Observations on an iPad Owned
I think I bought the iPad 2 the very early morning that it went on pre-sale. This did not guarantee me an iPad on the first day and in fact I got my iPad a few days after it went on sale at the Apple Stores. Since then the iPad has become a staple electronic in my house. It sits on the couch all day, but it has replaced the Dell mini that preceded it, Camille’s Kindle, and even a laptop for quick lookups. Quite frankly, with some added abilities and better multi-tasking, the iPad could replace even a traditional computer completely.
Managing Other Devices
One of the biggest uses for the Dell mini was as a manager for my Synology NAS. The NAS comes with a number of applications, including a download manager. With the Dell mini I could send “nzb” files to the download manager and later watch them on my TV through the 360. This was all an effortless process that allowed me to queue up my watching right from the couch. The iPad presented a few challenges. For one, you cannot download files to the iPad. So, the simple process of taking a downloaded file and transferring it to the NAS became impossible. This is a limitation of the iPad born out of security. Thankfully the App Store proved my salvation. “SynoDS” does the job of controlling the download manager application on the NAS. It features a built-in browser that can download files and directly transmit them to the NAS. This was the perfect solution and without the robust App Store I would have never found it.
Couch Surfing and Reading
This should be a powerful statement, Camille prefers the iPad to the Kindle for reading. She still uses the Kindle store mind you, but does all of her reading on the iPad. For me, Reeder is my app of choice for reading. With its new integration with Readability, something I am happy to pay for, I can transport my reading from my Mac to the iPhone and at home to the iPad. Apple’s “Reading List” will do little to mitigate the stripped down and clean interface Readability gives me. The iPad provides the perfect accompaniment to sitting on the couch, while the significant other watches her television. It is perfect for reading email, even though I will not put my accounts in the Mail app. I still stand by my assessment that the iPad functions poorly as a multi-person device. I think it at least needs a way to lock any information management applications at least, because when people come home and grab that iPad I don’t want them reading my email or my calendar. I sincerely doubt this is a feature Apple will implement. They would frankly rather me buy more iPads to fill the couch need.
There is however one act of reading that beats all else on the iPad: comics. The Comixology app is one of the best implementations for reading comics that I have seen. In fact, it is the only implementation. Regardless, it is an experience bar none. The buying experience is absolutely seamless, with in-app purchases making me feel secure. I appreciated the reading experience of the app on the iPhone. The application has an understanding of comic panels, allowing you to zoom and flick through them. The experience could however be a bit disjointed on the small screen and constant zooming was necessary to read the small print and also appreciate the full layout. The iPad’s screen size obviates this. In only rare cases does one need to zoom into a panel. Reading comics on the iPad is the perfect way to read comics. Delivery is instantaneous, the prices are just right, and the hassle of storage is removed. If any anyone has benefited the most from the iPad, I would have to say it is the comics industry. Buying comics has become so easy that a number of people I know spend up to $100 a month buying comics. That first month I found out how efficient reading comics on the iPad is I spent about $60 on new comics.
Still Worthless Cameras
The usefulness of the iPad cameras are proportional to their location. The camera on the back has yet to be used by me, even once. The PhotoBooth app that accompanies it is a complete waste of time. However, over the summer, the front camera was a boon. It allowed me to have video chats with Camille and Dante. It was clear enough that Dante saw me and understood my commands. That was very cool. In fact, the video chats between the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2 were the best use I have yet seen for either gadgets. Each connection was one of those precious moments when you appreciated technology “just working.” That was a major hit, but not the first.
Conclusion
The chief benefit of the iPad is its quickness. It takes no time to boot, no time to switch applications, and no time to get to the task at hand. All of this makes it less cumbersome to use than a laptop. I think that this may just be the iPad’s greatest strength. I tried out the iPad for notetaking and it was not bad. However, when I have to have my laptop opened for an hour or two, the quickness of the iPad is mitigated. Moreover, the lack of seamless multitasking kills any ability to smoothly transition from notetaking to some background task. There in lies the iPad’s dilemma. When using it actively it works best only in small doses. For passive uses, like reading or watching, the iPad’s speed proves a boon. However, for longer tasks, including writing or researching, the iPad’s speed through simplification proves to be a weakness. Then there is the issue of multitasking. What works for the iPhone, a row of previously used apps, fails to work as efficiently on a larger screen. Apple needs to work on the iPad UI with a larger screen in mind. Consistency for the sake of consistency only hurts the iPad platform, as it succumbs to the lowest common denominator. For all of this, the iPad still does a phenomenal job at the right tasks. If we took the iPad out of our house, a gadget vacuum would be felt by both Camille and myself.
