Since the iPad finally arrived this past Saturday, we have been surprisingly seeing a number of buyers complaining about issues with the new Apple device.  Apparently, one of the biggest issues appears to be problems with the built-in Wi-Fi in the iPad. According to a number of owners, the coverage is spotty at best, with many users apparently having a number of reception issues. While at first this was thought to be an isolated issue, it seems that the Wi-Fi-only version of the iPad is suffering some Wi-Fi teething pains, which isn’t a good thing as the device relies on Wi-Fi for connectivity.

If the Wi-Fi issues were not enough, apparently some users are also experiencing issues with USB charging. Despite the fact that it isn’t well documented, the iPad needs power, and when connected to a USB port it will have to be to a port that can supply full power to the iPad. This means that plugging it into USB hubs, for example, that are not full port powered can cause the unit not to charge when the unit is on.  According to some reports, apparently if the iPad is in sleep or off modes, you might have better luck charging it; but again, this is only if the USB port supplies enough power, and if the unit is getting some power when in sleep or off mode, it will charge very slowly.

It would also appear that the claim of iPhone compatibility can also cause the new iPad owner some issues. Apparently, a lot of iPad and iPhone applications simply crash when used on the iPad. Of course since developers for the most part didn’t have actual iPads to test their applications on, this is to be expected. A lot of updates are going to be coming to fix the problems with applications, and we do expect this problem to get better. Right now, we would describe application compatibility as “buggy,” at best.

In another interesting note, it would appear that the iPad does seem to have some temperature issues. Reports of owners having problems using the device outdoors or in direct sunlight also seem to be an issue that leads to a temperature warning. The iPad then shuts down, with a notice posted that it needs to cool down before the user can continue. This one is a bit puzzling, as the operating temperatures are the same as the iPhone, which does not happen to have this issue. Some guess that the issue could be that since the iPad is bigger it heats up more quickly, thus causing high temperatures.

While some of these issues most certainly can be addressed with firmware updates and tweaking on Apple’s part, we suspect that it is going to take some time for Apple to sort these problems out. The Wi-Fi issue could require Apple to recall the unit and replace the antennas; but let’s hope it does not come to this. Being an early adopter does mean some bumps in the road and the iPad isn’t any different. Look for the problems to be ironed out in the next couple of weeks, but it is going to take some time.