The iPad verdict, no thanks
I’m typing this entry on an iPad. My department got an ipD to test with our app and for browser testing. I got to take home for a nightb and try it out in some real-world applications, like blogging.
Now I know the iPad is a consuming device, not really a creation device…but I’m just trying to type. I’m not editing video or trying to do anything complicated, just some typing.
I’m typing this directly in word press because google docs doesn’t work on the iPad. I can view docs but can’t edit them. That’s a big problem for someone whom wants to blog or write.
I feel like I’m typing on abbig phone because you can’t type, you have to peck…and I hate being a pecker. I can go pretty fast with my pecking but itsnstill annoying. The autotyper is pretty nice on this thing though.
Let me also say that the app store is a complete interface fail. For a company that prides themselves on ease and usability, apple dropped the ball on this part.
I’m not an apple guy. I have an iPod but who doesn’t? Their design inspires me but otherwise I’m not part of the cult. The iPAd is Fun to play with but i really can’t see using this as a regular device for everyday purposes. Unless I missed the button, this is a single app machine. If you want to listen to pandora while browsing you’re out of luck.
The screen is gorgeous in this thing. Sharp, crisp, bright and responds pretty well. But damn does it get filthy. Yuck.
I can say now that any thoughts i had to get an iPad are gone. I’ll be getting a laptop for my couch computing.
I think apps are the current/future of computer interaction but i think you need more than an iPad…at least i do.
This article is very amateur. I bet you only type with one finger on a regular keyboard. I totally disagree with everything you pecked.
I guess the ipad hasn’t gotten the update that lets you run apps in the background. It’s already out for the iphone.
I’m going to pass on the ipad for now. I don’t see myself doing much with it either, even when traveling. Anything I can do on it I can do do better on my laptop, my iphone, or that Kindle that I keep telling myself I’m going to buy.
I downloaded the Marvel comics app and man, it looks sharp. Videos look really hot on it too. The new Tron Legacy trailer looks 1000x better on the iPad than this laptop I’m now on.
I don’t want just poop on the iPad because it does what it does very well. It’s just that what is does is not enough for me. After some more time with the iPad, I can see that its strengths are clearly in viewing and touch gaming. Reading on it is nice, videos are nice, and playing through games is pretty satisfying.
I guess I just *use* my computer more than other people, I dunno. I’m a creator on the computer, less a consumer. I’m writing, I’m coding, I’m gaming…I’m not usually just reading or watching.
I’ll take my $500 and just get a nice laptop that I can actually *work* on rather than just stare at.
@George - I’ll defend my “amateur” article by restating I typed it on the iPad. The iPad is not a good typing device. The Wordpress interface barely worked either, so my usual attention to entry detail had to be skipped. I kept the entry brief because I couldn’t stand typing - nay, pecking - on it any longer. I was just trying it out.
@Will - I’m not sure what updates this iPad has and doesn’t have. I’m not the mobile manager in my department. I just brought it home to play with. Maybe this pad does have that ability and it just wasn’t obvious enough for me.
I agree. The iPad is a lot of fun to mess around with at the store, but I can’r imagine actually doing anything productive. I would much rather spend that $500 on a laptop, or even an X-Box (Still on the Cube). That cult of apple… “Oooh! Apple made something new, I need to get it!!!”
Ya, it’s a long-term fail device. Where I work supports the iPad (i.e. it works with our companies e-mail and network servers) and two months ago it seemed every VP or gadget loving employee was carring their iPad everywhere. Meetings, conference calls, one-on-ones, etc. They claimed to love the device because they could check e-mail, take notes and check the web for info all on the fly. Two months later, there is not an iPad is sight. I work with closely with a person who used it for everything two months ago and he hasn’t brought into work in weeks. I asked him about it and he responded that he uses his iPhone 4 all the time and at home he uses his MacBook, and that his iPad is religated to the car for his wife on trips or to the bathroom.
I think you touched on something there that I had not, surprisingly enough. The iPad is *the* ULTIMATE toilet book/device. Good thinking!