Source Jockey

Originally, I was not going to buy the iPad.  In fact, after seeing the Apple keynote presentation highlighting it, I felt somewhat irritated by the fact that Apple had not released a full-on convertible tablet (that’s a laptop that swivels into a tablet, or something).  No, instead they created their own idea.  The iPad.

So I went to the Apple Store in Pasadena to get my laptop checked out, and while there, looked at the iPad.  People were flocking around the display tables, happily playing with the iPad, much like they did with the iPhones when THOSE came out.

When it was my turn, I immediately opened up the applications I knew I would use most: Mail, Safari, Pages, and the iPod.  What I saw absolutely blew my mind.  Steve Jobs described using the iPad as “magical”, and honestly, that IS a bit over the top.  But the interface is smooth, tight, and extremely usable.  As they say, it just works.

But really, where does this thing fit into my life?  I bring my laptop virtually everywhere, and my netbook is only a little bigger than my iPad.  And that’s where the comparison really starts…  How is the iPad worse than my laptop?  How is it better than the netbook?  Well, as it turns out, there are OTHER applications that I use with the iPad that REALLY make it shine…

iBooks: That’s the book reader.  It’s amazing.  My father has a Kindle (that I appropriated, as he didn’t like it), and it was a pretty stellar experience.  The iPad destroys it.  Page turns are faster, quieter (that button clicking sound on the Kindle is obnoxious), and prettier.  It’s an overall better experience.  Mind you, the Kindle app that is available is pretty nice, too–but Apple knows how to make an interface.

Netflix:  If you have a Netflix account, and enjoy watching movies on your laptop with it, the iPad is even better.  The iPad doesn’t get hot.  It saves your place.  It’s got a decent resolution, so it’s not horrible to watch.  it’s enjoyable.

Games: Every game I’ve played so far that has been designed for the iPad is a great experience–it’s so easy to get into it.

Anyway.  The iPad was an unexpected surprise–and definitely a great netbook replacement.  I highly recommend just playing with one–you’ll probably end up buying it.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 30th, 2010 at 10:32 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.