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TheAppleBlog
News, reviews, walkthroughs, and real-life application of Apple products
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iPhone vs. iPad: Do Games Really Scale That Well?
Like many of you, I’m addicted to Plants vs Zombies. When an “HD” version for the iPad was announced, I gladly ponied up the $9.99. Maybe not totally gladly as I already owned the iPhone game, but then I thought that it would be a great comparison of iPhone versus iPad games.

First, let’s stick with the original iPhone App compatible with the iPad. On my iPhone 3GS, it boots on average in about 12 to 14 seconds. On the iPad, it averaged 6 to 7 seconds. Wow. I can either play it in 1x “original” size on the screen or play it magnified via the 2x icon in the lower right hand corner. Playing a game in the 1x version is difficult. The screen seems tiny and it’s awkward to hold the iPad and click inside the virtual iPhone screen.

When in 2x mode, the game is more naturally played, but of course everything is more pixellated because of the doubling effect. Playing the game was perfectly acceptable in my opinion in 2x mode. That is until I tried … Plants vs Zombies HD

Pictures speak louder than words and here are the pictures from the game at roughly the same level (be sure to click on them to see the full-size). You can actually see the arms falling of the zombies and other details. Play is slightly different as seed packets and other items are moved to the top of the screen to allow more detail in the house on the side. Interesting that the app loads in about the same time as the original app: 6 to 7 seconds.

Market conditions and the whim of developers will determine which apps will be worth shelling out the money for the iPad version and which will be updated at no cost. Plants vs Zombies sucked my brain and my wallet in order to get me to pay again for the same game, and it was well worth it! What about you?

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Video: Launch Day iPad Purchase
The line here in Southlake, TX was pretty pathetic, which was just fine by me. Once I was through the doors I tried out an iPad for few seconds and then was quickly moved on to the purchasing process. Here’s a video of the experience.

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Walkthrough: Initial iPad Setup
After unboxing my iPad and powering it on for the first time, I had to connect it to iTunes before actually being able to use the new toy. Did I say toy? I mean the magical and revolutionary device. That’s disappointing because people want to use their iPad right now! The process of setting up the iPad in iTunes is very straightforward, similar to setting up an iPhone, but with a few quirks and one possible, rather funny bug.

As soon as you plug the iPad into your Mac, iTunes 9.1 will open and you’ll see a welcome message. Be sure to upgrade to the latest version of iTunes before hookup.

Click through that and there’s that license. Does anyone actually read these things? If you say no, does it self-destruct?

Next up is where you tell the iPad about your iTunes account. If you are new to the world of iDevices, you also have the option to set up a new account here

Apple doesn’t miss a chance to up-sell its MobileMe service.

OK, finally we are in the final stretch here. On the next screen, you get to choose whether to set up your iPad from scratch or restore from a previous backup. The dialog allowed me to to select the backup from my iPhone, which would presumably be a big time-saver if you have an extensive collection of apps (and their settings) you want to transfer over to the iPad. I saw a cute bug here: the message says “An iPad has previously been synced with this computer” — unless your name is Steve Jobs, it is very unlikely you have synced an iPad with your Mac before today! And if you did, you probably are violating an NDA by telling us this fact.

Now it’s time to name your new baby. This year’s hot names include the always-popular “Michael” and “Clohe.” Sharing this iPad is going to be an issue I know.

Ah, finally, the main screen. It is very similar to the iPhone management screen in iTunes. You can see at a glance how much disk space is on your iPad, and what version of software it is running.

The “Info” tab is where you will see your detail sync settings for things like contacts, email, and address book entires. You can also set up MobileMe from here if you didn’t earlier.

The next set of tabs are familiar to anyone who has used another iDevice. The apps tab allows you to sync and arrange apps. Unfortunately, when I told it to sync apps, it selected every app I owned, well over 100 of them, making me manually un-select the numerous apps I didn’t want to install. The other tabs, like music, movies, iTunesU, podcasts and photos are exactly what you’d expect. If you sync photos, the software will have to optimize them for the iPad, which can take quite a while if you have a large photo library. In retrospect I would recommend avoiding this step for initial setup. Lastly, we have a brand new tab: Books. This is where you will manage books you by with the iBooks app or iTunes. I don’t have any yet — but this will soon change!

One interesting quirk I noticed while doing my initial sync is that the iPad didn’t charge while syncing. I have my iPad’s USB cable hooked to my Apple Keyboard rather than directly into my Mac, so I suspect perhaps not enough power is available for charging. When I plug it directly into the Mac via the USB cable, it charges as expected.

There you go, start to finish it was about half an hour. If I would have avoided the Photo sync it would have been less than five minutes.

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Put a Case On It: Protect Your iPad Day 1
When I spend $500 on a device, I want to keep it well protected. As many know, AppleCare does not protect against accidental damage. Unfortunately, many vendors simply don’t have cases ready, and Apple’s cases are hard to come by at the moment. Naked iPads? For someone as paranoid as me, I shudder at the thought.

I sent out an “all call” for iPad cases and agreed to only look at cases that are ready for sale today, not pre-production or preview units. These are all cases that vendors told me are in stores or able to be ordered online for immediate delivery. Here are some of the ones I liked.

Belkin Pleat Sleeve: $39.99

The Belkin pleat sleeve is a basic iPad sleeve with something extra. The front pleats aren’t just stylish, but provide a thick cushion to give extra protection to the screen from daily mishaps as well as provide a pocket for your headphones and other accessories. I was able to fit quite a bit of stuff in that little pocket. This will be the normal in which I carry my iPad. The front pocket is the killer feature for me.

Hard Candy Bubble Sleeve: $49.95

As Chris wrote, Hard Candy was ready for the iPad release today and easily got me a case for the new member of the family. The Bubble Sleeve provides serious protection. This isn’t a typical neoprene sleeve. The case has thick, sturdy padding on all sides to protect your new investment. Similar to the Belkin sleeve, the Bubble Sleeve has extra cushioning to protect the screen. What I like about this case in particular are the red rubber grips that hold the iPad securely in place. This case will be my travel case. I’ll want to add a little bulk if I’m going to be putting this in an overhead bag or under a seat on the plane. The Bubble Sleeve will be perfect for students who will put 30 pounds of books in a backpack along with their iPad.

Griffin Elan Passport: $49.99

The Elan Passport is weak on protection, but strong on style. While it provides a hard front and back for the iPad, it does nothing to cushion it or protect the sides. Very similar to Apple’s iPad Case, the Passport is a portfolio. Open it up and you’ll have your iPad to the right and slots for business cards and other information on the left. I’d use this case for daily work on the job to maintain a professional and classy image. This is the case I’d want to see on my doctor’s desk.

Three very different cases, all available today. The future will bring more of these protective gizmos, but Precious needs one today! How can I even think of leaving this “magical” and “revolutionary” device unprotected? Apple’s loss is Belkin’s, Hard Candy’s and Griffin’s gain.

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Gallery and Video: Scenes from iPad Lines
Here’s a slideshow and video from iPad lines in San Francisco, CA, Durham, NC and Southlake, TX. Fun was clearly had by everyone involved. Maybe.
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Quick Tip: How to Get an iPad Today Without the Lines
While people wait in long lines today to get their iPad, the hidden story of the day are the “other” places to buy iPads. Everyone knows Apple Stores, as well as some Best Buy locations, are selling the iPad. However, there are also “select” Apple Authorized Resellers who also are getting the iPad today.

To my pleasant surprise this morning, I waited outside my local Apple Specialist location, and guess what? No line. I was in utter shock. I also spoke with a few of the college bookstores that sell Apple products and they too told me they’ll have the iPad today, and probably will have little or no lines in front of their stores. Not every Apple Specialist or college bookstore will get the iPad, so before you drive 50 miles, it probably wouldn’t hurt to give them a call.
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Don’t get me wrong, waiting in line is a “magical” and a “revolutionary” experience. Chilling with the other early adopters (it’s 41 degrees here in Kansas this morning), is fun. However, if you really want an iPad today, don’t forget the select locations I wrote about last month. You might actually go home with an iPad today, and possibly without a long wait.

Related iPad Content from GigaOM Pro (subscription required)

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Not in Line or Waiting on UPS for Your iPad? I Feel Your Pain
Despite being an Apple fanatic, I’m not waiting in line to buy an iPad this morning, nor am I anxiously awaiting my friendly, brown-attired delivery specialist to arrive with one today. Don’t get me wrong: I am anxiously awaiting my iPad, but I won’t see it for a few weeks, as I ordered a 3G model the day orders were first accepted on Apple’s web store. It’s a bit nerve-racking for someone like me to miss out on today’s excitement, so I’m following things here at TheAppleBlog and around the web.

I did wake up to a few iPad-related emails this morning, however. First up was notice from Apple that “iPad is Here.” The message was sent to the same email associated with the Apple ID I used to place the order. It would be nice if Apple sent people like me a slightly different message, like “Thanks for ordering your iPad. It hits the stores today, so when your friends and family go ga-ga over it, you know where to send them.”

The other two emails I received were shipping notices. Now, I have to say when I opened the Gmail conversation, I was a bit excited. The subject line of the email is simply “Apple Store Shipment Notification Order Number #####” with my iPad order number. It turns out that the first shipment is my keyboard dock, which was still a bit surprising as there were rumors that it was delayed well beyond the iPad’s launch on April 3. When tracking the shipment, only billing information has been submitted to UPS, and there isn’t any actual shipment tracking information yet, so maybe there is some truth to those rumors after all.
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My second shipment email notification contains my case and VGA connector. This shipment is actually scheduled to arrive on Monday or Tuesday, and based on the departure scan from Nashville, which is just three hours away, I expect to see it on Monday. Still, that will only whet my appetite, and part of me wishes I’d ordered an iPad without 3G so I could revel in today’s feast of instant gratification. (Patience, grasshopper.)

My day will probably be something like this: Breakfast with my family. Check iPad coverage at TheAppleBlog. Drive to the nursery and check iPad coverage on my iPhone. Come home, spread some mulch, then take a much deserved break and check iPad coverage. Work in the yard some more, shower, then check iPad coverage. Watch the final four tonight, checking iPad coverage at halftime and between games. You get the idea. No, I won’t be getting my iPad today, but I will be getting my iPad fix.

Related iPad Content from GigaOM Pro (subscription required)

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First Look: Video Unboxing of the iPad
This morning I anxiously awaited outside my UPS shipping depot to get one of the first iPads. I took a video of the unboxing experience for our readers. For those in line, this is what your first experience with the iPad will be…eventually.

Related iPad Content from GigaOM Pro

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iPad Now Available in the U.S.
It’s been two long months since the iPad was announced on January 27, and since then it’s been featured on the Grammys, various talk shows, and a comedy TV series. The reviewers seem to love it, despite the negativity of those who say it’s just a big iPod touch. Today, the Apple stores (at least in the U.S.) have opened their glassy gates, and you can now get your very own.

If you live somewhere where there isn’t an Apple store, you can probably get an iPad from a local Apple re-seller, such as Best Buy, but you might want to call around to make sure they have it. If you don’t want to wait in line, or if you’re just lazy, you can pre-order an iPad off the online Apple store; the Wi-Fi version will be shipping April 12 and the WiFi+3G version will be shipping by “Late April.”

In case you live under a gigantic rock and have no idea what the iPad actually is, here’s a little explanation for you: The iPad is a tablet computer running a modified version of iPhone OS. It features the latest in multi-touch technology, runs on a 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed processor, has a 9.7 inch capacitive touch-screen, weighs just 1.5 pounds, and is only half-an-inch thick. Prices start at $499 and go up based on memory size (16, 32, and 64 GB) and whether you want 3G coverage. Speaking of 3G, it uses AT&T in the U.S. and there’s no contract; it’s pay-as-you-go, with two data plans: unlimited and 250MB/month, $29.99 per month for the former, and $14.99 per month for the latter.

In case you need more info, here’s a roundup of our recent iPad coverage:
Related iPad Content from GigaOM Pro (subscription required)

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