So I had five minutes to play with an iPad on the day of release, and another ten minutes to play today. It’s an interesting piece of work, and will doubtless continue to have a throttlehold on the news over the next week or so. You’re not sure if this thing is worth the money and effort.
That’s a good question.
Now, my electrogeekness can tell you the same things that you can read online. It’s a pound and a half, sleek, fast, and in a fairly short period of time will have apps out the wazoo. (Technically it does already, as it will run all the apps that my iPod does, and that an iPhone does if you wait for the 3g model.)
That’s not what you want to know.
I can tell you that it doesn’t run Flash (and if you don’t know what that does, that’s okay), it does have a productivity suite, and watching movies will be fun, along with all those books you said you wanted to read. The iPad is designed to be a media center. Books, music, games, a little letter writing or note taking, and checking your e-mail is what this is designed for.
You knew that already, I suspect.
I should tell you about prices, add-ons, and a hundred other things--all designed to protect and enhance your using experience.
I won’t, because you can look that up yourself.
No, the real question you want an answer to is “Do you think I should get one?” The simple answer to that is that there isn’t a simple answer. If you have a laptop...maybe not. You with laptops will want to pause and think about it.
But if you have a desktop computer, such as an HP or iMac, the answer is yes, you want one. If you’re thinking about a netbook, get this instead as I think you’ll be much happier with it. If you’re under 30, a tech person or Apple fanboy (or fangirl), and need to be on the leading edge, yes, and you may already have yours in hand. (If so, congratulations.)
If you’re over 65 and travel a bit, you might like it as well. Plane flights are long boring things anymore, and this will be a fun thing to have to play solitaire, read a book, watch a movie, and compose a letter to Aunt May. (Wi-fi is limited on many flights, even now, so you may not be able to surf the web or check e-mail from 15.25 KM, or 50,000 feet-whichever comes first.) The iPad is easy to use, lightweight, easy to maintain, and will serve you in good stead.
For those of us between 30-65, however, it might be a different story. Many of us have laptops we like. Money is a bit tight, especially for those of us with families to deal with. (Although you might want one for the slightly older child to use while on a long road trip.) I won’t be getting one, at least for now. Part of it is cost; the one I want is nearly $900. It has 64 GB memory and 3G capability. (Anything less then 32 GB of memory is a joke to me.) Here’s the other part.
I have a MacBook that I have updated to Snow Leopard, the most recent iWork and iLife suites, and dropped 2GB more RAM into it, for a total of 4GB RAM. (It is indeed like having a new MacBook.) It goes many places I do, because I work online. If I were able to go to Director’s College this year I would want my MacBook, as I can use my iPod to record the lectures and classes-and then simply transfer those to the MacBook at day’s end. However...an iPad would have been nice to have in Hawai’i last summer, as opposed to the MacBook, as it weighs less and eats less room in a carry-on. I was on vacation and thus only checking work e-mail once daily. (It was during an enrollment period for a program I help oversee.) Plus, since weight is at a premium on any flight, not having the MacBook allows me to pack stuff in my carryon I might actually need to bring.
That’s my take on the iPad. Right now I can see all kinds of potential. Several years down the road I can see a number of students getting one, downloading their books for courses, taking notes in lectures, and even writing papers with it. In three to six months from now as more apps are made specifically for the iPad, it becomes a better piece of gear. If you can wait until, say, summer--or better yet, Christmas--you will have a nifty tablet that you’ll be able to customize and really make worth the purchase.
Enough for now.
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