Usability iPad- Gestures/Movements etc...

As it was highlighted in the brief I did a small amount of research into usability and gestures although because I'm familiar with apple software most of it seems fairly straightforward. I also commented on gestures and usability throughout my app research.

I found this article which really explains the usability and how to use elements for the iPad very simply so I'm going to quote from it below and offer any insights afterwards.

Usability

"Most navigation on the iPad is done with simple touch gestures, such as touching an icon to launch the application or swiping your finger left or right across the screen to move from one screen of icons to the next. These same gestures can do different things based on the application your are in"

"In addition to tapping the screen and moving your finger across the screen, you will occasionally need to touch the screen and hold your finger down. For example, when you touch your finger against an application icon and keep your finger held down, you will enter a mode that allows you to move the icon to a different part of the screen."

"Apple's design is to have as few buttons as possible for better usability on the exterior of the iPad as possible, and one of the few buttons on the outside is the Home Button."

The Home Button is used to wake the iPad when it is sleeping. It is also used to exit out of applications, and if you have put the iPad into a special mode (such as the mode that allows you to move application icons), the home button is used to exit that mode."

http://ipad.about.com/od/iPad_Guide/ss/iPad-101-New-Users-Guide-Install-Move-Delete-Folders.htm

Gestures

 I looked into gestures for the iPad although they are much the same as the iPhone

Swipe,- a left to right finger swipe
Drag,-holding and dragging
Scroll - down swipe movement
Flick- fast downward swipe flicks pages down
Tap- select
Pinch- zoom in and out


Because of the bigger screen there is also a mulit-touch element with a 5 finger pinch motion being incorporated into the gestures.

Overall the iPad and its app's occupy the realm of simplicity which I think is what makes it so easy to use. This should be mimicked in my own app design and I should accommodate for the simple buttons and navigation style when designing.