My iPad came in the mail this morning so this will be a preliminary review of the setup and first uses of the iPad. However, once I have been using the iPad for a while I will keep returning to this review to update it.

I've had an iPhone for about 7 months now and am one of those annoying people who claim not to be able to live without their iPhone. I watched the Apple Keynote on the iPad on my iPhone like some obsessed fangirl and as soon as May 10th came around, my iPad was preordered.

I have the 64gb WiFi version. I didn't see much point in getting the 3G version as I already have 3G on my iPhone and didn't want to have to pay another payment plan for the iPad. I bought this iPad for £699 from the Apple Store (currently the only place you can buy the iPad in the UK I think - will double check this).

Description: Apple iPad - A4 1 GHz - Hard Drive Size: 16, 32 or 64 GB - Bluetooth: Yes - Built-in Speakers: Yes - Display Diagonal: 9.7in - Display Technology: LED-backlit - Max Resolution: 1024 x 768 - Battery: Lithium polymer - Battery Life: 10 hours - OS Type: Apple iPad OS 3.2

The packaging, like all other Apple products, was sleek and ergonomically perfected. It arrived in a white box bearing a clear photograph of the front of the iPad on top and on the side it simply says 'iPad'. On the bottom of the box is the model number and the memory information of the iPad. Inside the box the iPad lay on the top wrapped in protective plastic which was easy to remove. Underneath the iPad was a small instruction manual (very, very small because the iPad is so user-friendly), a charger and a USB cable for connecting the iPad to the PC or Mac. As with all Apple products now these are white and shiny and very nice to look at! Also as with all Apple products there were two white Apple logo stickers in the box as well.

The iPad itself was very thin and light. I found it easy to hold with one hand and it rests on my lap without slipping. It is silver with a black Apple logo on the back. On the top are the headphone socket on the left and the on/off switch on the right. Down the righthand side of the product is a screen rotation lock switch which means that if you tip the iPad on its side the screen won't rotate with it. On this side there are also volume controls. On the bottom edge of the iPad are three speakers and the port for connecting the iPad to charge/USB/keyboard dock etc.

Setup was quite slow because I didn't have the latest version of iTunes at the ready on my computer. The iPad won't work before syncing with your iTunes, but you don't have to make it sync all your music/movies etc; you can choose to skip this, which I did. However, I let the iPad sync all my apps which I had downloaded onto my iPhone just as some starter apps. This took quite a while (because I am a bit addicted to downloading apps).

However, once all the apps were on there it ran instantly and I was able to access the iTunes store, all my apps and all the new apps available for the iPad. Some of my iPhone apps had not synced to the iPad because it does not have a camera like my iPhone does, and therefore they are not able to be loaded on the iPad because they need to use the camera.

The iPad scrolling moves even more quickly than the iPhone. For now, because very few apps have been configured for the bigger iPad screen as of yet, you can choose to run your old apps 'iPhone size' in the middle of the screen, or hit the "2x" button, which doubles the pixels. It can look a little distorted but works just as well.

Because I am used to the iPhone touchscreen keyboard I find it very easy to use the fullsize iPad screen keyboard. The screen lock option is useful as well because if you have it flat on your lap the accelerometer can get confused and try to flip the screen if you move slightly.

The internet runs quickly (obviously with WiFi, because mine is the WiFi option - I cannot account for the speed of the 3G models yet) and YouTube videos, especially the HD ones, look divine. The YouTube screen layout is beautiful and easily navigable. The whole setup is wonderful.

I also downloaded iBooks from the app store, the brand new app specifically designed by Apple as an eReader. I have not yet bought any books on it, but definitely will be. The iBooks opening screen shows a bookshelf which you can fill up with any digital format books that you can buy from the eBook store; you get Winnie the Pooh for free as a taster.

I will keep returning to this review, as I explore my iPad further and progress is made with iPad apps, to update it. But for now I would say that the iPad is perfect for my own needs and I'm giving 5/5 for all things except the slow setup. As such I would say that you would do well to wait until the price goes down or until more is updated on the iPad before splashing out on one. However, I love mine!