Appy days

APPLE'S new iPad will change the way we read newspapers, books and magazines - FOREVER.

And the sharpest minds in cyberspace agree that if it's worth reading, it's worth money.

Stephen Fry - so clever that he answers all his own questions on BBC's QI show - reckons people will flock to the iPad to buy their daily fix of news, gossip and sport.

"It's inevitable," he told GadgiTs at the launch. "A lot of people out there say everything has to be free.

"But if you want to read anything that's better than the average Citizen Blogger, you'll have to pay for it. It's only right."

Showing off his own App called Fry Paper, like a kid with a new toy, he slid his fingers across the screen, zooming in on one of his articles.

"Just look at that, it's so good," he said.

As hundreds of Apple staff welcomed the first customers at 8am on Friday with wild cheers, Fry looked around in disbelief: "This is more like a Lady Gaga gig," he said. But the star, with 1.5 million Twitter followers, is convinced the hyped up celebrations are justified because of the the possibilities offered by the iPad.

"Do you know, they are even researching ways of helping autistic kids with these," he said.

The almost A4-sized iPad is just like a large iPod touch that can serve up any type of digital entertainment you can think of.

And bigger is better for most functions, especially video and game play.

And because of the almost full-sized virtual keyboard, it's far less fiddly to type an email and browse the web than on an iPhone.

This tablet computer is all about relaxing and leisure time, especially as it doesn't have a phone. But the best thing about the iPad is the way it brings the printed word to life.

Stuck on a meaning? Just put your finger on the word and up pops a dictionary definition.

Authors can now animate books, rather than illustrate. If you have difficulty reading, the iPad will read it to you. Fry gave Gadgits a quick demo of the mind-blowing educational App called Elements.

It's like a glossy coffee table book on steroids, with pics, video, animations and text describing everything from Mercury to Gold. Which sums up the iPad.