Returning my new iPad.

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My "new iPad" arrived today.

I'm returning it.

I've never in my life returned any purchase, except once a defective motherboard.

Technically, "my" iPad is not defective (i.e., it functions as every other iPad does).

In a real sense, however, I consider it so (defective).

I found Safari to be unusable due to small text and image size.

I found no means to change font or to zoom.

I tried tapping, "de-pinching", etc.

[I found no in-app mechanism for doing so. From the home screen, Settings->Safari offered nothing either.]

Further, as I attempted to browse (or perform any other operation), I found myself constantly hitting the Home or on/off button.

I also found my thumbs accidentally brushing the display (and therefore becoming UI input) as I held the device.

These factors alone render the device almost unusable while holding it.

[Googling found instructions for setting Safari font size - but apparently they apply only to the Mac version. If iPad Safari has this capability,

it's absurd that relevant documentation is not available in an obvious location.]

Temporarily giving up on browsing, I obtained the free PDF reader from the app store, and installed it and a couple of PDFs.

I found no means of bringing up a readable Table of Contents.

Further, reading was a painful process.

1) I found no way to utilize the display "real estate" effectively (in either landscape or portrait).
2) Scrolling is too slow (i.e, waiting for the screen to be redrawn after each finger flick).
3) As mentioned above, I constantly accidentally hit a physical button or the touchscreen.


Activities such as browsing and PDF reading are streams of constant annoyances. More attention is put into operating the device than into reading

the article. Definitely not the experience I was looking for.


========= Contacting Apple =========


Normally, if faced by a tech related "problem", I do more googling, and perhaps make a forum post.

However, difficulty performing such basic activities, coupled with a lack of accessible, competently written documentation irked me into calling Apple Support to ask:


A) How to adjust Safari zoom/font size, if possible.

B) How to disable the physical buttons, if possible**.


I had the following customer "support" experience:

1) I understood little of what the person was saying due to his being a non-native English speaker, and failing to enunciate clearly.

So, the following reflects that I think he said.


2) He began by asking whether I had synced my device. This is my first iPad (and last - I won't buy another Apple product).

Sync? There was nothing to sync.

It's conceivable that what he should have asked was whether I had run iTunes on my computer with the iPad connected (via wire or WiFi).

I told him that it was my first iPad. That there was nothing to sync.

I asked whether he meant that Safari needed to be configured from the PC via iTunes, but he seemed unable to answer that question.


3) Instead of addressing the issues, the rep wanted to have a tech support person configure my iPad remotely++.

Is that the standard Apple tech support response? Ignore the issue and offer remote configuration as the only option?


4) The rep then informed me that because I had not purchased additional support, there would be a fee for the service.

Remote configuration and a fee, instead of answering my questions.

The iPad is supposed to "come with" tech support for a short period of time.

There was no reason at all for a remote connection.






I was willing to use their iTunes garbageware and live with inability to simply transfer files (i.e., inability to treat the iPad file system as a USB drive).

However, the overall experience of the iPad is quite disappointing.

Trivial tasks become obstacles.

Maybe there are ways to configure the iPad to change this.

However, even if so, the lack of decent documentation (or easy access to it), and my experience with Apple support has really turned me off.





--------

++When I asked details about remote configuration, he either didn't know, didn't understand me, or could not explain.

[I suspect this is done via iTunes (which must be capable of being operated remotely). I certainly hope the iTunes program
always presents a dialog requiring a user to authorize remote control.]


** To be re-enabled by a mechanism such as pressing two buttons simultaneously, say.

 

[Redneck_Randy]

Sorry your iPad didn't work out for you. I love my iPad2 and it does eveything I want it to do.

 

[Jones_jt]

I love mine. I doubt you will get your money back.

 

[zphone]

You can always pinch to zoom. Or you could download another browser app such as Dolphin or Firefox and try those.
As for other tasks - it is not a general purpose computer. If you don't try to do things it's not designed for then you will find that things that it is designed for work very well.

 

[col.bris]

I understand your issue however pinch works fine and it zooms without issue. The type is crystal clear far better than the ipad2 so I donot understand your problem.

 

[Seadog]

This is either user related problems, or a troll. I feel sorry for anyone that cannot figure out the simple beauty of these devices, but that is not Apple's fault. The OP seems to be looking for fault.

 

[freebirdforever]

So...you registered on this forum just to tell us...that you're not going to be using the device the forum is dedicated for? Hmm..I smell a troll in this hurr' thread.

 

[kitkat3709]

This is either user related problems, or a troll. I feel sorry for anyone that cannot figure out the simple beauty of these devices, but that is not Apple's fault. The OP seems to be looking for fault.

I was one of those who did not truly appreciate the device when I bought my 1st IPad (1.). I returned it the next day. I thought it was just an overblown IPhone. It took me 8 months to tread the water again and I have never looked back. I can't wait for my new IPad (3rd gen). I use my device so much that my TV is complaining of neglect, let alone my laptop that's collecting dust.

Sent from my iPad2 32 3G Black

 

[Diane B]

When a device is lauded as much as this one I don't believe I'd throw it in in one day LOL. i have had an ipad one for almost two years and find it has completely changed how and where I use a computer. I no longer use my laptop at all, use my PC mainly for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom processing of raw files but still love to process some with several terrific apps on the Ipad. I sometimes do more complex spreadsheets on the PC but can access, alter, read, etc in Office suites on the Ipad. So much you can do on it. I just upgraded to the 3 today and love the upgrade which is pretty major from Ipad one. Just can't imagine someone wouldn't have investigated, checked some forums and explored the device. Too bad, this poster will miss a lot.

As to increasing size of text in Safari-it can't be any easier. Just put two fingers on the screen and spread them out. I move the text/page around, enlarge and decrease the size of text just intuitively--its just lovely to do it. Can't imagine this person wasn't able to do it without any tutorial.

 

[mdholm]

I was one of those who did not truly appreciate the device when I bought my 1st IPad (1.). I returned it the next day. I thought it was just an overblown IPhone. It took me 8 months to tread the water again and I have never looked back. I can't wait for my new IPad (3rd gen). I use my device so much that my TV is complaining of neglect, let alone my laptop that's collecting dust.

Sent from my iPad2 32 3G Black

My ex husband did the same thing. Bought an iPad, returned it the next day. I guess they aren't for everyone.

 

[seneca18]

Ok...to give the OP the benefit of the doubt. If this is your first iproduct you should expect some sort of learning curve. While the iPad is much easier to use than any other tablet out there it still takes a little time to learn the features. To receive it one day and return it the next because of a few simple issues that are more than fixable is foolish in my opinion. If you are looking for the most capable tablet on the market, well you have just returned it. Tablets may just not be your thing (which is ok), but if you are a troll or an anti apple droider, look at my sig at the bottom, I have tons of experience with droids and can tell you that droid tablets have a long way to go...Thats all I got to say about that....

 

[kitkat3709]

Ok...to give the OP the benefit of the doubt. If this is your first iproduct you should expect some sort of learning curve. While the iPad is much easier to use than any other tablet out there it still takes a little time to learn the features. To receive it one day and return it the next because of a few simple issues that are more than fixable is foolish in my opinion. If you are looking for the most capable tablet on the market, well you have just returned it. Tablets may just not be your thing (which is ok), but if you are a troll or an anti apple droider, look at my sig at the bottom, I have tons of experience with droids and can tell you that droid tablets have a long way to go...Thats all I got to say about that....

I had a kinda droid...the Nook Color that I used between my short-lived IPad One and my current IPad2. It is like night and day between those two devices. Maybe the OP could re-think this.

Sent from my iPad2 32 3G Black

 

[Banner]

General Reply To The Replies To My Original Post

1) As for being a "troll", user product criticism and experiences may be helpful to a person contemplating a purchase. Or, do you only want to hear good things about Apple products?

2) As for altering text size, I tried (BEFORE ever posting) all of the suggestions posted here.

By "de-pinching", I meant placing thumb and forefinger on the display, and moving them apart.

I tried doing so at least 20 times in Safari, both vertically and horizontally. No effect.

Further, while such a manipulation may be quite intuitive once learned, to suggest (as one poster did) that it should not be documented and should be obvious to a first time user is silly.

3) Most of the remainder of the responses were general comments about how the user liked or loved their iPad, but which did not address the specific issues I brought up.

4) Someone did mention that the iPad is good for what it is intended to do. I would have thought that browsing and PDF reading would fall into that category, but perhaps I'm mistaken.


Placing controls where they must constantly be avoided while holding the device, and providing no means of disabling them seems crazy. I suppose it's possible that a long term user may begin to almost automatically avoid hitting these buttons.

I've worked with computers with which I have literally toggled values into memory, one bit (switch) at a time.

Many years ago, when Z-80's (actually, micro-controllers with the Z-80 instruction set) became super cheap, I purchased a crap load of them, and built/programmed a network (using serial communication) to perform fractal calculations (the nature of such calculations lends itself to independent processing units having limited communication). A "master" unit distributed work to the "slave" calculators (a few chips and components on a bread board). The master device had a 6809 processor board and SS50 bus. I don't recall the video chips, but I displayed the results on a TV screen. I put a little LED on each board that blipped when communication occurred, and I remember watching my system with red LEDs flickering in a line in the dark (as each slave was polled in turn), while fractal patterns appeared on the TV (which could not display sufficient detail to show the full depth of the calculations). At the time, it represented a lot of processing power. Today, a dozen Z-80's would be a joke.

However, using the iPad is the least ergonomic experience I've had, imo.

Perhaps there are other browsers, as at least one poster mentioned. However, that won't address the physical controls issue.

 

[dhewson777]

May I suggest to the OP that they find someone who has owned an iPad to give them a tutorial. Maybe at the same time that person can check the OP's iPad for any obvious faults in the workings of the iPad, as it is possible they got a dud iPad. A trip to a local Apple Store may sort out all these issues at once, and if still unsatisfied, then return the iPad.

 

[IGonz]

Maybe the ipad 1 was easy for me to use because of the ipod touch I guess.
My mom used it right away with minor problem. She was 87yrs old at the time.
These type of devices are not for everyone.