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1) I am a self-proclaimed Apple geek. I have an iPod/iPhone/MacBook/AppleTV and even a Hackintosh at home for the kids to bang on. I love Apple products. They just work.
2) I bought the iPad with every intention of returning it. I thought the concept was foolish and bought it merely out of curiosity and for the fact that we'll be building apps for it in the near future.
Executive Summary: I'm not returning it.
As I clicked the Apple Store Checkout-Button, I told myself that I would keep the iPad only if it could replace my Netbook. My Netbook is a $300 Asus EeePC. I use it purely for mobile computing. I crack it open on the train, on the couch, in meetings, etc. It is the smartest electronics purchase I have made in the past 10 years. It actually has made me more productive and my back has never felt better. The Netbook is great for pounding out emails, editing a Word document, scheduling appointments, or hooking it up to a projector for a presentation. In contrast, due to the small, low-fidelity screen and weak processor, it sucks for surfing the web, watching movies, reading long articles or playing games. It looks cheap. When I'm working on it I'm hunched over and awkward looking. I imagine I look similar to what Andre the Giant would look like working on a regular size laptop.
The iPad is the polar opposite of the Netbook.
It is a consumer device that is awesome for consuming content. Reading books on it is a pleasure. Better than a paperback. I am actually reading before bed again. Same goes with the newspaper. USA Today is giving away their app for free until July. It's a great way to read the paper; more convenient, intuitive and interactive. ABC has an app that allows me to watch any of it's television shows on demand (do you watch Modern Family? Hilarious). Netflix allows me to stream movies to it. Even attending meetings via GoToMeeting works great. VPNing into work from it and remote desktoping to my computer is a snap. The screen is beautiful. It's looks twice as sharp as the 1024*768 resolution it displays. It's a great way to show photos to friends. The (Flash-less) web looks awesome on it. Playing games on it is really fun (I do not think the same is true for the iPhone). The device is intuitive, fun to use and interacting with it feels natural (unlike a Netbook).
Producing content is another story. I cannot edit a Word document or a Powerpoint presentation on it. Not yet anyway. There are some apps that claim to do it but they all screw up the formatting, which I can't have. Typing on it sucks. Even with the larger keypad it's awkward and prone to fat-fingering. I'm getting better at it but I don't WANT to have to get better at it. Sure I can bluetooth a keyboard to it, but that's silly to me. It's a mobile computing device, I'm not going to carry around a keyboard. That means that reading emails and responding quickly is fine, but typing out longer ones isn't feasible. I could never write this blog on the iPad, it would take forever.
So in conclusion, the iPad has made me less productive. The productivity that I gained from actually getting work done on my Netbook has been replaced by me reading novels in bed, watching TV on the train, reading the paper on the couch (and writing this silly blog.) The only saving grace is that I find it perfectly acceptable to bring the iPad into the bathroom, where that would just seem weird with the Netbook. I can't explain why, but I won't dig into it since it's probably too much information already.
So go ahead, buy one. Make Steve happy/your spouse miserable. Let's get unproductive together. I need some folks to have the "Find any cool apps recently?" conversation with. I've found a slot in my briefcase for it where it seems right at home. I never thought I'd need this device, but I'm quickly realizing that Apple has once again redefined/recreated a market. I'm glad I bought it and returning it has not crossed my mind.
As always, please give me your thoughts below. You know I love talking about this stuff!
-J
7 comments:
From what little I've seen, but large amount I've read and researched on the iPad I would have to agree with the comparison you have. Hearing about the iPad in action has made me think that apple is trying to push it in the wrong direction. Their advertisements create the notion that the iPad is the next business tool meant to replace the small laptop/netbook. However I would reason to say it has better place as a social media/gaming/multimedia platform. With the larger screen, but cumbersome keyboard, it has good potential for portable media, already boasting the ability to stream netflix, stream major network shows, and maybe even a hulu app or online gaming. I'm an apple owner myself and I've always had confidence in their products. So I'm sure the iPad will excel and pressure the technology market into further advancement, and once the iPad can mimic the productive capabilities of a netbook I feel it will have a strong foothold in a new market for production and multimedia.
Apple is the wave. I'm still using the same iPhone I purchased 3 years ago and it still just works. There is no perfect mobile device, but the iPad is the next wave of technology. If you fail to see that then you must be living in an enclosed box. The way we interact with information is constantly shifting. Embrace the future and swim with the wave, not against it. Apple research is like no other. Every product of theirs is verifiable proof.
I laughed out load twice reading this! I WILL get an iPad. But I'll probably buy one for my mom first as an experiment - can my mom figure it out with no intervention from her IT geek of a daughter?? If she passes the test it just validates the brilliance beyond the Apple design approach.
Funny review, J. I'm still waiting for the second generation though.
tell me more abt keypad? and how would you hold it in the train, with netbook i would jst lay it on my lap....jst curious on the ergonomics of ipad...
Thanks for the comments guys. If you hold the ipad vertically, you can thumb type, similar to texting. But it would be difficult to do if you had small hands. It's probably the most convenient way to type on it though.
If you hold or lay it horizontally, the keyboard is much larger. Large enough to hold your hands in a standard typing stance; however, due to the touchscreen you can't rest your hands on the keyboard (which is how you usually type). So you have to awkwardly hover your hands over the keys (or hunt and peck). This is why I prefer to type vertically with my thumbs even though I can type much faster horizontally.
Again, this is one of the only rubs I have about the device.
Nice work J.....although reconsider bringing your netbook in the bathroom....completely acceptable!!!
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