We had covered before what the web thought about the iPad after it had been unveiled on January 27.  And the long-awaited time finally came on April 3rd.  iPad is now actually on the market as initially in the U.S  giving guys over there the chance to have a hands-on experience on the legendary device. So let’s provide you with a wrap-up of what their reviews and comments have been like on the web to give you an idea:

Regarding the hardware, design-wise, Engadget think “it is a beauty to behold..but not terribly exiting” and “if you’ve used an iPod touch or iPhone, you’ll find yourself right at home“.

Regarding the display,  Engadget comment as ” (to say that it is) best in class would not be an overstatement”. As to the e-book reading experience, they think it was ok with no problems on the eyes, on the other hand Gizmodo states that although “it is more legible in the sunlight than the iPhone“, we shouldn’t expect great perfomance in direct sunlight, especially compared to E-ink.

Hardware drawbacks for Engadget are lack of in-built port options of USB or SD card reader -especially if Apple considers to compete with the netbook market-, placement of the headphone jack at the top of the device, and lack of webcam.

In terms of User Interface (UI), “It is identical in every way to the iPhone or iPod touch, and as far as actual navigation on the device goes, it really is exactly like the iPhone“, and the usage of the ample desktop space of the iPad for “a grid of icons is not only a waste, but just kind of looks silly” according to Engadget.  Crunchgear pass a likewise comment as criticizing the UI as “a little spaced out” or as the icons ” a little weirdly ‘kerned’ on the iPad screen“.

Engadget consider the lack of multitasking as a drawback and comment as “The iPad may do many things better than a netbook, but multitasking is not one of them.” However, although they are few, Engadget appreciate the addition of new components to the UI such as Split screens and Nearly full-sized virtual keyboards.

Applications-wise, Engadget consider the browsing experience with the Mobile Safari as “amazing“  however, not “the best” as Steve Jobs claimed as it doesn’t support the widely-used Flash but instead opted for rarely-supported HDTML5 standard.

On iBooks front, Engadget believe “it’s a great e-reader with enough options to please even the most strident critic“.

Regarding iPhone apps on the iPad, Crunchgear think  they are ” either horribly dinky or horribly pixelated“.

Slashgear draws attention to the apparent iPad Wi-Fi connection problems as the tablet either unable to connect or shows very pure signal/range that some users have experienced and also noting that according to the result of the speed tests at least one user ran, iPhone 3GS download speed was considerably higher than that of iPad’s.

On the battery-front, according to Engadget it really is capable of what exactly Apple promised even better as 10 hours and 43 minutes even if they tested it with downloading, 3D gaming, watching HD videos..

Overall view of Engadget is if what you are looking for is laptop performance, iPad would fall short of your expectations as it is not a PC or laptop replacement. However, they think iPad is worth buying if what you need is to do regular stuff such as listening to music, watching some games/ videos, browsing web, reading news, sending mails…