An Early iPad Review
I am an early adopter. I confess. I stood in line with hundreds of other geeks after a near-sleepless night to get my sweaty hands on an iPad. Was it worth the wait (and the money)? Well, it depends.
Disclaimer: I am not really an Apple devotee, although, I confess, most of my personal and professional computers are Macs, but I also work extensively with Windows and, most of all, Unix computers at work. Macs are just a nice cross-over between UNIX and Windows for me - that's all. I bought my first Mac about 10 years ago and sold it a few months later: The OS was buggy, application were sparse and everything before OSX 10.3 just didn't work for me. And, yes, I also got Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 upon launch day, as well as the newest Debian, RedHat and Ubuntu releases. I am not biased, but since I work on and with those machines 8-10 hours every day, I expect them to "just work" and perform the task that I intend them to do. After all, the user is supposed to command the computer, not the other way around. This is the way it should be, not the exception. Macs perform the task reasonably well for me and provide the stability, reliability and features that I require from a computer. Additionally, Apple products are generally well-built, long-lasting and have exceptional support. Just recently, I discovered cracks on the case of my MacBook, scheduled an appointment and got a replacement bezel free of charge despite an expired warranty. Try that with an HP or Dell laptop and support will laugh at you hysterically. That said, yes, I do currently have a preference towards Apple products, but I am not blindly following every trend and purchase every product from a certain brand. I don't participate in flame wars and I don't take sides, but I do have a preference of what works best for me. I bought the iPad with little anticipation and with the thought of selling it again on eBay, if it doesn't work for me.
First of all, yes, the iPad is really just a gigantic iPod Touch, but the larger form factor actually makes it a lot more useful than the now almost tiny-sized display of an iPhone/iPod Touch. Don't get sucked into the hype that this a must-have device that will change the world, cure cancer and will feed the world. It is really just another computer and far less revolutionary then the invention of the dishwasher. It is not a laptop and not a netbook, it's a tablet that is geared to serve as an alternative, more comfortable way to consume media. Nothing more and nothing less. There is no file system and besides dragging iconized appplication in a particular order and to change the background picture there is not a lot to customize, which is good ...and bad. Good, because the non-computer savvy user is not able to accidentally delete anything of vital importance or play around with the device until things are so horribly broken that only an OS reset can fix it. In my 20 years of working professionally with computers, I have pretty much seen users breaking everything that there is to break. So, dumbing down the OS can actually be good for the average user. The iPad is not a laptop or netbook replacement, more of a media addition.
How useful is the iPad really? If you're the type that just quickly likes to check up on e-mail and browse the web while watching TV and occasionally like to read books, then this is for you. No more booting up a laptop, no more scorched thighs - it's easy, fast and uncomplicated and it just works. The browser and mail application are probably the fastest on the market. There is no Flash support, thus no porn, which might be a deal breaker for some! A nice feature is actually, no one would have never guessed, the optional case that enables you to stand up your iPad or lay it down on an angle horizontally. Very useful for displaying recipes while cooking, for example. Or in meetings. Or just for reading a book. The case is almost a must, because you really want to protect the screen from scratches or cracks. Another use that I just discovered today at work: Use it to display your programming language reference next to your desktop while programming.
The iBook reader is nice, although there aren't really a lot of titles available yet. The reading experience is actually quite nice, but it is not eInk, meaning that it doesn't "read" like paper. It's a backlit computer screen. After reading about 150 pages, I found that reading didn't put much strain on my eyes (the brightness can be adjusted on the fly). However, today during lunch break, I just wanted to sit on a bench outside and read a book on this sunny and bright spring day and quickly abandoned my plans, because the screen is just too glossy and reflective to read a book in direct sunlight no matter how the display brightness was set. Ah, and just when I abandoned my plans to read a book outside, my iPad informed me that it was too hot and simply shut down, probably because it was stuck in the (black) case. So forgetaboutit using in 80+ degree weather on the beach.
Applications are sparse. Some have been ported to the larger display of the iPad. I purchased the fairly popular RSS/news reader "NetNewsWire" and after using it for about half a day, it crashed on me and since then refused to open again. I am sure this will be fixed soon - after all not even developers have seen a real iPad until this past Saturday. The applications were tested using an "iPad simulator" app that comes with the developer tools, so I really didn't expect any bug-free software upon launch.
Watching movies and TV shows is really nice, although you are again limited by content purchased from iTunes and kept myself thinking why I would want to buy a season of a TV show, when I can get it cheaper as a DVD set? I guess that's just the price of being hip, mobile and connected.
A major drawback of digital media is that you do need to have a backup of your purchased content. I currently have about 200 gigabytes of movies, music, books and software that require a constant backup in case of a hard drive crash. I back them up to a ReadyNAS network attached file server (~$300) and for added security (fire, water, theft) all files are also backed up in the "Amazon S3 Cloud" which costs approx. $20/month. Backups are not optional, they are a must.
Battery life is nice, really nice. I managed to squeeze almost exactly 10 hours of one charge watching videos, reading an iBook, gaming, browsing the web and checking e-mail. However, it does not charge via USB and the dock, unless you have a very modern desktop and laptop that can supply at least 1000mA via USB. The USB 2.0 specification just requires 500mA on 5V.
Smudging the screen is a problem. Touch it once and it leaves a nice oily fingerprint on the glossy display, which is fortunately only visible when turned off. Nothing a microfiber towel cannot handle, but it still looks really unsightly after a few hours, much more so than on any phone with a touch screen.
To keep a long story short, if you're an avid reader you might want stick with any other "professional" eBook reader. If you just like to check your mail and browse the web while watching TV or watch a movie in bed, or if you're an avid traveler, then this is what you have been waiting for. If you actually need to do anything else than to consume media, stick to a laptop. If you like to tinker with your OS and customize every pixel to suit your needs, wait for Android-based tablets.
I'm sure Apple has a lot more in stock for the iPad and it is just a matter of time for developers to create a few ingenious killer apps. OS 4.0 is just around the corner and could bring the long-awaited multi-tasking features and a lot of other gimmicks, although I am not quite sure why someone would want multi-tasking on a device like this. Why? Because every open application, every task costs CPU cycles, memory and battery life and a device like this may just not powerful enough.
What would I like to see improved?
- A multi-user login to share the iPad with family members
- An improved start screen/portal, displaying the current weather, time, mails and social networking stats
- A built-in camera for video chat
- Over-the-air synchronization of content with iTunes, which is different from MobileMe. MobileMe just does mail, contacts and calendar - I want all the other content: Photos, Movies, Music, etc.
- A "professional" version that let's you tinker more with the OS. Oh yes, those will be Android-based tablets, which I might choose to replace the iPad in the long run.
... and iGloves that don't smudge the screen. ;)
Disclaimer: I am not really an Apple devotee, although, I confess, most of my personal and professional computers are Macs, but I also work extensively with Windows and, most of all, Unix computers at work. Macs are just a nice cross-over between UNIX and Windows for me - that's all. I bought my first Mac about 10 years ago and sold it a few months later: The OS was buggy, application were sparse and everything before OSX 10.3 just didn't work for me. And, yes, I also got Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 upon launch day, as well as the newest Debian, RedHat and Ubuntu releases. I am not biased, but since I work on and with those machines 8-10 hours every day, I expect them to "just work" and perform the task that I intend them to do. After all, the user is supposed to command the computer, not the other way around. This is the way it should be, not the exception. Macs perform the task reasonably well for me and provide the stability, reliability and features that I require from a computer. Additionally, Apple products are generally well-built, long-lasting and have exceptional support. Just recently, I discovered cracks on the case of my MacBook, scheduled an appointment and got a replacement bezel free of charge despite an expired warranty. Try that with an HP or Dell laptop and support will laugh at you hysterically. That said, yes, I do currently have a preference towards Apple products, but I am not blindly following every trend and purchase every product from a certain brand. I don't participate in flame wars and I don't take sides, but I do have a preference of what works best for me. I bought the iPad with little anticipation and with the thought of selling it again on eBay, if it doesn't work for me.
First of all, yes, the iPad is really just a gigantic iPod Touch, but the larger form factor actually makes it a lot more useful than the now almost tiny-sized display of an iPhone/iPod Touch. Don't get sucked into the hype that this a must-have device that will change the world, cure cancer and will feed the world. It is really just another computer and far less revolutionary then the invention of the dishwasher. It is not a laptop and not a netbook, it's a tablet that is geared to serve as an alternative, more comfortable way to consume media. Nothing more and nothing less. There is no file system and besides dragging iconized appplication in a particular order and to change the background picture there is not a lot to customize, which is good ...and bad. Good, because the non-computer savvy user is not able to accidentally delete anything of vital importance or play around with the device until things are so horribly broken that only an OS reset can fix it. In my 20 years of working professionally with computers, I have pretty much seen users breaking everything that there is to break. So, dumbing down the OS can actually be good for the average user. The iPad is not a laptop or netbook replacement, more of a media addition.
How useful is the iPad really? If you're the type that just quickly likes to check up on e-mail and browse the web while watching TV and occasionally like to read books, then this is for you. No more booting up a laptop, no more scorched thighs - it's easy, fast and uncomplicated and it just works. The browser and mail application are probably the fastest on the market. There is no Flash support, thus no porn, which might be a deal breaker for some! A nice feature is actually, no one would have never guessed, the optional case that enables you to stand up your iPad or lay it down on an angle horizontally. Very useful for displaying recipes while cooking, for example. Or in meetings. Or just for reading a book. The case is almost a must, because you really want to protect the screen from scratches or cracks. Another use that I just discovered today at work: Use it to display your programming language reference next to your desktop while programming.
The iBook reader is nice, although there aren't really a lot of titles available yet. The reading experience is actually quite nice, but it is not eInk, meaning that it doesn't "read" like paper. It's a backlit computer screen. After reading about 150 pages, I found that reading didn't put much strain on my eyes (the brightness can be adjusted on the fly). However, today during lunch break, I just wanted to sit on a bench outside and read a book on this sunny and bright spring day and quickly abandoned my plans, because the screen is just too glossy and reflective to read a book in direct sunlight no matter how the display brightness was set. Ah, and just when I abandoned my plans to read a book outside, my iPad informed me that it was too hot and simply shut down, probably because it was stuck in the (black) case. So forgetaboutit using in 80+ degree weather on the beach.
Applications are sparse. Some have been ported to the larger display of the iPad. I purchased the fairly popular RSS/news reader "NetNewsWire" and after using it for about half a day, it crashed on me and since then refused to open again. I am sure this will be fixed soon - after all not even developers have seen a real iPad until this past Saturday. The applications were tested using an "iPad simulator" app that comes with the developer tools, so I really didn't expect any bug-free software upon launch.
Watching movies and TV shows is really nice, although you are again limited by content purchased from iTunes and kept myself thinking why I would want to buy a season of a TV show, when I can get it cheaper as a DVD set? I guess that's just the price of being hip, mobile and connected.
A major drawback of digital media is that you do need to have a backup of your purchased content. I currently have about 200 gigabytes of movies, music, books and software that require a constant backup in case of a hard drive crash. I back them up to a ReadyNAS network attached file server (~$300) and for added security (fire, water, theft) all files are also backed up in the "Amazon S3 Cloud" which costs approx. $20/month. Backups are not optional, they are a must.
Battery life is nice, really nice. I managed to squeeze almost exactly 10 hours of one charge watching videos, reading an iBook, gaming, browsing the web and checking e-mail. However, it does not charge via USB and the dock, unless you have a very modern desktop and laptop that can supply at least 1000mA via USB. The USB 2.0 specification just requires 500mA on 5V.
Smudging the screen is a problem. Touch it once and it leaves a nice oily fingerprint on the glossy display, which is fortunately only visible when turned off. Nothing a microfiber towel cannot handle, but it still looks really unsightly after a few hours, much more so than on any phone with a touch screen.
To keep a long story short, if you're an avid reader you might want stick with any other "professional" eBook reader. If you just like to check your mail and browse the web while watching TV or watch a movie in bed, or if you're an avid traveler, then this is what you have been waiting for. If you actually need to do anything else than to consume media, stick to a laptop. If you like to tinker with your OS and customize every pixel to suit your needs, wait for Android-based tablets.
I'm sure Apple has a lot more in stock for the iPad and it is just a matter of time for developers to create a few ingenious killer apps. OS 4.0 is just around the corner and could bring the long-awaited multi-tasking features and a lot of other gimmicks, although I am not quite sure why someone would want multi-tasking on a device like this. Why? Because every open application, every task costs CPU cycles, memory and battery life and a device like this may just not powerful enough.
What would I like to see improved?
- A multi-user login to share the iPad with family members
- An improved start screen/portal, displaying the current weather, time, mails and social networking stats
- A built-in camera for video chat
- Over-the-air synchronization of content with iTunes, which is different from MobileMe. MobileMe just does mail, contacts and calendar - I want all the other content: Photos, Movies, Music, etc.
- A "professional" version that let's you tinker more with the OS. Oh yes, those will be Android-based tablets, which I might choose to replace the iPad in the long run.
... and iGloves that don't smudge the screen. ;)