Share
why you should buy an iPad
With the iPad making its international launch this week, and with sales reports figuring somewhere around a million, Apple’s iPad is still very much everywhere.
But do you want one?
Now that I’ve had mine for nearly two months, I thought it was worth a second… or third… look.
When the iPad was officially introduced, I wrote a bit about being slightly disappointed, without knowing exactly why. Although the iPad had just so much, it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. It was clear that it would not be a replacement for a computer. No file system, little connectivity, and simplified OS would be roadblocks to ever doing significant code or pattern production.
We talked a lot around the office that week. What was the iPad exactly, and what was it for? How would I use it?
And then I thought about it a little more. It became a bit of a challenge for me to take a fresh look at my life, and the way I interacted with information, to identify how my life might change with this new device.
This might sound silly to you. After all, why buy a device if you have to search for its purpose? But then again, the iPad is a new type of thing. It’s not an mp3 player. It’s not a DVD player. It’s not a phone. It’s not a laptop. It’s not an eBook reader. It’s not a nintendo. It’s not a netbook.
It’s kind of all of these and none of these at the same time.
It’s a tablet. And it’s new. And I didn’t have any concrete model for how it would make my life better. When I got my first Rio mp3 player, it was to carry more of my musical library with me on trips and for my daily commute. My Nintendo DS? For pure entertainment. Even the Apple TV was purchased for a concrete reason; to abolish my DVD collection and switch to all digital HD.
But with the iPad? What would it do for me?
That question, though, is exactly why I bought one.
On April 4, after a day of light use, I wrote about my first impressions of the iPad. I liked it. I just didn’t quite know why.
Now, I love the iPad. And I have a pretty good idea why.
- It’s light, thin and quiet.
I have yet to be uncomfy using the iPad. With one hand or two, on my lap, on the table, propped on my knees, even reading in bed. Being able to turn the screen for a different layout allows flexibility. The best part? Unlike a laptop, it doesn’t heat up or require a fan. It stays cool and completely quiet.
- It’s intimate.
Wait. That sounds weird.
What I mean is that the touch screen is large enough, and can be held close to enough, to provide an incredible browsing experience. There’s something amazing about feeling your way through one of your favorite sites, of using your fingertips to explore nearly full-sized content.
The iPhone / iPod Touch provides an incredible mobile experience, but the limited screen real estate has always made me feel slightly awkward when trying to read large amounts of content, such as on a news site or blog. The iPad fixes it. When I use the BBC app to catch up on news, it feels larger – and more brilliant – than my laptop’s screen because of how I hold and interact with it.
- It’s always changing
Many of the apps built specifically for the iPad are dynamic in nature. Updates and content can be pushed into the applications, enabling near real-time updates on WeatherChannel, or weekly magazine-like tabloid stories in Entertainment Weekly.
Even games have in-app upgrades and bonuses. The Glee sing-along app features new songs in advance of each week’s episode. And I’ve gotten sucked into playing WeRule, a free Farmville-like social game.
My favorite part? Checking out the App Store for new and fun applications to download or purchase. Because new apps are available all the time, I check in every few days to see what’s new or featured in some of my favorite categories. If I’m bored, I can download something new to play with in just a few clicks.
- It’s fun
Steve Jobs keeps calling the iPad “magical”, but I would simplify that to just three letters; FUN.
The entire experience of working with one is entertaining; sliding your fingers across the screen, using five or ten fingertips for gestures. It’s like finger-painting, but for grown ups. And there’s something different about it than the smaller scale of the iPhone.
It’s so fun that it’s now with me around the house for the entire day. It’s next to me on the couch when I knit or watch TV. It’s become my default way of checking my email and the Ravelry forums. It’s the first thing I pick up in the morning to check the news and weather. It’s in the kitchen to load recipes from foodandwine.com and epicurious. And the experience of making playlists on it is so much better than on my iPad, I use it for at-work listening.
Yup, I’m in love.
But the iPad isn’t everything.
In most cases, it’s not going to replace your computer.
- Typing is awkward.
While you can get an external keyboard, and even a keyboard dock to make writing as easy as on your laptop, you’ll still need a desk or some type of table set up for comfy typing. The on-screen keyboard is good enough for casual emails, but I wouldn’t write a 1,000 word blog post on it if I had another option.
- Suited for the web, not for offline computing.
The iPad is at it’s absolute best when connected to the net. Without a WiFi signal or 3G data plan, many applications are worthless. Even some of the news apps rely on that connection to load any content, even last week’s.
That said, I don’t expect websites to work without a web connection, so I can’t really expect similar apps to work offline. I can listen to music and watch videos, play Plants vs. Zombies to my heart’s content, and keep notes on my latest pattern using Pages. I’ll just have to connect to my laptop – or the net – to access those files.
- It won’t hold your entire media library.
It’s a great device to watch movies on, but even with the 64GB version, you’ll only be able to hold a few dozen. And, similar to an iPod, you’ll need to sync to your main iTunes library to move over movies and music.
Has the iPad changed my life?
In a word:
Yes.
For me, it’s become my go-to device 90% of the time. I rarely use my iPod now, except when running.
The battery stays charged seemingly infinitely; at least 10 hours without any performance adjustments. It’s small enough to fit into my favorite (and only) Coach purse. It’s light enough for me to not question bringing it everywhere. Bringing it out to read a few pages of a novel is no big deal; nothing to boot up, nothing to wait for. In three clicks from the thought, I’m already reading. And despite all the talk about lack of flash support, I’ve only run into one site where I couldn’t get the content I wanted.
For knitting patterns, it’s exceptional. There’s this app called “Goodreader” that allows you to sync with any PDF on the web. Ravelry has provided a way to integrate with your pattern library. All my patterns with me at one time! Perfect!
It’s proven to be a better way for me to write patterns, and keep notes, as I design. The keyboard can be a bit awkward, but not needing to dig up a pen and notebook, and more importantly, never misplacing the pattern in progress, is well worth the slight slow-down.
So, that was a bit of a rambly review.
I think the iPad does really well what it should; provide an incredible user experience for media consumption; the web, videos, photos, movies, apps, and games. And if you’re in a one-computer household and mainly need to use it as I do, it’s a superior alternative to a second computer.
Should you buy an iPad? I don’t know.
My answer, as always, is “it depends”.
For me, it’s awesome. I use it more than I ever thought I would.
——
Edited to add…
I’m a massive Apple fan and have been from pretty much the beginning of my life. I will always be an Apple fan. They’re not perfect. No company is. They have issues with censorship and closed systems like others have with licensing, security, unstable OS, and privacy. But I’ve worked on a lot of OS in my life, and OS X is still my favorite, UNIX-base and all.
About the app store model… Apple was the first to take on that model and that’s always going to be tougher than coming second. There’s a fine line between curation and censorship. I think this is a area of ethics and standards that will continue to improve with competition. Google’s app store is a start, as are the ones being developed for mobile devices. Keep watching it, and keep on it.
I equate it to what’s happening in moderation policies for online news and political sites. When blogging first began, there was this massive rush to open up comments to everyone. And then there was this shock that people would write profanities, threats, and hate. And then there was the question of how to deal with this. Blogging is relatively “old” online…. nearly 20 years that word has been around. But mainstream sites are still dealing with the best way to use comments from users without censoring, without infringing on free speech. It’s complicated; how to protect users while letting them have their say, publish their app, pursue their rights.
That’s a whole other soapbox.
And I’m not debating Apple as a “good” or “bad” company.
I love this particular product now that I’ve used it for a month. And I love my MacBook Pro. And I love my iPod. And I love blogging. And I love writing about it.
Please keep leaving challenging comments. I love to read them, and you make me think, and question, and debate, which is always a good thing. But don’t email me privately and tell me I suck.
Thank you.
(PS – if you don’t like geeky stuff, there’ll be knitting again soon! I promise! And also a delicious apple muffin recipe!)
up with the sun
Let me say it up front. I love Spring. As I get older, it’s becoming my favorite of the seasons. I crave the extra hours of daylight from now until late-June. I crave the first dry and sunny mornings, when bike riding to work is a joy in short sleeves and a skirt. I love [...]
Keep Reading >Early adopter – my iPad review
When we decided to spend the long Easter weekend in Illinois with my parents, I didn’t immediately remember that our visit would coincide with the launch of the Apple iPad. Chalk it up to stress or whatever, but I was entirely out of the loop until some time on Thursday. At work, Cullen mentioned that [...]
Keep Reading >
