I'm no expert on the iPad, but I was a USN Flight Surgeon(and Test Pilot) (and stayed at a Navy Lodge). We had technology issues for years, 1980s-90s, to get the cockpit displays bright enough to use in daylight. Its just really hard to compete with bright sunlight. These guys are doing a good job using a mass market display (on the iPad), but it will always be limited, by bright daylight, compared to the much more expensive certified ($$$$) aviation displays.

Bottom line- there may be some setup and usage tricks, but in general, its not you, or your eyes, its a technology challenge. If you shield and shade the ipad(or any mass market handheld device), and your eyes to adjust to the dimmer light, you can see it. In the A-6, Intruder, we used a big hood for daytime ops to see the dim but informative radar display on a "cathode ray tube"

Bill Miller