I realize now that I’ve been posting my ‘week one’ reactions to my new Ipad in fragments of social media — a facebook status update here, a wall post there, a tweet to my left, an email to my right. And now people who’ve seen none of these are asking: “Okay Mr. Gadget — where’s your Ipad review?” So — I’ve gathered a variety of my first impressions here. This is life with Ipad week one — told in fragments from hither and yon:
Looks great
Feels great.
Very bright.
In short: Lovin’ it. But its a big amount of work to suddenly convert and organize the many, many apps I have … and I’m still having limited time to play and explore.
It’s a bit heavy, and a trifle awkward for reading in bed (though the rotate lock helps). Definitely need a better stand than apple’s official ‘cover’ which doesn’t feel that great. (And hard to slip it in and out when I want the ‘naked’ experience of ipad to flesh. (Oh my god, that sounds sexual). But I’m getting the hang of it — and I’ve already ordered a different ipad cover (as well as a screen protector). I’m having an accessory overload.
But everything about it has been terrific. LOVE doing email on it. (Especially now that I’ve converted most of my email accounts to IMAP account so that if I delete something on the Ipad — its gone from my computer as well. I can now read seamlessly on any of my three content platforms — macbook, iphone, Ipad.
Absolutely a different experience compared to anything I’ve ever used. Very immediate. (The touch interface really changes how you feel about things.) And I’m already frustrated with Iphone only apps because they don’t take advantage of the big screen (though you can size ‘em up and fill the whole screen and they don’t look bad at all…. But the apps DESIGNED for the IPAD that fully utilize all the space with its touch interface are very very good. LOVE using the weather App. LOVE using THINGS (my to do list manager) on IPad. Browsing the web is great. Bookreader is great and makes reading fun. Great animation of simple things like turning pages. Feels so immediate and … ‘right’. Musical instrument apps are actually useable and fun – I’ve bought a pile of pianos, synths, and guitars, and plugged into an amp this is a legitimate musical instrument.
Makes a stunning ‘always on’ picture frame when you’re not using it. (cool slide shows, etc).
The built in speaker is surprisingly good, and the Ipod interface is very usable. It’s already become my primary musical player. Plugged into external speakers — its excellent!
I wish I could take a week off and just play with it.
Oh… watching movies….. excellent.
ABC app makes it easy to stream television shows — very accessible. Netflix streams. Instant movies. This is amazing.
I absolutely see this as replacing my laptop for living room use. Went to visit the folks and barely touched my laptop — handling most internet chores and email on the ipad.
The fact that it is “instant on” is great. (My laptop — with all its startup apps can take 5 minutes to get going – which feel like a lot of work just to quickly look something up on the net.) For on the go — this makes so much more sense. Instant on and accessibility. (And with the battery life — you don’t have to worry like you might with a laptop.) Plus the 3G gives you access anywhere. (Whereas I need to find wi-fi to connect with my laptop).
I do think (gotta test this), that I’m not seeing the phenomenal battery life the wi-fi only version reortedly has. But it may be an illusion. I have to do a full day test and see what happens. (Though I’ve never been below 70% charged so far…) (I keep synching it up to try to arrange all my screens to my liking.) Turning off the 3G when not needed does seem to help.
Even though I bought Apple’s word processor and spreadsheet programs — they ARE a bit awkward to use. You can’t just hit command C to copy — have to use the iphone style cut and paste — and need to learn a new vocabulary of swipes and gestures for everything. And they vary from program to program — so there’s some challenge there to overcome.
File management isn’t clean or obvious — (obviously a learning curve I need to get round to)… so I don’t see it as a substitute for a computer and gertting WORK done. I can access SOME documents easily — but not others. I imagine I’ll figure out best approaches for document management in a while…. but again — it’s not what you’re used to — so it’ll take some adjustment.
But this is definitely what I’ll be carrying on a plane and keeping with me in my briefcase all the time. Much superior to a laptop for content CONSUMPTION.
Haven’t even felt the need to connect a keyboard yet (though I can with my wireless bluetooth)… as the onscreen keyboard actually works fine for short stuff — and one can almost touch type on it. MUCH easier to type on than Iphone.
The potential in this sucker just seems enormous — once people figure out the right way to create apps for it that effectively have a different approach to delivering information. It may take a while for the ‘right apps’ to make the platform absolutely predominant — but for a product barely on the shelves — its amazingly robust.
Like I said — I’m absolutely loving my Ipad! And here’s my prediction: You may not remember this — but at one time you thought you didn’t need an ipod or an .mp3 player (“My walkman does everything I need to do with my music.”
Well, guess what. You WILL be getting an Ipad or Ipad-like device! This idea is a keeper! And it’s the start of the next information revolution. This is the week it all started…
Only a few days left for MacHeist. A great deal – over $600 worth of software (more than a dozen useful applications) for $39 bucks – and most importantly, 25% gets donated to charity.
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