After exhaustive anticipation, and some excessive hand-rubbing from Apple enthusiasts, the iPad arrived earlier this month.  Whilst the iPhone, and its exponentially increasing plethora of apps, has left Apple with a dizzying sensation of ‘job well done’, the iPad immediately incurred problems.

Over a quarter of a million iPads were sold on the first day of release, but Apple’s latest gizmo was bound to struggle over one particular hurdle: wifi-only access.  This has left many customers complaining on online forums about the poor download speed and weak signal.  The determined exclusion of Flash has generated some negative responses.

The iPad has its merits; it sports Apple’s custom 1GHz A4 chip, as well as Bluetooth 2.1, a digital compass, microphone and ambient light sensor.  The battery has up to 10 hours of life, and the display is a glorious 9.7 inch LED backlit IPS display.  Apple has developed some excellent tools for its new baby, including split-screens, contextual menus and almost full-size keyboards.

With models ranging from 16GB to 64GB, potential buyers have some leeway in terms of how much they have to spend.  However, UK prices seem subject to speculation because Apple has not released anything official.  Online retailers are advertising anything from £398.90 to £689.99 for a 16GB iPad, whilst you can try to get your head around £769.95 for a 64GB model. Although mobile phone website Recombu has claimed the iPad UK price will be around £385 based upon a cost comparison against other Apple products.

Teething problems are inevitable, but Apple will certainly be doing everything it can to make the world want a bite of its latest chunk of tech-wizardry.