How to Use an iPad

If you are unfamiliar to iPads, iPhones, or iPod Touches, this post is for you. Here you will learn about the different buttons and features of the iPad 2.

iPad switches and buttons

iPad 2 Power Button, Volume Control, and Lock Switch

iPad 2 Home Button

Power Button - Press and hold this button to turn off and on the iPad.

Volume control - When holding the iPad in "portrait" mode, with the home button on the bottom, press up on the volume control to make the volume louder, press down to make it softer. Press and hold down to mute quickly.

Lock Switch  - The lock switch can be configured in the Settings to quickly mute volume, or lock the screen so it does not rotate when you move it from "portrait" to "landscape".

Home button - This button allows you to easily access the default home screen. If you are in an app, pressing this button closes the app and takes you to the main screen. Quickly double-clicking this button accessing the multitask feature, allowing you to switch between recently opened apps.

Features of the Virtual Desktop

Like most mobile devices, the iPad consists of a collection of Apps that you can access from a main desktop. The iPad is organized in key ways to make them easy to use.

Dock - Like Mac OS X, iPads and iPhones have a dock for frequently used apps located at the bottom of the screen. You can customize the docks with up to 5 apps of your choosing.

Apps Organization - Apps come unorganized on the iPad. When purchasing new apps from the store, icons are automatically downloaded at the end of the list of apps.

Settings - You can control how your apps work within the main Settings section of the iPad. Click on this icon to change notifications, add email addresses and more.

Gesture-Based Interface

One of the most unique features of the iPad, and tablets in general, are the use of gesture-based controls for opening, closing, and manipulating information in apps.

Swiping - Use your finger to move right, left, up and down within a given app.

Press and hold - Like a right click, pressing and holding allows you to access additional features. On the desktop, press and hold to reorganize apps.

Multitask Gestures - The iPad also gives you more productive features when using more than one finger.

• pinch with two fingers to zoom in and out
• four finger up or down access "open" apps that are also running. This allows you to easily switch from app to app
• four finger left or right - Switch between open apps. Swipe left to see open apps, swipe right to see the app you just left.
• five finger close - by pressing all five fingers and making a claw, you can close out of open apps to see the desktop.

For more information about how to use Multi-task features, watch this video below:

iPad iOS 4.3 multitasking gestures