First look at over-the-counter UK iPad

What you get for your money

So… back from the kerfuffle on Regent Street, we've taken one of the UK's first over-the-counter iPads back to THINQ towers for a first look.  

We didn't fancy queuing with the hordes outside the Apple Store who'd inexplicably decided not to pre-order their tablets.

So we nipped around the corner to Tottenham Court Road and picked one up at PC World. No frantic scramble. Barely even a queue.

Staff at PC World wouldn't confirm how many of the devices they had in stock, but we counted around 20 going out of the door in the five minutes or so we were there.  

What it costs
The Wi-Fi-only iPad starts at £429 for the 16GB version, rising to £499 for the 32GB and £599 for the 64GB. 3G mobile connectivity adds an extra £100 onto the price of each model. We bagged the last 64GB 3G model PC World had in stock for £699.

Most customers, they said, had gone for the pricier models, so they still had a number of 16 and 32GB tablets left.  

What it's like
The tablet measures 9.5 by 7.5 inches, and half an inch thick. At 730g for the 3G model, it’s light and easy to grip, making it a much more comfortable proposition to hold and read from than a traditional laptop.

The 1280x1024 screen has a 9.7-inch diagonal: decent enough for browsing and the other entertainment features wanted by most the iPad customers we spoke to.

An ambient light sensor monitors how well-lit your environment is, and adjusts screen brightness accordingly. All the same, we found it near impossible to use in direct sunlight. And in spite of the screen's 'oleophobic' (grease-resistant) coating, if you've got some kind of obsessive-compulsive thing about fingerprints, this device could drive you up the wall.  

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