My thoughts on the iPad
Will I be getting one? Simple answer… Yea. I will.
I’m not an Apple FanBoy by any stretch of the imagination. I refuse to use one of the iMacs at work, despite constant griping from my boss about my propensity towards PCs (even though I’m saving him a fortune, because if I were to get the horsepower I have in my PC in iMac format, he’d be paying twice as much for the same hardware).
But, what I am, is a user of technology that makes my life easier, and I won’t exclude any brand just because of the name. Like Apple. I bought the iPhone a year before it was available in Canada, and I was in line for the 2nd and 3rd gen phones as soon as they were available here in Vancouver. I use as much data as I can every month on my iPhone, since I pay for the 6gb data plan on it.
So, when there was even a hint of an Apple tablet on the horizon, I stuck to my guns and refused to buy into the eReaders like Kindle or Sony’s devices — Despite the fact that the battery power was awesome, and the contrast was great. The bottom line is, my demands for devices goes well beyond an eBook reader. But, I didn’t want to replace my top-of-the-line Dell laptop either… I love using it for it’s purpose (to drag around for when I need heavy duty applications like Photoshop or Word) that I can’t use my iPhone for.
But, the iPhone has it’s pitfalls, despite being extremely portable. My eyes are really bad, and even with my glasses on, I find it hard to see tiny things on the screen. I wanted a middle-of-the-road, everyday device that I could yank out of a medium sized purse, and use to compose emails, watch tv (via my Slingbox connection) and movies on longer trips, and read books without packing around four or five on a trip — Which is what I normally fill my carry-on bag with.
Now, I can ditch the carry-on all together — which is timely, since these days, carry-ons are sometimes not even allowed. I can just bring my Apple iPad. And, everything I need for travel, and basic entertainment is at my fingertips.
And starting at $499, I think it’s an incredible deal for the amount I’ll be using it for. Of course, I’ll wait for the 3G model, and will probably get the highest storage unit (64 gb for tons of movies, music, apps, and books) at $829 USD. Oh, and I LOVE the fact that it’s being sold UNlocked for data — Way to go Apple! Now, let’s hope this brings our GSM providers in line with AT&T to offer the $29.99 unlimited data in Canada for the iPad.
But, the one thing I’m frustrated with is no flash support. I mean, really. Apple and Adobe need to get their collective asses in gear on this — I don’t care what kind of fighting is going on behind the scenes, flash is here to stay, and inherent on a TON of websites. We NEED to have this supported on our mobile devices. Period.
So, yep… Count me in.
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I do like that its lightweight and you can read the full page of a book.
I’m still debating if I want one or not, until then I’ll stick with my ipod touch
I like it for the screen size, but it has a big turn-off for me – the powere button at the top…always hated my Palm Pilots for that because they always turned on accidently…
I’ll wait a year or so, then see what the price point is and what modifications they make…
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I think I need to do more research because I still don’t see what this would do for me for $900 bucks. Perhaps I’m missing something… which wouldn’t be the first time.
The iPhone to me was revolutionary. This just looks… mildly interesting.
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Do you truly believe that is true? You did a superb job expressing your point, but I suspect you should put some more thought in this discussion and perhaps post an answer to the opposite side of this argument.
Hey guys… I mostly love it for the size of the screen. And, Paul, it’s only $829 if you absolutely have to have the top of the line. The basic model is starting at $499.
Looking forward to all the cool stuff I’ll be able to do with it, like connect my good camera directly to Flickr etc to upload great photos instead of my awful iPhone photos on the go, for starters.
T! I didn’t realize you weren’t a die-hard Apple fan til I read this post
I suspect I’ll be getting one as well, although a BIG disappointment for me is that skype-video won’t be able to be used. I regularly skype vid with friends around the world and had hoped the iPad could replace my dying macbook. I’m surprised at Apple on this one. Devises are sooooo about being social (as well as mobile) that to exclude video chat blows my mind. Am I crazy? Or missing something?
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But, the only sticky point for the device is the inability to run two programs at once (like get an email while on a Skype call…) that’s kinda stupid.
Yes- OI tend to agree with your assessment. I’ll also wait for a 3G enabled one here in the UK.
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Couldn’t agree with you more.
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