Ipad hits UK Appertunity prepares for the invasion!

May 27, 2010

HI PLEASE BEAR WITH ME WHILE THE SITE IS BEING UPGRADED

The ipad finally hits the UK today (28/05/10) and it has been confirmed that it will be available at Currys, PC World and Dixon’s along with Apples 27 UK stores which will open early to cope with demand!

Why so late?

The huge demand in the US led to a shortage of stock which meant the iPad’s European launch was postponed. The basic iPad (wi-fi only) costs around £429 while the 3G model will be a whopping £700!

funny appertunity ipad iphone steve jobs Ipad hits UK Appertunity prepares for the invasion!

Can I use my iphone to tether the ipad?

There were rumours that the next ipad 3G model would offer iphone tethering (meaning you could connect your iphone and ipad and therefore avoid additional 3G costs) however Steve Jobs (ever the businessman, yet rarely eloquent) has indicated that this wont be possible with a one word answer and that word was ‘No!’ (It’s the sort of thing that makes me want to go jailbreak all my devices out of spite!).

Surely if you already own one you shouldn’t have the additional cost! However the phone companies are here to make a profit so it’s unlikely this will happen.

Are the apps for ipad more expensive?

There are thousands just like those for the iphone and most convert well to the ipad however a few are much more expensive than the standard $1 (59p) something which I feel is a bad move as many wont be willing to pay $18 for a subscription to a news service that you can get for free via the web! Perhaps the prices will come down as app developers start to compete!

An example of this is WunderRadio which I bought fairly cheaply on my iphone (perhaps they were having a sale?) but since its ipad launch it has leapt to £3.99!

SO here are Appertunity’s top 5 ipad app recommendations.

(The video reviews are from other ipad fans, I shall be doing my own for Appertunity blog when I eventually get my behind in gear!)

Stumble upon – is free. I love this on my PC and the ipad version is wonderful! Stumble upon is a web discovery and social recommendation service and is one of apples featured applications for the ipad. It allows you to discover wonderful photos and web sites based on your preferences (but of course it wont stear you in the direction of flash based web sites)!

Marvel Comics is thankfully free and although you do have to pay for comics there are some freebies available. (As an aside try Comixology for a much larger selection of comics. This is my personal preference)

Real Racing HD is £5.99 I only mention this app as this was the app that Steve Jobs showed off at the iPad launch. I’m not a huge driving fan but this is great fun as you steer using the accelerometer! Very addictive!

iBooks is free as its Apple’s ebook store reader and it is a true delight to use! Plus there are plenty of free titles! There are alternatives but I have to say I love this so far!

BBC news on the ipad feels like a whole new experience with a nicely laid out interface and of course its free!

So there you have it five apps you’re really going to want if your getting this shiny new toy!

I hope you have fun with the ipad and let us know your initial thoughts with a comment here at Appertunity blog!

Finally I couldn’t resist including this Youtube vid!

Youtube will be full of ‘unboxing’ videos over the next few weeks as the UK population unpack their ipads and Oooh and Ahhh over their new devices!

I don’t mind this if they tell you something new but all too often they don’t! So as a bit of light relief sit back and watch this geek parody/spoof vid – made me chuckle. Well done boys!