There are only 9 days until the Apple iPad is launched and with my iPad’s pre-ordered, yes I’m getting two, one for me and one for my wife. I’ve started to think about what I’ll be doing as soon as I get my hands on my new delightful piece of kit. Presuming that is that it arrives on Saturday morning that is, it not turning up is not an option and not something I even want to think about at present.

The first pleasure after taking delivery from Fed-Ex will be the un-boxing itself. Apple are renowned for imaginative, practical, creative and beautiful packaging so the un-boxing alone is going to be a pleasure. While some people may rip the box apart in a flurry of activity to get their hands on the prize I will slowly yet surely prise open the packaging in the correct order, reverse engineering the process that was completed some days earlier when the iPad was packed away into it’s caccoon for it’s journey to my house.

Next I envisage the initial handling of the iPad itself. Enjoying the sleek lines and curves of it’s design, the weight in my hands and it’s overall beauty, and that’s even before switching it on! That being said for anyone that already has an existing Apple product it’s common knowledge that the beauty of the product is more than just skin deep. So after holding the iPad lifeless in my hands for a few moments and then rifling through the accessories, pamphlets and manuals that come with it the time will come to turn it on.

Again after a few moments of just soaking in the beauty of the now alive iPad it’ll be time to browse around the built in apps and operating system settings. Setting up and connecting to my WiFi network will be one of the first things I complete and I anticipate that the process to do this will be no more difficult than it is on my existing iPod Touch.

Next it will be comparison time, how do the activities that I regularly use my iPod Touch for work on my iPad, so these are the things I’ll be checking out.

• Web Browsing – Around the house I use my iPod Touch as my primary web surfing tool. It’s always handy, quick to launch and easy to use and to be honest I don’t expect the iPad to be any different. Of course when it comes to real estate that’s where I expect things to improve greatly.
• Watching TV – The BBC iPlayer works wonderfully on the iPhone and iPod Touch and I watch many TV Shows from their on my iPod Touch so watching those same shows on the larger brighter screen of the iPad should look great.
• Games – The next thing to try out on my new iPad will be to see how some of my existing games work in the larger screen. I have many great games on my current iPod Touch but here are the top 5 that I’ll be trying out straight away to see how they transfer.
  • Doodle Jump by Lima Sky [iTunes Link] – Even after a year of playing, Doodle Jump is still one of my favourite games. It’s simple, addictive playing style keeps me coming back for more again and again in an attempt to beat my best score. It will be interesting to see how this looks on the bigger screen and how the sensitivity of the accelerometer changes the game play.
  • Tilt to Live by One Man Left [iTunes Link] - I have a similar expectation to Doodle Jump in regard to playing Tilt to Live. It’s a great game which works perfectly on the iPod Touch and iPhone so will the move to the big screen make it better, worse or have no difference.
  • Tiger Woods PGA Tour by EA [iTunes Link] - Another game that’s been out for a while but it’s still high quality title. The graphics look great on the small screen so will any of that quality be lost when it’s expanded. Also how will the touch screen controls affect the power and spin of the ball when having a larger area to play with?
  • Rally Master Pro by FishLabs [iTunes Link] - One of my favourite racing games on the iPod Touch, again how will the graphics translate to the big screen and with the large iPad offer better more accurate control or less.
  • Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars by Rockstar Games [iTunes Link] - This great iPod Touch/iPhone version of the classic GTA games was a huge hit when it was released. The big question for me on this title along with how well the graphics hold up is how the virtual buttons that are placed perfectly on the smaller hand-held device work when holding the larger iPad.
• Apps – When I have any time left over from my other activities there are a few apps that I currently use on my iPod Touch, how will these apps convert?
  • Tweetie 2 – by Atebits [iTunes Link] - As an avid user of Twitter my client of choice is Tweetie 2. A clean, smooth interface and lots of options it will be interesting to see how much more information can be see on the bigger screen and how easy it will be to type my 140 character updates.
  • Facebook [iTunes Link] - With no Flash support on the iPad anyone looking for their iPad to replace their laptop is going to have to get used to using the Facebook app rather than the full-blown web version of Facebook. You can do most things on the iPod/iPhone app so as long as your not a player of Farmville, Cafe World or any of the other Facebook games then you should be OK and the larger screen on the iPad should benefit the photo sharing function of Facebook considerably.

It’s going to be a busy day on Saturday 3rd April, presuming my Apple iPad turns up that is! Come back here then to get photo’s and my initial impression of Apple’s latest piece of technology.