The iPad hits the streets!

If you are one of the hip, cool and trendy people reading this on your iPad, you will understand all the excitement behind your new toy. It is small, compact and expensive (£529 for a basic model plus monthly charges) but is it practical? We are yet to find out, but with a million sales already in the US, it must have something.

Property companies have most certainly run with the ball, merrily commissioning apps to make sure they are ahead of the game. Two of the countrys most popular property search websites; rightmove.co.uk and primelocation.com have already launched their new apps. Both have been tried and tested, and are considered to be very different.

Rightmoves app is a pure search function, its an upgraded version of the existing iPhone app, which uses GPS technology to find your location and show you nearby properties for sale or rent (a 3G SIM and data plan are required if you stray out of wi-fi range). Search results appear not, as might be expected, on a map but as a list of thumbnail pictures and addresses, which display more details at a click.

There are nice touches, such as paper page flicks and a satisfying Rolodex-type noise when scrolling. You can refine your search criteria in the usual way and e-mail agents directly. All this can be done on the iPhone, but not in such an attractive way. The iPad can display more at once and therefore has fewer steps.

Essentially, the iPad is a portable presentation tool, perfect for gorgeous images of houses. This is the part that Primelocation likes. Theyre being no iPhone version; the app was created from scratch.

The Primelocation app is primarily a beautiful browsing mechanism. There is no GPS and you search only by location, at town or London postcode level. But it looks fantastic.

The app is, a creative device for toying with and sharing photos with friends. The iPads usefulness to the property industry goes farther. It is predicted that architects and estate agents will use it to display their plans and pictures. There is actually a specific app that allows architects to draw plans on screen using their finger.