TAKEAWAY: Looking at the iPad from a very personal user’s viewpoint. The gadget, indeed, redefines how we use computers. Taking the iPad to bed!
Life may never be the same again
Lunch and the iPad: it sits nicely, upright (with use of Apple case) and allows for quick browsing.
Case allows the iPad to rise slightly, making it very easy to type or to read
Ok, so I get two emails per hour from some friend, associate, colleague or reader of this blog, who is asking me: how do you like your new iPad?
I already gave it an A grade in yesterday’s blog, along with a mini review of my first impressions.
Now it is Tuesday, and I would like to discuss my user’s experience, at a more personal level.
I was reading the current issue of Wired (printed edition) and the cover article titled “Rise of the Machines: How Tablets will change the world” led me to thinking that, indeed, its premise that “today’s computer is already outmoded” is right on the money. However, where I can identify with much of what this article reports is that the iPad——and I assume other tablets soon to be in the market—-do take us into the start of the Post-PC era, and represent a totally new rethinking of how we use computers.
Here is my iPad, yes, I admit a new toy. I am fascinated by what it does, how fast it does it, and, yet, no file folders, no keyboard (I have not used the one I bought) and, presto, no mouse.
My fingers do the walking on that screen (which I wipe several times a day, and I do think that going in the business of screen cleaners may be something to think about. The screens do smear quickly and easily, so if you are picky, as I am, then you must have a wipey handy at all times. I have overloaded on apps, as apparently has the rest of the thousands who are enjoying their iPad, and found myself altering my behavioral patterns in terms of how I consume media. Some examples:
1. I found myself taking my iPad to bed with me to read before going to sleep last night. Obviously, I am not the only one. Our friend and colleague, Joe Zeff, wrote me an email (on his iPad) from somewhere in the Caribbean, where the ship on which he is cruising with his family stopped. And, wrote Joe: I have my iPad as a bedside companion. The size and weight of the iPad makes it comfortable for one to lie flat and read a book or article without major effort. I had never taken my MacBook to bed, or use it in any position other than sitting.
2. Then it was time to take the iPad on the first trip. I arrived this morning at the Tampa International Airport (start of trip towards Europe), and, while my body gravitated automatically to the gate side store where I usually stock up on the WSJ, The New York Times and USA Today, I did a double take and asked myself: which of these do I have on the iPad? I still got some printed titles, but, again, in the lounge, found myself reading on the iPad.
3. Overall, I reduced my use of the MacBook over 65% the last three days. I still will use the Mac to sketch, or to use Photoshop, but I have downloaded a version of Keynote on the iPad and find it easy to use. Not only that, I can see where I will use the iPad for small group presentations, or to show a client a quick version of a point of discussion, something I would have never dreamed of doing on the iPhone. Yes, Keynote Remote allows you to control your presentation from the iPad, as you can from the iPhone.
So, if Steve Jobs’ goal was to make us rethink how we use computers, how we relate to them, and how we simplify tasks by the use of a small, light and very fast platform, the IPad does that splendidly.
Wired reminds us that “the tablet may turn out to be the final stage of an extraordinary era of textual innovation, powered by 30 years of exponential increases in computation, connection ,and portability”.
I may add that what the iPad does, and no computer gadget did for me before, is to give me a sense of empowerment, of being the pilot of a giant airliner, with many and varied destinations, all of which one can reach.
I look at my grandchildren with a sense of envy as I see them feeling so at home with the iPad. They are in for a long and wild ride.
I agree totally with these five points:
Although the iPad does not get to Europe till late April (nobody knows the specific date just yet), the buzz about it is on, so Frank Deville in Luxembourg, who is eagerly awaiting for the arrival of the new toy there, sent me this interesting link. I happen to agree with the five points mentioned.
5 awesome iPad features no one saw coming
http://blog.daype.com/
1. The battery lasts longer than expected;
2. The built-in, sorta-stereo speaker works surprisingly well;
3. Wide viewing angle for movies and video;
4. The iPad doesn’t run hot;
5. Comic books look amazing.
Of related interest today
From Poynter’s Bill Mitchell: iPad Apps Need Plausible Pricing as Much as Intuitive Design
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=131&aid=180851
– USA: The New York Times Introduces an iPad App
http://seekingalpha.com/article/196717-the-new-york-times-introduces-an-ipad-app?source=feed
– USA Today iPad App Maximizes Familiarity, Leisurely Discovery
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=134&aid=180839
– USA: How print publishers can win with iPad
http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-print-publishers-can-win-with-ipad.html
– UK: Introducing the Guardian Eyewitness app for iPad
http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/insideguardian/2010/apr/06/theguardian-eyewitness-app-ipad
– Apple To Unveil iPhone OS 4 On Thursday
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-apple-to-unveil-iphone-os-4-on-thursday/
– Here Is Why The iPad Won’t Save The Magazine Industry
http://www.tbiresearch.com/here-is-why-the-ipad-wont-save-the-magazine-industry-2010-3
– Is The Financial Times The Perfect Digital Model?
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-is-financial-times-the-perfect-digital-model/
TheMarioBlog post #527