With the April 3rd release date just around the corner, a number of folks that pre-ordered iPads are reporting that they’ve gotten emails letting them know that their orders have shipped. And while they won’t arrive for a few more days, Apple has posted 11 videos that should give you a pretty good idea of how to use the thing once it shows up on your doorstep.

The 11 Guided Tours cover topics including the Safari web browser, the new iBooks eBook store, and the new Numbers spreadsheet app.

The videos give you a good look at the user interface, and while I’ve been guilty in the past of calling the iPad an oversized iPod touch, it does look like Apple has made good use of the extra screen real estate on the 9.7 inch, 1024 x 768 pixel display. While apps such as Numbers still make heavy use of tabs to keep your data organized, the mail app can show both a list of messages in your inbox and the full message. And the audio and video apps can show you much more content including album art and a version of iTunes that looks a lot like the desktop app.

I’m still skeptical of Apple’s claim that the on-screen keyboard is “effortless to type on” because it’s almost the same size as a laptop keyboard. Because in order to hold the iPad at an angle where you can comfortably type, you’re either going to need to hold the iPad with one hand and type with the other, or prop your legs up on a very high table. To see what I mean, take a look at the screengrab from the iPad Mail Guided Tour after the break.

You can find all 11 videos at Apple’s iPad Guided Tours page.

via Engadget

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4 replies on “Apple provides video tours of iPad features”

  1. Typing on it sure is awkward. Moving around a larger screen with just fingers, without a mouse or some pointing device is cumbersome

  2. I hate to think how many backs are going to be put out by using this device…

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