I hate Apple more than ever.

I bought the original Apple iPad WiFi only for $399 as a gift.

1. As with my one day experience with the iPod Touch, you need a Windows or Mac PC to which the iPad must be attached so that evil Apple can suck the life forces out of you through its insidious iTunes.  Why must I own a PC to get to the opening screen of a stand alone device?  I stared at iTunes for quite a while before stumbling onto the hidden entry point to register my iPad with the all seeing, all knowing Apple monster.

2. No documentation included, except a card telling me to download iTunes to the PC I should not need.  You must successfully get online first to access documentation.  Online I found the 23 meg user guide dated 11/22/2010, four months ago.  It's a dead 181 page pdf file, i.e., no internal links.  Couldn't Apple have loaded this onto the iPad?  I added it to the iPad home screen.

3. I registered my iPad with me.com to be able to find it if lost.  When I log in to me.com it says "Find My iPhone", not iPad, and "No Devices registered".

4. I tried two Yahoo accounts and both failed to register in the iPad.  Error message in short: IMAP server "apple.imap.mail.yahoo.com" not responding.  Check network connection and that you entered the correct information in the "Incoming Mail Server" field.  OK.  No, it's not OK.  There is no  "Incoming Mail Server" field.  When I click OK it takes me back to the original input screen where the only options are: cancel or next.  Next produces: "This account may not be able to send or receive emails.  Are you sure you want to save?"  Options: save or edit.

I tried gmail: "Cannot Connect Using SSL.  Do you want to try setting up the account without SSL?"  Yes or No.  Say what?  No results in back to the original input screen.  I get out and check the mail and contacts apps: nothing.  Delete.  Try again.  Click Yes this time for SSL.  Ah, now the IMAP server "imap.gmail.com" is not responding.  Check network connection and that you entered the correct information in the "Incoming Mail Server" field.  OK.

HELP!  I'm in Apple hell!

5. Browsing is SLOW.  Now I know why those jerks were so anxious to upgrade to the iPad2.

6. Last but not least: the ever popular Apple PROPRIETARY connector!  Yes, along with a set of steak knives, you need to buy Apple PROPRIETARY cables to connect ANYTHING, such as a camera, which Apple intentionally omitted so that it could get the eternally gullible to buy a new iPad after only one year.

If I had bought this for myself, it would already be on its way back to Apple, which didn't tell me that delivery time would be impacted by the fact that it was coming to New York from CHINA.  It took two days to leave Asia and get to Anchorage Alaska.  I wondered if UPS was sending it by boat.

I'll try to wait to see if the intended recipient likes it before returning, for which Apple, unlike Verizon with the Motorola XOOM, makes ZERO provision.  Apparently, it never occurred to Apple that anyone would ever want to return one of its products.  For me, iPad would make it three strikes and you're out, having already returned after one day each the iPhone and the aforementioned iPod Touch.