The iPad finally launches in the UK this month, and huge amounts have been pre-ordered already. With such a sleek and mouth-watering bit of kit, the first thing on your mind (well, ok, second, after frenziedly prodding at it and bragging to all of your friends) is going to be how to protect your iPad and keep it as snug and safe as a newborn baby. This three-step guide to iPad cases should give you some ideas.

1. Get a screen protector

I can’t recommend this enough! A good iPad screen protector will protect your phone from the scratches and scrapes that are almost inevitable on a screen as big as the iPad’s. Our favourite is the InvisibleSHIELD, which is made out of an invisible and invincible film that was initially developed for military-use. Designed to protect the edges of helicopter blades, it’s definitely strong enough to keep your iPad scratch-free.

2. Get a shell

A flexible iPad cover, made from plastic or silicone, will protect your iPad from bumps by absorbing the worst of the shock. On top of that, it’s moulded around your iPad closely enough that it won’t interfere with use, has cut-outs so that all the functions are accessible and will give you the ability to customise your iPad, making it something more colourful and personal. Our favourites is the FlexiShield, which are available in a range of bright colours.

3. Get a case

A good case is a must for transporting your iPad, especially for the business-savvy who want to use it at the office or on the morning commute. You wouldn’t take a laptop out of the house without a case, and the iPad’s the same. Our favourite is this leather iPad case, which looks stylish, has a padded and protective interior and a handle for easy carrying.

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4 Reasons Why Some People Aren't Crazy About iPad

Many waited in line for the release of Apple's 'revolutionary' tablet PC, the iPad. But many, too, shrugged their shoulders with indifference and dissatisfaction over the fact that this almighty device would not deliver on its promise. Well, these two opposing views clearly show how polarized people are with iPad. Let us take a look at a few things that make iPad a not-so-hot item for some.

iPad 2.0 will be available soon, so why bother?
This is a big issue. The currently released iPad is a big disappointment for many and that doesn’t help much with Apple's efforts to make its newest tablet PC a big hit. Whether the disappointments of the general public – techies, mostly – are justified or not, it still hurts Apple's sales. It still, in many ways, discouraged quite a huge number of people from buying the product.

But on top of this issue is the expectation that Apple will release a new, upgraded version soon. (Maybe this time, iPad will come with a built-in camera.) People would rather wait for the upgraded version, which many expect will offer a substantially improved version of its predecessor. Following this line of thinking, people would rather wait for one full year or two than dole out their more than $500 on a device that will soon be replaced.

It doesn’t support Flash.
Ok, big deal. Apple seems to have a thing for Adobe's Flash, a standard on the web. Flash is what most websites and rich media are built with. It's the program that runs videos, audios and games that have saturated the online world. But Apple seem not to like it. The company prefers a more stable, less vulnerable to hack platform. It prefers its own HTML5. It only makes perfect sense that all Apple's products – iPad included – runs on this platform and not on Flash.

What most people don’t quite get though is that nearly all websites on the internet use Adobe Flash. For the end users, this means that when visiting websites using iPad's browser, Safari – glorious and beautiful as it is – there would still be some problems that may be encountered. Big problems. No Hulu and HBO for now, buddy.

No built-in camera. Na ah.
Before Steve Jobs formally presented iPad to the public, everyone thought it's a no-brainer that Apple will attach a camera to the device. Apparently, iPad doesn’t carry one and there seems to be no clear indication that iPad 2.0 will have one. For now, iPad can’t be used for taking snapshots of yourself or for making video calls over Skype or YM.

You only get to multitask when running Apple's native applications.
iPad runs on iPhone's OS, fine. What is not okay though is that the same limitations on iPhone are experienced with the iPad. Say goodbye to multitasking.

If you are a regular user and if you see iPad as nothing more than a sophisticated, multifunctioning multimedia player/toy/laptop hybrid, it won't be much of a problem. But if you live your life online, you'll be stumped. There is no way you can listen to iTunes while making a video call using Skype.

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Do You Enjoy Reading? iPad Has An App For That

Probably one of the more popular features of the iPad—aside from its multi-orientation interface—is its accessibility to hundreds of thousands of apps. These programs have been specifically designed to run on the iPad; there is zero possibility to find it anywhere else, except on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The applications cater to a wide range of categories, including entertainment, business, games, education, and sports. Practically anything you can think of has been prepared for by Apple engineers and third-party developers. Whatever your need, there's an app for that.

One useful application offered on the iPad is an e-book reader called iBooks. The size of the iPad screen is ideal for reading; there is no squinting necessary to view text displayed on this device. Most of the technical aspects relating to the readability of the material can be adjusted such as its brightness, text size, typeface, and background. The background lighting can be dimmed according to the user's preference and this is especially useful for reading at night since nocturnal reading becomes unbearable when the screen is too bright.

Moreover, text size and font styles can be altered to suit the user's needs. For some odd reason, we all have quirky preferences when it comes to font styles. There are people who just simply could not stand neither Times New Roman nor Arial; sometimes, they find it easy to read huge blocks of text displayed in Helvetica or Palatino Linotype. Text adjustment is definitely good news for those who like to read lengthy novels.

Another wonderful feature of the iBooks app is its capability to render superb graphics. iPad's crisp screen and high-speed memory allows images to appear as you read it without waiting for the image to complete. It makes graphic novels and illustrated books better appreciated.

Incidentally, Marvel Comics has its own e-book reader app on the iPad, which means the Marvel experience is easily accessible via a simple download! The images can be enlarged or minimized by simply pinching on the multi-touch screen. It is also easier to navigate and browse the pages of Marvel's comic books by tapping the thumbnails.

In line with further reading, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have also created an app exclusively for the iPad. While it is not exactly a great replacement for a physical broadsheet newspaper, it provides as easy, "tap-worthy" access to news as you need it.

These applications are available on the not-so-subtly named marketplace App Store, which can be accessed on a specialized app on the iPad. iBooks is already included in the device once you purchase it, while the Marvel Comics app can be purchased on the App Store or through Amazon. Currently, Amazon still holds the record of offering more and better titles more than any other e-book seller. The user has the option to preview the books or comics before buying and as a lucky iPad owner, you can also order Marvel Comics in print to add to your collection.

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Who Needs Flash On The iPad When There's HTML5?

Since the iPad's introduction to the public in January 2010, it has suffered unwieldy criticism from Apple antagonists. These groups of Apple non-enthusiasts have called the iPad a regretful piece of appliance at the least.

However, from the point of view of neutral commentators, there emerged a set of logic to explain the seemingly exclusive structure of the iPad.

The most popular perceived deficiency of the iPad in terms of software is its lack of Flash support. Flash is used in most websites; it is supported by all major Web browsers (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera) except for the mobile version of Safari. YouTube is one of the most popular websites that utilize Flash for its videos.

Apple makes up for the lack of Flash support by creating and designing apps that are specific to the iPad. For instance, YouTube has a Flash-free app, using H.264, that will run smoothly on the iPad. Safari supports HMTL5, which can display embedded videos more efficiently than Flash-supported websites.

It has been noted several times that multitasking is impossible on the iPad because the user has to close one app before moving onto the other. Critics have panned this issue by taking into consideration the target market for this device.

As an "appliance" for the media consumer, the iPad is meant to play a single program at a time, most likely a video or a movie. It seems plausible since this device is marketed as an instrument to experience richer media; thus, multitasking is not expected.

The same goes with its lack of wired connections, particularly USB and FireWire ports. iPad has a "locked-down" nature that seemed to offend non-Mac users because of its almost elitist appeal. Critics have also answered this concern and their opinion made great sense.

The iPad is designed by Apple so it's only natural for the manufacturer to prefer full control over the software content of the product. It does not matter if the ownership has been transferred to the buyer. The point is that Apple prefers to protect their creation by ensuring that software entered into the device is properly filtered. Besides, they probably have more iPad apps to introduce and it would be unfortunate for them if a different software company would create a brand new application for the iPad before they even thought of it.

Its lack of commonly used hardware features can be easily resolved by purchasing separate accessories, such as the wireless keyboard dock, camera connection, Bluetooth headphones, composite and component AV cables, power adapter and dock connector to VGA adapter. Clearly, these deficiencies have already been considered by Apple engineers before criticism even materialized.

It is not obvious but there seems to be a continuous struggle of the Apple marketing division to insist that the iPad is in fact a media consumption appliance. It should be differentiated from a full desktop or laptop computer and an iPhone and simply be appreciated as a go-between of the two.

Its lack of full phone and computer features establishes that Apple has created a class of its own and might possibly be a successful forerunner in the field of tablet computers.

Who Needs Flash On The iPad When Theres HTML5

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The quantity of iPad accessories at about that point appear to be at a minimum. There's a certainty that there'll be more accessories available after the date of release and, with more folks using the machine there should be a bigger need for more custom based aspects to the iPad that'll be met by some firms, anyhow. Mostly there are truly only the fundamentals available now, and these will be priced in the region of a fair amount, it appears. First, there's the keyboard dock that starts out the required iPad accessories everyone seems to be hunting for. This dock will permit you to plug in your iPad for charging while holding it upright in order that you can use the attached keyboard for sending mails and other stuff. While it could be a bit ham-fisted to carry about with you all of the time, it'll be a welcome side to those that do a large amount of travelling and will have to recharge in a hotel room once in a while.

You can sit at the desk and use it as a smaller, yet a bit clumsy, desktop type PC. You may think that there will be lots of iPad accessories that will come out the day of the release so far, nothing has been discussed. One thing that a large amount of folk are anticipating is the camera attachment that will permit you to transfer your digital footage to your iPad by simply connecting the camera direct to the iPad itself. Now, you may use your iPad as a fancy digital picture frame and show off all your images to your acquaintances and family.

That may be a decent tiny gadget to have with you if you take a large amount of photographs. Other iPad accessories that'll be available will include a stand that connects to the iPad and assists you to set it at an angle for less complicated use and access to the built in touch screen keypad.

If you do not need to use the keyboard built into the recharging dock, you may use this little piece to ease your typing capability.

It's better to carry with you and you can get the folding one that's basically a case, though rather cost-effectively made, and turns into a stand. All these things will doubtless get major work overs after the release but, for the moment, it is a reasonably decent start.

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