Me and my iPad

David Hockney, artist

What's the best thing about your iPad?

It has a better relationship with the hand. The iPhone was limited by the relationship with the hand and ear, not an interesting one like the hand and eye.

And the most frustrating thing?

It's difficult in bright light to see the screen. It means I have to draw in the shade.

What do you use it for most?

Drawing, mostly. It's a new medium, with an immense range of mark-making techniques. Being able to send them immediately to friends is what's really new. The drawings are also out of Sotheby's grasp. Something new there too.

How do you hold it?

I hold it in one hand and draw with the other, whereas with the iPhone I could hold it and draw with my right hand only because it was small enough to draw with my thumb – you can hold a cigarette in your left hand as well. The fulcrum of the fingers is in the wrist or the elbow, so you need more space.

iPad or iPhone: if you could only have one, which would it be?

The iPad, certainly. I'm too deaf for the phone and rarely make any calls. Until I began to send out drawings, I never did emails, but as my hearing gets worse I've taken up letter writing again. I had never typed before I got an iPhone, but I quickly learned to do that with my thumb as well while holding it in one hand. The iPad is indeed a magical object, I haven't come across anybody I showed it to who doesn't want one, and I think I was the first person in dear old Bridlington to have one, thanks to my connections with California.

Jonathan Ross, broadcaster

Best thing about your iPad?

Well, it's very beautiful to look at. I have a variety of laptops and some are very chic and easy on the eye, but the iPad looks nicer when waiting to be used in, for example, the front room. Also it's very pleasant to hold. The apps I have on it are dreamy and reading/sending mail on it is lovely. I have a Kindle as well, but the iPad's colour screen really trumps that for comfortable reading, and of course photographs and artwork really "pop" on it, so it's by far the best digital reader for magazines and comic books.

Most frustrating thing?

Mine is an early US release and it sometimes loses wi-fi connection, which I believe is not uncommon. I am grabbing a 3G version next week and hope that will have been ironed out. The screen gets a bit messy with the kids fingerprints too!

What do you use it for most?

Mainly for reading and playing games. Also to take notes and scribble ideas on.

How do you hold it/position it?

In my hands, within comfortable viewing range.

iPad or iPhone?

iPhone I guess, but only because I need something small to make calls on. It's super-portable so very good for travelling. On a day-to-day basis the iPad stays at home, whereas the phone goes everywhere. I bloody love it.

Suzi Perry, presenter of The Gadget Show

Best thing about your iPad?

Its industrial design really is gorgeous and its screen has to be the most intuitive interface of any computer.

Most frustrating thing?

Because it's not out in the UK till the end of the week I get a lot of people wanting to try it.

What do you use it for most?

Surfing the net and apps.

How do you hold it/position it?

Funnily enough, in my hand! But I also have the case that doubles as a convenient stand as well.

iPad or iPhone?

iPhone because it can make calls and shoot video too, but the iPad screen is better.

Graham Linehan, writer, director

Best thing about your iPad? The speed. It just springs to life and waits for you to catch up. The opposite of our normal experience.

Most frustrating thing? [Apple chief executive] Steve Jobs trying to impose his morality on us by the backdoor (fnarr).

What do you use it for most?

Browsing. The internet looks beautiful on it.

How do you hold it/position it? Very personal question. Watch it.

iPad or iPhone? iPhone. But that could change.

Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian

Best thing about your iPad?

Fast, light, portable, great screen.

Most frustrating thing?

Inability to watch much video due to the turf warfare between Apple and Adobe.

What do you use it for most?

Emails, calendar, Twitter, listening to the radio, browsing the web, reading the Guardian.

How do you hold it/position it?

On my knee. Have also twinned it with a Nokia fold-out keyboard – in which case it's propped up against a pile of books on the desk.

iPad or iPhone?

iPad. For the next model, please make a phone, too.

Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC technology correspondent

Best thing about your iPad? The sheer delight of doing just about everything I can achieve on a laptop in a much more intuitive way – watching video, controlling my home audio system, using a photo editing app.

Most frustrating thing? The inability to multitask – so I can't have a Twitter app open while surfing the web and writing a document. And paying about twice as much for an iPad as a netbook is also pretty annoying.

What do you use it for most? Email, updating Twitter, surfing – and I'm reading a book on it right now.

How do you hold it?

I have a case, which allows me to prop it up at an angle to type.

iPhone or iPad?

Definitely iPhone. The iPad will be a very attractive family multimedia device – but it can't replace a smartphone.

India Knight, columnist

Best thing about the iPad?

Everything looks so beautiful. It's like holding the future – especially if you're interested in newspapers.

Most frustrating thing? The lack of Flash.

What do you use it for most?

I use it for fun – Twitter, email, movies, all my online stuff. It's the perfect sofa companion.

How do you hold it?

Depends on the app, but mostly horizontally.

iPhone or iPad? IPhone, but only just.