iOS 4.2 On iPad – Our First Hour

About iOS 4.2

When Apple announced iOS 4.2, boss-man Steve Jobs said that it's all about the iPad. It brings the features of iOS4 to the Apple tablet, and adds a few new things. The new operating system was made available to developers earlier this week, and soon users were able to download it for themselves. Those who are interested can check it out: Here. But be warned, our download took a very, very long time.

Our First Hour With iPad iOS 4.2

We took the system for our usual test, which includes an hour of hands-on we call "Our First Hour," which we think is important because the initial impression counts for a lot. We typically play around with the very basics of the operating system for the first hour and test out some of our favorite Apps and functions. That said, let's take a look at iOS 4.2 for the iPad. 

iPad and iOS 4.2: Feels Great Already

With our initial use, we can say that things feel great. The new operating system doesn't feel sluggish on the iPad, and it brings the functionality we need from the device, multitasking. While multitasking is pretty important in a phone, it's usefulness is 10 times that on a device like the iPad–a device many may see as a netbook replacement.

We did notice some minor changes right off the bat. One was when we tried to lock our iPad in landscape (which is just a personal preference) and we found that the lock orientation button had now become a mute button. In order to access the orientation lock, you must open the multitasking dock, swipe right to reach the iPod menu and hit the lock icon like you would on the iPhone or iPod Touch. The iPad version of 4.2 adds a brightness control next to the orientation lock. That is something we haven't noticed in past versions of iOS 4, and we will be testing it out once we get it running on an iPhone as well. 

Apps on iOS 4.2

So far, all the Apps we tested have worked without a hitch. Everything still runs as well as it does with the previous iterations of iOS4, and it's nice not to lose functionality. That's not to say that someone out there won't run into some problems, but what counts is that Netflix ran perfectly.

Stay Tuned…

It's too early to say what battery life is like. We will be playing around with the features and functions: web browsing, various Apps and all the other daily use kind of stuff. So far things look good, but what is most important in the end is how efficiently things run and how it affects the iPad battery life. If those things aren't compromised in any major way, then we can be assured that Apple has done well with this one. Tomorrow we will be posting our impressions after those initial 24-hours of use.