G-Pad (for iPad)

iPad users have many official tools at their disposal for checking social networks and email?Loytr hopes to consolidate those tools into one with its new G-Pad iPad app. G-Pad combines Google+, Gmail, and Twitter (as well as games, music, and trending apps) into one free application. It's certainly a good idea in theory (who wouldn't want such consolidation?), but several flaws keep it from being a highly recommended download.

Getting Started With G-Pad
When you launch G-Pad, you arrive at a screen divided up into three distinct areas: a sidebar located to the left that contains various social media sections (Stream, Photos, Circles, Gmail, Twitter, Trending Apps, Games, Music), a horizontal advertisement on the bottom, and the official Google+ login page in the main section. That's right, you actually login via the official Google page (not a custom G-Pad interface), which gives the G-Pad app the appearance of being nothing more than a glorified wrapper.

One of G-Pad's major flaws became evident on logging in?it sometimes takes an extremely long time for Google+ stream to load. It didn't matter if I was home or at the office; the app took at least 30 seconds to pull in the data. At other times it wouldn't load at all. This roadblock is sure to make many immediately uninstall the G-Pad and simple use the official mobile site. That's not to say that G-Pad never loaded quickly; it's just that those moments weren't quite the norm.

The G-Pad Experience
You'll encounter the familiar mobile Google+ interface when you finally access your stream. Tapping a friend's Google+ update while on the main stream causes a panel to slide into view from the right side of the screen. There you'll find everything from the original post itself, comments, links, and other items that you'd normally see while using Google+. The Photos and Circles categories let you see, well, photos (your own, plus those in your circles) and the people that you've circled. Tapping the Gmail icon lets you view your Gmail account, and all of its related filters from within G-Pad, which is a nice touch. You can use G-Pad in either portrait or landscape modes, but when you turn your iPad into a horizontal position you'll notice plenty of wasted space to the right of the interface. I would've loved extra space to work in when holding the iPad in landscape.

Bringing a finger to the Twitter icon opens a prompt where you insert your credentials. Once inside, you'll find a horizontal stream. Clicking the "+" next to each tweet opens a small menu that lets you Retweet, Quote Tweet, and Reply. I liked the text input area is plenty large, but there's no way to simultaneously post to both Twitter and Google+?disappointing.

The Trending Apps section, when tapped, displays a list of 10 popular apps. The Games section lists a handful of casual games such as Mob Poker and Tiny Pets. Naturally, you can't play these games within the app?tapping a game title redirects you to the App Store so that you may download it. The Music section lets you play music from The Hype Machine, a streaming online music service. The music quality was decent enough, although not quite a crisp as the Editors' Choice award-winning Slacker Radio (Free, 4.5 stars).

Should You Download G-Pad (for iPad)?
G-Pad attempts to make separate Gmail, Google+, and Twitter apps irrelevant with its unified app, but, frankly, you'd be better served using the individual apps. They load quicker and don't have any advertisements affixed to the interface. That's not to say that G-Pad is without merit?it is free after all meaning that you don't lose much of anything. Except maybe your time, as you wait for streams to load.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/79rttL6L7dU/0,2817,2398423,00.asp

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