It was mostly an accident, me playing with a shiny new iPad Saturday morning. Well, maybe half-accidental. Would you believe, one-third? The tip of Tom Thumb’s smaller thumb? [/maxwellsmart]
Anyway, lesson learned: Never get a haircut without first eating breakfast.
Let me explain.
Today was the every-third-Saturday haircut, and by the time I got there I was starving. Three cups of coffee will keep you full until lunch — but two cups, I found, last until exactly 10:30. New plan: Stop for lunch on the way home. Panera sounded good, and they have some new salmon-thing Melissa’s been craving.
Pulled into The Shoppes* at Briargate, forgetting that the Apple Store is practically right next door to Panera. Honest. But since I was there already, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to step inside and just look. My first impression of the iPad wasn’t too great, but the more I thought about it, the more sense the OS, GUI, and form factor all made. So I’d planned on pre-ordering one of the 3G models that came out yesterday. But then we got whacked with an unexpected tax bill (our old accountant is so fired, his pants still smell of sulfur), and my iPad got demoted to the Later List.
Really, it’s not like I was going to buy one today — Amex would have said yes, but at the end of the month the checking account would have said no, no, no.
Picked it up, and the first thing I noticed is that for a tiny device, it’s quite a bit bigger than I expected. Hefty, too. But not, I think, too much so. Although for curling up in bed with a good ebook, you might prefer something closer to Kindle-size. But obviously I haven’t bed-tested it yet — they look at you funny at the Apple Store when you bring in a binky.
As MacBook Pro, iPhone, and iPod owners have come to expect, the build quality is outstanding. The reveals… well, they reveal very little. There’s no flex in the thing, no rattles, no squeaks. If you don’t drop it, and replace the battery every 18-36 months, there’s no reason you shouldn’t get years of use out of a single iPad.
Although I expect you’ll be more likely to hand down the old one to the kids, and upgrade to newer models every year or two. That’s my plan, anyway.
The interface works just like an iPhone or an iPod Touch — but with more Gee Whizzes and Ooh Pretties, thanks to that lickable screen** and a speedy processor. I know the iPad won’t have multitasking until the new 4.0 OS comes out next fall, but switching between apps was so fast, it didn’t take much longer — or maybe less time — than using COMMAND-TAB (ALT-TAB for you poor Windows victims) to task-switch on your laptop or desktop. The thing just moves.
The first web page I pulled up was, of course, PJTV. Loaded fast. Rendered fast. Videos just played — and in glorious HD. Slate, one of the first professional webzines, looks and feels like this is what it was meant to be, when Michael Kinsley and Bill Gates launched it 15 years ago. The New Yorker ought to just give up print next month, and hand out iPads with each lifetime subscription. Yes, yes — I know there’s no Flash support. But do you complain when you go out to a romantic dinner with your honey, and the waiter doesn’t jab you in the eye every time you try and look at the menu?
The apps I played with were just like my iPhone apps, only bigger and funner. And faster. The built-in apps, the ones you’ll probably use most, are just plain cool. Address book, calendar, web browser — this is what personal computing should have been all along, if the vision and the technology had both been available. This pad, this slate, this thingy, is the future, or very close to it — and still just 24 ounces of shiny glass and high-strength metal.
The keyboard is… small. But in landscape orientation, very usable. I did my usual keyboard test — one line of “Now is the time for every man to come to the aid of his country” and another line of “Now is the time for every man to come to the aid of his party.” The result? The first line started coming out as, “Nowisthetime…” My right thumb (my “spacebar thumb”) wanted to strike just south of the virtual key. I adjusted, and nailed the second line without having to think about it much. With practice, it ought to become quite natural. You could hammer out something the length of this review without too much problem, but you’ll want an external keyboard for anything much longer.
The iPad is just a yummy, yummy device. But is it good enough to replace your laptop? Ever since upgrading to a Mac Pro with Apple’s candylicious 24-inch LED backlit screen, I’m back to doing most of my work on the desktop machine. It’s just too pretty (and too fast!) to let lay idle. Mostly what I do on the MacBook is surf and email — and sometimes blog. I think the iPad can handle all that — and with an all-day battery, to boot.
And on travel? Forget it. The laptop stays home.
My laptop bag holds one six-pound MacBook. And one largish, 60-watt power adapter. And an extra-long power cable, just in case. A network cable. A spare battery. A CF/SD card reader. And the bag itself is big enough to accommodate an even bigger laptop with more stuff. (There’s a dearth of decent airport-scanner friendly 13-inch laptop bags.)
In the future? I’ll save 4.5 pounds by replacing the laptop with an iPad. The big power adapter stays home, and in its place is a tiny little ten-watt thing, not much bigger than an earbud case. No network cable, since I’ll have 3G on board. Instead of the CF card reader, a tiny USB dongle. On overnight trips or non-working vacations, I’ll make do with the virtual keyboard. Longer, work trips, I’ll bring along the tiny bluetooth keyboard, and a dock. No extra battery to carry, no network cable (since I’ll have the 3G iPad). And a much smaller bag.
Hell, having written this up, I’d like to get started right away. Sure, there’s that tax bill to pay… but the credit cards are all zeroed out. A few hundred bucks on just one of them for a couple months couldn’t hurt too much…
Lesson learned: Don’t go to the Apple Store without your emergency MasterCard.
Oh, and the haircut looks great. Just a lot more expensive than I expected.
*There’s a surprising amount of Olde English history in Ye Olde Northern Colorado Springs.
**The iPad screen has much greater resolution than the Sony Trinitron VGA monitor I shelled out $600 for — back in 1994. In constant dollars, the iPad’s quite a bit cheaper, and weighs somewhat less than 20 pounds.
Dude, its too late to negotiate with Jobs for your soul’s return.
Robin –
We’ve known each other for years. Was I ever really getting that much use out of it?
True … and it had a musty smell.
Now it’s more brimstoney.
Mmmm, brimstone.
When the iPad was first announced I had my doubts, the form factor of a netbook with the data-entry capability of the iTouch. After playing with it in Best Buy I figured out what it was: The real incarnation of the PADD from Star Trek. It’s not supposed to be a data creation device, it’s an information consumption device.
I’m still not sure it’s a winner, there are some pretty big problems with it. It’s too big to just carry around everywhere, even in the house, and it’s too expensive to put one in every room. I’ll give it a couple of years for Jobs to milk all you fanbois until he finally releases a fully-functional version and to see what the competition comes up with (if the Courier from MS can do 80% of what’s shown on the demo video it’ll be worth the price of an iPad)
MS cancelled the Courier yesterday. It was never more than vaporware.
On the price… when basic-function, small-form factor iPad are available for $100-$200 (and I have no doubt that will be the case), I’ll stick ‘em all over the house. Including, I think, the bathroom.
You realize, of course, that the iPhone and iPad are nothing more than RDF generators, don’t you? Actually, they serve two purposes: 1) Anyone within range of one of these devices is subject to Jobs’ RDF. Immunity is inversely proportional to … IQ. 2) Anyone in possession of said devices is feeding the RDF machine directly.
That soul you were referring to? Gone. Forever. It has been consumed for a higher purpose.
You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
Well that’s too bad, it really was a better solution to my problems than the iPad. The really interesting thing for me was the difference in the marketing. Apple mostly put out pictures of the device, some video of the UI and a few apps. MS was focused on people actually doing things. In other words the Apple was the supermodel, MS was the girl who could cook.
Now if Apple would put a halfway decent camera on the iPad there will be a supermodel who can cook, and that I’d put 500 clams down for.
Well, no.
Courier was a fake video of a girl who could cook. iPad is a supermodel you can take home for $499.
And that’s not even by the hour.
By the way, Steve. This is how long you wait after your birthday to start picking up toys again? What, 12 hours?
That must be some kind of record. I hope your lovely bride is giving you the evil eye something fierce.
iPad is a supermodel you can take home for $499.
No wonder you’re so keen on taking it to bed!
As far as I’m concerned it’s all vaporware until it actually hits stores.
Now, I’m just waiting until Jobs comes out with Giada de Laurentiis
I got one as well. Justification: Daughters first plane trip. There is this free app which allows to finger paint coloring book pictures. My three year old sat quite for a four hour plane ride using that single app. Did’t even get to the 8 hours of Dora the explorer video.
Now the ipad is mine. (evil laughter)
The pattern repeats yet again.
Apple defines the future, and after much complaint from dullards who think the old Mac vs. Windows debate is a reasonable waste of their time, we all move forward. Usually in the direction identified by Apple.
Been playing with my 3G since Friday. Love it – will write more after my sprained wrist recovers. Had to go to emergency room, at first thought carpel tunnel nerve damage, but then learned that the weight of the thing, combined with my dread of dropping it (slippery devil), had made me a nervous wreck. The wrist was only sprained. Phew!
You went to the emergency toom because you sprained your wrist from carrying around a iPAD?
When you where there why didn’t you just have them install a mangina?
“If you don’t drop it, and replace the battery every 18-36 months, there’s no reason you shouldn’t get years of use out of a single iPad.”
Except the “replace the battery” part actually means “send your iPad and a C-note to Apple, and they’ll send you a refurbished iPad to replace your old one.”
Golly. Why, that’s like taking your car in for scheduled maintenance, and then having to give the dealer money!
I swear, Apple’s business practices are so unfair.
I’m waiting to see if the iPad becomes the computer that Grandma is finally willing to have in her house. With no keyboard and no mouse, and a price that can only come down for the same features, this device could link everyone and become ubiquitous.
Most people use only a fraction of their computer’s capability. They answer email, surf the internet, and do some light word processing. It just might become embarrassing to pull out a clunky laptop in an airport to perform those few simple tasks.
I must have one.
Golly. Why, that’s like taking your car in for scheduled maintenance, and then having to give the dealer money!
I swear, Apple’s business practices are so unfair.
Golly, Thats like taking in your car to have the oil changed for $70 bucks when you could change it yourself for less than $20.
Time for you Apple fanboys to admit that you’re incapable of performing even the most rudimentary task outside of your own narrow area of expertise.
I had to chuckle, no, I actually was seized with a fit of laughter so intense I almost shit myself, when I was at the local hardware store and a late 20′s maybe early 30′s year old wearing an Apple t-shirt and clutching an iPAD was having his wheelbarrow “repaired” because he was unable to change the fracking wheel himself.
Tolbert, you know what? Nearly everyone is incapable of doing simple tasks outside their area of expertise.
In this case, I’ve got a masters in EE and I’m ABD in Computer Science and I’d still rather give it to Apple.
Tolbert –
Well, no.
You can’t get a removable ten-hour battery in a device as small and thin as an iPad. Can’t. Be. Done. Not with current battery technology, anyway. Someday? Sure. But not today.
Apple chose to go with battery life rather than ease-of-replacement — as they have with the current lineup of MacBooks. I think that’s the right choice, and so that’s where I’ll spend my money. And by and large the market agrees with Apple, as they continue to increase sales and profits at the same time they eliminate consumer-replaceable batteries.
But your complaint seems to be that Apple won’t sell you a Golden Hover Pony. Which misses the point — that they’re already marketing a regular Hover Pony, and at an attractive price.
Oh, and another thing.
Comparing a slate/pod/whatever’s battery to your car battery is just silly. It’s more like an automatic transmission. And if you’re fixing or replacing those yourself, I’d rather not get in the car with you.
Comparing these things to beautiful women makes sense. The iPad is Pamela Anderson. A tablet PC like I’m using right now is Sarah Palin. Best wishes with your relationship.
A tablet PC like I’m using right now is Sarah Palin.
I don’t see why you should be insulting Sarah Palin this way. What’s she ever done to you?
Personally, I think the iPad is more like Zooey Deschanel.
Hubba hubba. Cubed.
Of course, the difference is that my wife won’t let me get a Zooey Deschanel, but, once we pay down a few more of these credit card bills, she’ll put up with a new gadget in my life.
The thing I like best about the iPad is what it is doing to my Apple stock.
The various “iP*” products, while sufficiently profitable themselves, are working like gateway drugs, and leading more and more of the general masses into the highly profitable world of Macs.
The various “iP*” products, while sufficiently profitable themselves, are working like gateway drugs…
True dat! After I got my first iPod, I got my first taste of Apple engineering. Then, a colleague showed me his MacBook Pro, and I was sold. Mind you, I work in IT in corporate America — No one uses Apple computers. It was borderline heresy to get one. If I need to dial in to work, I use RDC for Mac by Microsoft (free app) and that does the trick. If I really want to use Windows apps, I can install Windows 7 using Boot Camp, or one of the other software packages.
That’s almost exactly what happened to me. Bought an iPod (the original color or “Photo” model) to bring on vacation, because I’d been pulling my hair out, trying to make mix CDs to please four people arranged in two couples with very different musical tastes.
I was sold. But not just on the iPod. The iPod + iTunes combination was just so lovely and seamless that as soon as Jobs announced the switch to Intel, I knew what my next computer purchased would be. In fact, almost exactly four years later, the original Intel iMac is still hard at work, acting as our media server.
Since then, I’ve upgraded iPod Classics twice, my wife has a small handful of iPod Nanos, my desktop machine is a screamin’ Mac Pro Nehalem, my laptop is a MacBook, my wife’s laptop is a MacBook, we have an Apple TV plugged into every TV in the house, and every two years my wife and I upgrade to the current model of iPhone.
And now that my four-year-old is ready for his first computer, I’m swapping the iMac out for a Mac Mini, and giving him the iMac.
Now that’s a lot of devices in one house. Yet I still spend less time troubleshooting and fixing ALL of this equipment combined, than I ever did any single Windows desktop I owned.
Oh, and all my email and work documents exist inside the MobileMe cloud, for which I happily pay $99 a year, instead of having to look at GoogleAds 24/7.
Does Apple have a lot of my money? Yep. And they earned every penny of it.
Time = money. It’s amazing how many people still don’t get that.
And fun = money too!
When you get both together, it’s like a mega amplified feedback loop. And Apple is there right now.
I’ve had my wifi-only iPad for about a week now. At first, my reaction was pretty much, “What do I need this thing for?” It’s not that great for blogging, especially if you’re doing a lot of links. It doesn’t stream videos from my other computers. And where the heck are the good RSS readers?
The blogging still sucks, but:
1. I bought AirVideo, downloaded the server app for my Mac mini (that’s hooked up to the plasma), and presto, I can watch all the videos on the mini that I want, anywhere in the house, on my iPad.
2. Feedler needs a little getting used to, but it works pretty well now. And it’s free. Early Edition is gorgeous, but needs Google Reader syncing abilities.
3. GoodReader is the best PDF reader ever. I have tons of PDF files that I had trouble organizing on my computer. Now I can actually find things I want, and they’re portable to boot.
4. RemoteTap allows me to control any other computer in the house remotely. It’s like screensharing, but on the iPad.
5. The app “Free Books” gives you access to Gutenberg’s archive, and it’s free. I like my physical books, but I’m sorely tempted to purchase some books on iBooks just because it’s easier to read in bed without disturbing my sleeping spouse with the reading light. I did spend a couple hours downloading free epub books from Baen last night.
6. Urbanspoon (free) gives you a great directory of all the restaurants in any area in the US that you’re interested in.
7. Marvel’s comics app (free) is gorgeous. I wish DC does the same thing (I’m a Batman fan).
8. Harbor Master HD is free, and fun (and frustrating when you get all those purple boats crashing into everything).
9. Bloomberg’s, NYTimes and Fluent News are my goto apps for news feeds, mainly because they’re functional (and free).
I don’t go anywhere without my iPad. I wish I had waited for the 3G version, but I’ll get that for Rev. 2 anyway.
You will find a use for it, because it really is handy. There are only about 5000 iPad apps right now. Just wait for the new apps to come out. I think this gadget is awesome.
(I’m looking forward to visiting some of our younger relatives next week. I have a feeling this will be an even bigger hit with them than the iPhone was.)
There is one huge problem with the 3G version.
Got my 3G on Friday. Unless you live in a major metropolitan area where iPhones work quite well, don’t even bother with the 3G. I spent 4 hrs Friday trying to get AT&T to accept my credit card. Had 4 calls to Apple tech support, 2 to AT&T (they are idiots) and spent nearly an hour with a really nice tech guy at Capital One as he changed my post office box to a street address in an attempt to get AT&T to allow me to use my 3G.
Finally – yesterday, as thousands of others who spent a couple hundred bucks more for the 3G version have discovered, forget about it! Unless you live in a city where AT&T supports 3G, you cannot activate the service. I have read where some people are using a relative’s credit card in another city. (I thought about it).
In the meantime….
Verizon has a nifty little portable wifi system. Now, because I live in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico, I cannot use AT&T. I must purchase the little portable Verizon wifi, but that’s not a bad thing.
Last night, I will confess, my iPad was put to a Marxist test (Groucho, Chico, Harpo). I love the fact that you don’t need earbuds! Rufus T. FIrefly passed the test!
I threatened to sell the blasted thing on Ebay and buy a cheaper one, but we all know that is not going to happen. One day, when my sister and I have time, I’ll do the AT&T thing on her card and pay her back, but neither one of us will get around to it for ages.
So far, I’ve filled all but 15G of the hard drive. Quite a bit of my music is on it. I have the 1800 photos for the book I should have finished yesterday. I also have about 20 movies on it.
I LOVE the Kindle app. I’ve downloaded at least 250 of my Kindle titles onto it, but I will never surrender my beloved Kindle.
After hating it all day Friday, by last night I came to love the little guy. I can see keeping much of my life on it.
I can also see adapting a book for it. I want an app where I can do a book and sell it for iPad. There is a project I have put off for 2 years because it just doesn’t work well with standard publishing. As an iPad app it would be incredible. Unless I can get an app to work with Adobe ID, the book I am doing now will be a problem. It would perfect for an iPad app.
Just remember this AT&T mess. If you live in the middle of nowhere like I do, don’t waste the $$$$$$$ on the 3G.
Isn’t it amazing how we technojunkies come up with a reason to legitimize something like this!
SJR
The Pink Flamingo
Just like with Pamela Anderson, the iPad is cute and fun to play with and for every obvious shortcoming there are people happy to sell you plastic surgery add-ons to make it almost like a functional computer.
Betamax in a VHS world is not for me. Sorry, no sale, and I don’t care how great Apple’s products are.
Hey-hey, ho-ho, quality has got to go!
I got an iPad on the first Saturday and was using it on the road Monday! Love it! I don’t use my laptop anymore on the road…it’s the iPad and desktop for me!
Amen Brother.
Pardon me for not reading all the comments beforehand…but the question that truly begs to be asked is “Did Melissa, at the very least, get her salmon-thingy?”
Woo Hoo, 1 million iPads sold!
That happened faster than I thought it would. Twice as fast as the iPhone!
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/05/apple-ipad-reaches-one-million-sold-twice-as-fast-as-iphone/
Stephen, you might actually be customer number 1,000,000!!!
Back to the iPad … Now, are you sure its not a chihuahua?
Don’t forget all that money you’ll have to spend for adapters to plug in just about anything. Don’t do it, Vodkadude!
Not that you’ll listen. Just get a new laptop…