So, I’ve been living with the Apple iPad for approximately 1 week now. I have the 16GB WiFi version retailing at £429 and I have to say it is a very sexy bit of kit.
Out of the box it’s simple to setup, you just need to plug it into the latest version of iTunes, sync up some content as you would with your iPhone or iPod, then off you go. However, the fact that you have to plug the iPad into your computer before you can use it eludes to my main gripe with the iPad. If this device is truly to replace a laptop or netbook then it needs to work out of the box. More of that later though.
Functionally the iPad is just a big iPhone, without the phone! It’s intuitive to use, like the iPhone, and after 5 mins of drooling I did find myself thinking…. “well that was fun”. 1 week later I have set up my email account, uploaded some video and installed some apps, and admittedly the laptop has been out much less. The fact that you can turn the iPad on or just unlock it and be on the internet within 10 seconds is perfect for a quick browse whilst watching TV or in bed.
Moving on to Apps, you really start to realise who the iPad is targeted at. Although Apple quote thousands of iPad Apps being already available, most of these are the long tail of mediocrity. The rest are predominantly business oriented or games. The Business oriented Apps like Pages, Numbers and Keynote give a much better idea of where the iPad is going. In fact, it was an App called “Things for iPad”, which retails at £11.99 which made me realise exactly what the point of an iPad is! Yes that’s right folks the reason d’etre for the iPad is to replace the humble notepad. Perhaps I should have realised this from the name but a simple To-do list App made me realise that this could easily replace my notebook, plus add a lot of other cool stuff in. I could carry the iPad around with me every day and never need to write on a bit of paper again!
So what are the drawbacks of the iPad? Well they are two fold. Firstly, it is dependent on syncing up with a laptop. Until it can function separately, it won’t replace the laptop. Secondly is file storage. Creating Apps like Pages, Numbers and Keynote, you would think that you would be able to save files and documents on to the 16GB+ of storage space, then share and manage them with the cloud, email, etc etc. Apple have actually made sharing files particularly fiddly, you cannot see a list of files saved, in fact you cannot even manually save a file in Pages, it automatically saves every 30secs. If you want to take the file elsewhere, you have to transfer it via USB to iTunes, or export and email. Also you cannot import a file, work on it and then send it back to yourself.
So in summary the iPad is an amazing product, it has a load of things going for it. Would I advise buying one? If you already have a PC and an iPhone, then no. The second or third generation of the iPad are probably going to blow this one out of the water with a whole raft of new features much like the iPhone 4, so I would wait a year or so, that is unless you are a Apple fanboy like me.
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This is certainly an interesting article and I think you have raised some very interesting points.
My question to you is however, being a tech blogger you more than likely got this ipad for free so the true question I ask you is…. Would you part with your own hard earned cash for this device?
If its simply a note pad surely £0.50 for a pencil and the back of a bank statement envelope would be much cheaper and save you on room in your bag? Or alternatively you could use your iphone notes instead like the rest of us!!
In all honesty I wouldn’t buy it. I have a Mac and an iPhone which is perfectly adequate. However I probably would buy one in a year or two’s time once they are either a) more affordable or b) have additional features. Future generations of the iPad will I’m sure address the issues I described above and make this not just a luxury gadget but a serious alternative to a laptop or netbook.
Out of the box it