To be honest I wasn't really in the market for a tablet. But after I found I was using my smart phone in which to check my mail, check the news and finding myself getting somewhat frustrated at the small screen size I decided; "What the heck" and did a trawl for the best tablet for me. Initially the I-Pad was out of the running simply because of the price. But after looking around at the competition it soon became very clear, that actually the I-Pad was the only worthy contender: Dual Core Chip, fantastic build quality, capacitive touch screen and best of all it is so intuitive in use.

I ordered off of Apple (Got the free engraving) and through their website was able to check its progress: China, Middle East,Germany,England. The I-Pad arrives fully charged, however if like me and this is your first Apple product you need to download I-Tunes in which to register the product. (No other-way to get it working)

Well, to turn it on, you depress the wee button on the top of the Pad, It's up and running within seconds and I mean seconds. To access your mail touch the mail app (Ok,you do have to enter your e-mail details first) and again within seconds you are checking your e-mail. Check the internet, touch the Safari app (Safari is the Apple version of Window Explorer/Firefox/Opera etc) very smooth again within seconds I'm surfing the net.

The battery lasts around 10 hours and takes up to a couple to recharge.

Now I suppose the main selling point for a lot of people will be the applications (Apps) that are available. I simply bought a couple of pre-paid vouchers in town and entered them into my I-tunes account. Its as easy as that and you don't have to enter any bank details anywhere. Every-time I purchase an app within a few days I receive a receipt (e-mail) from apple informing me of my purchase.

I've downloaded a backgammon app. (Ok) the Daily mail app (Don't laugh as the app is really something else.) Which costs £[] for the year and as somebody who reads the Guardian on a daily basis and the Economist on a weekly one I will be purchasing it once the free period runs out in Aug. What I'm saying here is from what I've seen of the difference in Android and Apple apps. Apple wins hands down in the quality stakes.

I've downloaded the bookshelf app and currently have 4 books downloaded. To be honest I just wanted to know what they would be like and as the books were a lot cheaper than the usual paperbacks I purchase I thought I'd try them out. Well reading them is no different to reading a real book and you get the bonus of being able to instantly check out what any word means. Simply by moving your finger across the screen the pages move back or forth. However I can't see myself giving up the pleasure of reading a real book any-time soon. For a start you never ever worry about a book.

I also purchased a plastic screen protector. Now having fitted a Zagg Invisible Shield to my phone I knew fitting one to the I-Pad would be a job and a half. Guess what it was. However I recommend buying one of the wee packs (3 or 6) in which to get used to fitting a screen protector without coming up with something that looks like an aero bar.

All in all, I am most impressed with the I-Pad, my only gripe is how anything connected to Apple is so damn expensive. On the other side of the coin you get what you pay for. At the moment the I-Pad2 is the best tablet on the market with the most peripherals, yes there are lots of competitors in the background. But if you want the best, then there's simply no contest.