My iPad Review
I still haven’t figured out how to hold the darn thing.
Other than that, it’s great. What an awesome device. It really is a different experience when you’re actually touching the device, manipulating content, and browsing the web.
What really is exciting are the apps that other companies have developed that fully utilize the extra screen real estate and processing power. It’s really something special.
Of all the apps that I’ve downloaded (I’ve downloaded about 30 so far), my favourite are: Newsrack (fast and efficient RSS reader that syncs with Google Reader), Tweetdeck for iPad (super convenient but a bit slow), USAToday (awesome usage of screen space), Pages (exciting to be able to finally create real documents on a mobile device), Evernote (best free app hands down), and Adobe Ideas (a pleasant surprise).
The final verdict comes down to how you view the thing. Is it a computer, or is it still a mobile device? In its own category, it’s obviously at the top because it seems to be the only one in its own category right now (a Pad). But as a computer it’s shit because it doesn’t operate like one, because of how locked down it is, but as a mobile device it’s excellent.
I’m mainly going to use this thing in transport so I totally see the value for me.
As a main computing device I would not recommend it mainly because of its ergonomics. I do foresee a lot of neck strain coming from using this device for a long period of time if you’re not putting it on some type of stand or special case (like the Apple iPad case, for example).
And here’s a cool tip that I do not want to hog for myself: for those of you that already have USB data sticks from Verizon or AT&T or Sprint or whomever, I’ve found a cool workaround for making your iPad a 3G iPad without buying a separate data plan. Check out the “Cradlepoint Personal Hotspot” product - it’s currently on sale on Amazon and goes for about a hundred bucks. You plug your existing USB stick in and it turns it into essentially a MyFi. It also uses its extra juice to charge any USB devices you might have. I’ve ordered mine and it’s supposed to be coming in about a week so I’ll report that when it arrives.
You can see a complete photo gallery of my iPad here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25824478@N00/sets/72157623765943844/
