Later” and then read them in ReadItLater’s pleasant interface

  • The LePoint app: The article presentation is very pleasant and you can download all issues from over a month ago.

  • The L’Express app: Perfect integration of articles into the iPad interface (and in both orientations)

Negative surprises

  • I have a bit of the mura effect that many people talk about, I complained for 10 minutes until they explained to me that they weren’t taking it into account, that I was stuck with it until further notice. To be honest, it’s invisible in daily use.

  • The weight: In bed, it’s noticeably heavier than a book.

  • I had the sound lock up because I had set the sound lock button to screen orientation lock.

  • Many books are missing from online libraries.

  • I bought a lot of applications (more than €70 in 3 days). Applications are the heart of the iPad, so you want to get the best ones.