iPad, Up Close and Personal

Jobs holding his greatest creation -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
Today's blog is a follow-up to my earlier article (@ January 2010) about the iPad. When it came out, I was fairly optimistic -- I'm an Apple fanboy and will usually give them the benefit of the doubt on anything. In the May timeframe, I decided to buy one; the 3G version was finally available. But it wasn't really available yet -- Apple began shipping to nine other nations about a week after 3G came out. Every model was in short supply and even people ordering on-line were told, "Allow 7-10 days for shipping".

Of course, this made me want it all the more. Who said that I can't fall for the oldest marketing ploy in the book? Across a 5 week period, I kept asking personnel if they had any iPads on-hand. It was like a junky looking for his fix. The Dallas Knox Street Apple store just happened to have 2 Wi-Fi/3G's in stock last week -- a 32GB and a 64GB. The 64GB was exactly what I wanted, and I closed the deal! With taxes, it approached $900, but for a tricked-out Apple gizmo that's a bargain.

I've had it in my hands for about 11 days now. I don't know if it's love or techno-lust, but must say it's probably the most fun I've had with a new toy in ages. "Toy" is a bit of a understatement -- after all, I'm happily creating this blog on the iPad using iWork Pages and a bluetooth keyboard. This iPad is a workhorse when it wants to be. This brings me to a first (and primary) thing I like about iPad -- it's the Rich Little of computing devices. It can be a showy, over-sized iPod Touch when it wants to be. And it can be a highly competent netbook when that's the requirement.

I've been somewhat annoyed at gadget makers who assume that smaller is always better. No handheld device should be smaller than a deck of playing cards. Devices that use finger touch (as opposed to pen or stylus) present a challenge for those of us with middle-aged eyes and stubby fingers too. The iPad is extremely helpful and forgiving about these things. Don't want to necessarily call it an iTouch for old people but if the orthopedic shoe fits, what the hey. :-)

The "iTouch for Old Coots" moniker would actually leave out much of what there is to love. Virtually every iPhone/iTouch built-in app, and easily 25-33% of 3rd-party apps have been reworked for iPad to take advantage of the comparatively big, beautiful screen. As Jason Snell of "Macworld" pointed out, this has created the best of both worlds, almost a Goldilocks solution in some cases. The best example is iTunes, which on the iTouch is a miserly, cramped little app. You can't do much and you have to scroll and tap frequently to do what you can do. iTunes on Mac/PC is another extreme -- a confusing, busy montage of buttons, panels, movie trailers and what-not. A newbie could be lost right away looking at it. The iPad iTunes app is "just right". It gives you what you want, what you actually need and not a lot of excess.

I have an inCase Folio cover for my iPad, which makes it look like an ordinary day planner from across the room. It protects the screen when not in use and provides a terrific stand for blogging and typing (as I'm doing now). The iPad travels with me as easily as a light binder or journal book. It's easy to flip open anywhere, at almost any angle. Doesn't require a lighted desktop for quick correspondence or checking of email.

I'd be remiss not to also mention that I signed up for the less expensive AT&T 3G data plan which gives me 250MB of data streaming/month. I had one minor bump at signup -- there was a 90 minute gap between me entering my credit card data and when the service actually started. During that period I was getting a 3G icon, but being told I was out of bytes for the month. Something could probably be done to make the signup more seamless and painless. That being said, I love the 3G. It is jerky and poor for movies and video but I wouldn't use it for that ordinarily anyway. It gives me internet anywhere, anytime with no blocked sites -- a lot to be said for that and a lot of uses keep coming to mind.

All told, the iPad is a little piece of genius. It's no wonder they sell one every few seconds around the world. With iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad, Apple Inc. keeps showing us that they have the technical and creative prowess to fire all of our imaginations well into the 21st century.

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