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iWork Review for iPad - Learning Pages - Part 1
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The Interface
 One thing we all know and love about Apple's Software is how well-arranged they are. The first time you open up Pages on the iPad you'll immediately "feel at home" and know what to do. And it doesn't matter if you already used iWork for Mac or not. The first thing you'll notice is a "Getting Started" Document right at the middle of the screen and if you open it, it'll show you some basic stuff you can do. This really helps to give you an idea of what you can do and the neat thing about it is that the "Getting started" Document actually is a Pages Document, so you can really dive into the program while reading what it's all about. Except on the top of the screen there are no buttons, so you can focus on what's important: The writing itself and, of course, the layout. Every time you open Pages you will see all the documents that you ever created / imported and there are a few options for each document like sharing, deleting and exporting. It all looks good, well-arranged and it all makes sense.
Creating Documents / Using Templates
Like on the Mac-Version of Pages the iPad Version also comes with some neat Templates to choose from. If you like you can also start from scratch. Templates include letters, Resumes,
ProjectProposals, Posters, Invitations and tons of other things. In total there are 15 Templates you can choose from and they all come in handy and are not too "over the top" but they look kind of nice. Using a template that also provides placeholders is very simple to do. You just tap the placeholder with your Finger and now you are able to choose any of the photos you have on your iPad. This works very well and it is something everyone can do. Doing so lets you quickly create documents that look great with almost no effort whatsoever.
There are also a lot of shapes, charts and tables you can easily insert in your document. This works also just by replacing a placeholder oder simply drag and drop. There are 14 shapes in different colors like triangles, arrows and rectangles. Pages also has a Full Screen Mode that you can enable by simply tapping a two arrow symbol at the upper right corner. In this mode the bar on the top only appears by tapping on objects or text. This helps to focus on your layout even more than the small bar already does. Speaking of the bar... In case you tap on any text on your document, the bar changes, giving you several options to choose from. You can choose from Templates like title, heading, subheading, etc. or bold, italic and underlined. Most of you may already know this if you are already using Pages for Mac OS.
 There is one thing in particular though that makes using Pages on the iPad even better than using it on the Mac: Multitouch. Multitouch is a great way to resize pictures and arrange all sort of things on your document. If you for example want to change the angle of a picture, you simply "hold it in your fingers" and turn it the way you want it. This is ridiculously natural and works perfect. Simple tasks like this are much more fun on the iPad than on any other device I've used in my life! And there is another thing that is easier than on any device that I know of: Document Setup. To setup where exactly the text appears and to edit footer and header could not be easier. You just drag and hold the edges of the areas and you're done. It works like a charm!
The Onscreen Keyboard
I have to be honest here: I simply love the iPads onscreen keyboard. From the moment I first used it, I fell in love and I really like using it. But writing a text with more than 5,000 words or so isn't that much fun. But this doesn't have to be a problem. By simply connecting your Apple Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard to your iPad you can write like on a "real" computer. And yes, it only works with Apple's Keyboard, there is no way to connect another keyboard to the iPad - Believe me, I've tried. At least the opportunity is given, and that's pretty great.
Performance
This is one of the most important parts of any program I think. And it's good that Apple totally thinks that, too. The overall performance of Pages is simply amazing. I've never seen any program for text editing run as fast as Pages on the iPad does. And I've been using it on a pretty fast MacBook Pro already, so you catch the drift. Opening the App takes about 3 seconds, opening a document like a letter takes about 2. And inserting pictures or shapes and "playing" with them is absolutely smooth and with no lag whatsoever. So Apple nails it regarding the performance. And that is a really good thing. And that is why this program will never be available for the iPhone, at least not the 3G or 3GS. The A4 Processor is fast as hell.
I was kind of curios when I saw the videos and tutorials on Apple's Website and I thought to myself "This will never be as fast as they claim it to be" - But I was wrong. It absolutely is and I think by now you realized that I'm totally stunned by it, so I'll stop drooling over my keyboard now...
Exporting, Importing and Printing
People using iPhones already know about some things that are kind of silly in iPhone OS. One silly thing in particular is that you simply cannot "save" documents in a folder. It's also not possible to  hook up your iPhone to your Computer and save documents there. In the case of the iPad some of the silly things are unfortunately still there. You now are able to hook it up and save stuff on your PC or Mac, which is nice. But it is still impossible to save files in folders on your iPad OS. At least not directly. And one thing that Pages and all other iWork Programs lag of are folders, too. There are no folders within the program, so you have to go trough all of your files in the program. But what if I'm writing ten letters a day over two months? It's almost impossible to find exactly what I'm looking for. And the really annoying thing is that it's not even possible to search for documents in Pages or in Spotlight. So this is kind of a bummer.
On the other hand exporting and importing works pretty good. If you get an email with a Pages document attached to it, it can also be opened in Pages instead of just looking at it in your Mail App. You can export to PDF, DOC and PAGES format, so it should be no problem to find a suitable file format for everyone in this App.
And finally, there is one thing that really is bad: There is no possibility to print your document. At least not in Pages. So the only way you can print is to export the document to your computer and then print from there. Terrible. It would have been a killer-feature if you were able to do this via bluetooth directly within Pages. But maybe in the future. Let's all cross our fingers.
Conclusion
Pages for the iPad is great. It is fast, simple to use and some tasks are even better to handle on the iPad than on a Mac. The templates are neat, the onscreen keyboard works fine and hooking up the bluetooth keyboard is a blast. The only things that are not that great are the lack of printing and the lack of folders or a search function. Otherwise this is a masterpiece and for $9.99 it is absolutely ridiculously cheap. So if you're doing more than writing simple notes and you like fast, well-produced apps: Just buy it and be happy!
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One thing we all know and love about Apple's Software is how well-arranged they are. The first time you open up Pages on the iPad you'll immediately "feel at home" and know what to do. And it doesn't matter if you already used iWork for Mac or not. The first thing you'll notice is a "Getting Started" Document right at the middle of the screen and if you open it, it'll show you some basic stuff you can do. This really helps to give you an idea of what you can do and the neat thing about it is that the "Getting started" Document actually is a Pages Document, so you can really dive into the program while reading what it's all about. Except on the top of the screen there are no buttons, so you can focus on what's important: The writing itself and, of course, the layout. Every time you open Pages you will see all the documents that you ever created / imported and there are a few options for each document like sharing, deleting and exporting. It all looks good, well-arranged and it all makes sense.
Creating Documents / Using Templates
Like on the Mac-Version of Pages the iPad Version also comes with some neat Templates to choose from. If you like you can also start from scratch. Templates include letters, Resumes,
ProjectProposals, Posters, Invitations and tons of other things. In total there are 15 Templates you can choose from and they all come in handy and are not too "over the top" but they look kind of nice. Using a template that also provides placeholders is very simple to do. You just tap the placeholder with your Finger and now you are able to choose any of the photos you have on your iPad. This works very well and it is something everyone can do. Doing so lets you quickly create documents that look great with almost no effort whatsoever.
There are also a lot of shapes, charts and tables you can easily insert in your document. This works also just by replacing a placeholder oder simply drag and drop. There are 14 shapes in different colors like triangles, arrows and rectangles. Pages also has a Full Screen Mode that you can enable by simply tapping a two arrow symbol at the upper right corner. In this mode the bar on the top only appears by tapping on objects or text. This helps to focus on your layout even more than the small bar already does. Speaking of the bar... In case you tap on any text on your document, the bar changes, giving you several options to choose from. You can choose from Templates like title, heading, subheading, etc. or bold, italic and underlined. Most of you may already know this if you are already using Pages for Mac OS.
There is one thing in particular though that makes using Pages on the iPad even better than using it on the Mac: Multitouch. Multitouch is a great way to resize pictures and arrange all sort of things on your document. If you for example want to change the angle of a picture, you simply "hold it in your fingers" and turn it the way you want it. This is ridiculously natural and works perfect. Simple tasks like this are much more fun on the iPad than on any other device I've used in my life! And there is another thing that is easier than on any device that I know of: Document Setup. To setup where exactly the text appears and to edit footer and header could not be easier. You just drag and hold the edges of the areas and you're done. It works like a charm!
The Onscreen Keyboard
I have to be honest here: I simply love the iPads onscreen keyboard. From the moment I first used it, I fell in love and I really like using it. But writing a text with more than 5,000 words or so isn't that much fun. But this doesn't have to be a problem. By simply connecting your Apple Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard to your iPad you can write like on a "real" computer. And yes, it only works with Apple's Keyboard, there is no way to connect another keyboard to the iPad - Believe me, I've tried. At least the opportunity is given, and that's pretty great.
Performance
This is one of the most important parts of any program I think. And it's good that Apple totally thinks that, too. The overall performance of Pages is simply amazing. I've never seen any program for text editing run as fast as Pages on the iPad does. And I've been using it on a pretty fast MacBook Pro already, so you catch the drift. Opening the App takes about 3 seconds, opening a document like a letter takes about 2. And inserting pictures or shapes and "playing" with them is absolutely smooth and with no lag whatsoever. So Apple nails it regarding the performance. And that is a really good thing. And that is why this program will never be available for the iPhone, at least not the 3G or 3GS. The A4 Processor is fast as hell.
I was kind of curios when I saw the videos and tutorials on Apple's Website and I thought to myself "This will never be as fast as they claim it to be" - But I was wrong. It absolutely is and I think by now you realized that I'm totally stunned by it, so I'll stop drooling over my keyboard now...
Exporting, Importing and Printing
People using iPhones already know about some things that are kind of silly in iPhone OS. One silly thing in particular is that you simply cannot "save" documents in a folder. It's also not possible to 
hook up your iPhone to your Computer and save documents there. In the case of the iPad some of the silly things are unfortunately still there. You now are able to hook it up and save stuff on your PC or Mac, which is nice. But it is still impossible to save files in folders on your iPad OS. At least not directly. And one thing that Pages and all other iWork Programs lag of are folders, too. There are no folders within the program, so you have to go trough all of your files in the program. But what if I'm writing ten letters a day over two months? It's almost impossible to find exactly what I'm looking for. And the really annoying thing is that it's not even possible to search for documents in Pages or in Spotlight. So this is kind of a bummer.
On the other hand exporting and importing works pretty good. If you get an email with a Pages document attached to it, it can also be opened in Pages instead of just looking at it in your Mail App. You can export to PDF, DOC and PAGES format, so it should be no problem to find a suitable file format for everyone in this App.
And finally, there is one thing that really is bad: There is no possibility to print your document. At least not in Pages. So the only way you can print is to export the document to your computer and then print from there. Terrible. It would have been a killer-feature if you were able to do this via bluetooth directly within Pages. But maybe in the future. Let's all cross our fingers.
Conclusion
Pages for the iPad is great. It is fast, simple to use and some tasks are even better to handle on the iPad than on a Mac. The templates are neat, the onscreen keyboard works fine and hooking up the bluetooth keyboard is a blast. The only things that are not that great are the lack of printing and the lack of folders or a search function. Otherwise this is a masterpiece and for $9.99 it is absolutely ridiculously cheap. So if you're doing more than writing simple notes and you like fast, well-produced apps: Just buy it and be happy!
