Its been five days since I got my first iPad and some folks have wondered what I really think of it and why.
First, let me tell you that all I wanted from my iPad was "a bigger iPod Touch".
That's it. Just be bigger than my iPod Touch, and I was already going to be happy.
Not that the iPod Touch is bad... its my eyes that are bad and I haven't adjusted to wearing glasses. (it would help if I knew where my glasses were, actually)
In a nutshell, the iPad has exceeded my expectations in four ways:
- the battery is long enough to outlast me
- its unbelievably wicked fast
- the built-in speaker is much louder than I had hoped for, and
- the larger screen allows for a user interface experience thats even better than the iPhone or iPod Touch
Of all those reasons, the most surprising thing to me has been the battery life.
For something as fast as the iPad is, with as great a color screen as it has, and with its dependence on a WiFi radio for connectivity... getting 10+ hours amazes me. I know that I'm not the only one who heard Steve Jobs say "10 hours of battery life" and said ... yeah. right steve. sure.
You were right Steve and I'm sorry I doubted you. It will never happen again.
The speed of the user interface is so fast... you just don't ever say to yourself "this thing takes a while to respond to my actions". Granted, once you tell it to do something that requires internet access, the speed of your internet connection may affect you, but you can't blame the iPad's speed for that.
Speed is where I think the iPad will continue to excel against competition like HP's Slate or any other tablet that uses an atom processor and runs any form of windows OS. I've used windows on a netbook with an atom processor and even with a solid state drive (SSD), it wasn't anywhere near as fast to get around on as my iPad.
The iPad is ready when you are... much more like a cell phone, than a computer. What I mean is, on a computer that's asleep, it can take you a few seconds for it to wake up, figure out where it was, and then be ready to do something. With a cell phone, assuming the user interface allows you to create a shortcut to quickly get to what it is you want to do (like check/send email), the cell phone is ready to do whatever, just as soon as you can navigate to that function -- and that's what the iPad user experience is like -- Ready when you are.
The quality of the iPad's speaker made me stop and say "Wow, listen to that"... mostly because I was sooo disappointed in the lack of loudness from my iPod Touch's speaker. The iPad is much louder than my 2nd generation iPod Touch. (side note: after having gotten my first iPhone two weeks ago, I am even more disappointed in the iPod Touch because my iPhone's speaker sounds way better than my iPod Touch. Apple should be embarrassed by that.) I had hoped that a video would help show the difference in loudness but without an analog dB sound meter, the video I made doesn't help at all. Go to an Apple store and listen to the iPad compared to the iPod Touch, and you'll hear for yourself.
Earlier, I said that the user interface on the iPad is better than even the iPhone or iPod Touch, and that may confuse some folks who own either device because they are thinking -- what can make that better? -- the answer is the larger screen of course.
With that larger screen, there are so many ways to improve upon the iPhone interface, and once you've had the opportunity to use the iPad for a while, going back to your iPhone is going to make you realize... wow, that thing is small. Diehard iPhone lovers aren't going to understand until you use an iPad for more than just a few minutes in an Apple store.
Of course, many who know me, know that even though I have been an Apple evangelist for as long as they've known me... I'll point out flaws when I see them. That's just how I am.
The iPad isn't perfect. It has flaws.
First of all... why is there no camera on the iPad? that alone is enough to make an Apple evangelist rant for hours. Its idiotic for the iPad not to have a camera. The ATT-enabled iPad would be uber-perfect for blogging -- IF IT HAD A CAMERA!
Next complaint is its weight. The iPad is heavy. As an eReader -- and no, I'm not saying thats all the iPad is -- I'll bet the iPad weighs more than any of its eReader competition. It probably weighs more than 90% of the physical books you might actually read. I can't imagine a lot of people would fine it comfortable to lie in bed at night and hold the iPad while eReading. If they do, they are going to develop some new carpal-tunnel like affliction. iPaditis, we'll call it.
Last complaint is about included Apps. Actually, its the lack of a couple apps. Where is iChat? and why isn't there a Voice Memos app like on the iPhone? I almost forgot there was a built in microphone because there is no included App that takes advantage of it. Why would Apple do that?
Let me end this by saying, the iPad rocks... but its not for everyone. The iPad is not a full blown computer and the people who need things like USB ports, a physical keyboard, built-in webcams and other things found on a "real computer"... those people should get a laptop -- preferably something in the MacBook family.
Quicker access to things like email, instant messaging, web surfing, calendars and todo's, digital photos and videos... and the battery life to run longer than you probably can... thats what the iPad brings to the table. and the couch. and your lap. and the car/boat/RV.
If you have found yourself liking what you can get done on an iPod Touch, I think know you'll love how much more you can do with the iPad.
