A Review of the First Ever iPad

The iPad changed the way that we browse the internet, shop, chat on social networks and, of course, gamble. For many this product was a huge surprise, as was its success. It was seen as a “Giant iPhone” and it even became a laughing-stock in some circles, but not only did it achieve huge success and sales that few people could have foreseen, but it also created a huge number of copy-cats, from the Samsung Tab, to the Nexus and many more.

Despite being huge iPad fans ourselves, the first iPad was something that we missed completely. We were introduced to the iPad sometime later, and have since reviewed all of the subsequent releases, which can be found on this website. We never had that original one though, so when we decided to launch the Pokies for iPad website we knew that we had to get ahold of one of them. It was a recent acquisition for a device that was first launched nearly 5 years previously, so we did our best to tackle this with the mindset of a user back in 2010, as opposed to a modern one who has had the benefits of all of the technology that followed this early iPad.

The Basics

The iPad that we reviewed was not brand-new in its box. It was new, but it was not in that immaculate boxed condition that everyone loves when it comes to Apple products. We searched through some pictures and videos of “unboxings” for this iPad though and can confirm that it was just as beautiful as all current iPads are. There are few better things than cracking open that white box, picking out your device and then slowly peeling off that sticker — you can’t beat it.

The majority of the iPad is the screen, with very little else going on. It is just under ten inches in size, with a multi-touch LED backlit display. The only button on the device is the signature Apple “Home” button, and as far as looks go, it’s very pretty and very simple, but there is nothing amazing about it.

The iPad is also very powerful, with an impressive processor and RAM all packed into a drive that is around half an inch thick. iOS looks beautiful on this device, and the apps and games look so much better here than they do on the early iPhones, with the bigger screen really paying off. The battery is also fantastic and even though the device was not new out of the box, we were able to play for several hours without making much of an impact on the bar.

The Features

The iPad is quick, powerful and very fluent. We’re huge fans of tablets and even years later we still get a kick out of a responsive touchscreen. We also love the App Store and the games, not to mention iTunes. This machine does everything we could ask from a tablet, and even though it is far from the latest model, with the latest technologies, we didn’t really notice anything that we missed, certainly nothing major.

iOS is also brilliant, even the earlier versions. Simple put, we loved this, and not just for nostalgia reasons, and we can’t imagine how excited someone would have been picking this up for the first time 5 years ago, swiping the highly intuitive touchscreen (during a time when touch screens could still be unresponsive) and seeing the might of iOS for the first time.

Our Favourite Features

The beauty of the iPad when it was released was that it offered gamblers like ourselves the chance to play online casinos, poker games and more. Being limited to desktop PCs and laptops meant that online gambling wasn’t as an attractive prospect as it should have been, but with the invention of tablets it made online gambling much easier.

One of the first casinos we ever played on an iPad was BetFair, and this was also the first sports book that we used on a mobile device. We returned to that casino for this review and enjoyed it just as much now on the first iPad as we did back then on the ones that succeeded it. Online casinos really come to life on the iPad, offering easy play, simple graphics and a speed and fluency that feels so natural. These days everyone prefers to use casinos like BetFair and the equally appealing and popular Titan Casino on mobile devices, and we can’t blame them.

If you have yet to be introduced to that world, then we suggest you give it a go. If you have never played on Titan Casino or BetFair before then you can take advantage of a huge first-time deposit bonus, effectively giving you free money to play with.

The Benefits vs Desktop

The iPad was a lot cheaper than many laptops and desktop PCs. It was still more expensive than some of the basic models, and they were also way more powerful than the iPad, but it was considerably cheaper than even the cheapest iMac and Macbook, and it served as a great introduction to the world of Apple.

The lack of power was never too evident as the iPad does everything you need it to do without any trouble. Games are great, shopping is seamless and using social networks is also quick and easy. The only let down here is the compatibility, and the fact that although you are paying a “PC Price”, what you are getting is something that doesn’t actually operate as a PC.

Back then, this was more of a problem than it is now, as there were few mobile apps and mobile versions of websites, but now that is not the case. If we could go back in time then we would recommend a PC or a cheap laptop over an iPad, but if we could advance forward by 4 or 5 years, erasing all of those compatibility issues, then we would recommended the iPad.

Benefits vs iPhone

There isn’t much of a difference between the iPhone, and as someone who owned the first iPhone, we’re not really sure why this iPad was created. It was expensive when it first came out, and although that is no longer the case — with the latest iPad Mini available for half the price of the latest iPhone — back then there was not much difference in price between the iPad and the iPhone. Choosing the iPad over the iPhone basically meant sacrificing the ability to make phone calls for a bigger screen, but considering that many spent way more time on their apps and their games than they did using their phone, this could be considered a good thing. It really all depends on what you used it for.

The Downsides

The one thing that we do not like about the iPad is the size of it. We sill remember all of the adverts for this tablet and how it looked so mobile and so lightweight, but that is far from the case. This is a heavy and cumbersome device, and one that you can’t use with one hand, unless you want to give yourself Carpal Tunnel. The iPad Mini changed that, but when this iPad was first released its miniaturised brother was someway away.

This is not a small issue either. The whole point of a tablet, at least when this one was released, was that is was much more mobile than a laptop or a desktop. It was supposed to be ideal for people to carry around with them, to take on holiday, to slip in their purse or their bag. In truth, the iPad that followed this one wasn’t exactly super lightweight either, but this one was the heaviest of them all, and was a huge flaw that Apple immediately tried to eliminate in future models.