I did it! I pulled the trigger!
When I saw Steve Jobs on the big stage weaving his magic reality
suspension spells about the iPad 2, I
went right out and bought a refurbished first generation iPad.
The Gadsen flag
When Apple goes out and redesigns a product, it dumps the older
model like a Gadsden flag at a
Democratic Party meeting, so I figured it would be a good time to see
what was cheap in the refurbished area of the Apple Store. I
missed out on the 16 GB model for $349, darn it. But when my paycheck
arrived, I ordered a 32 GB model for $429.
Why didn't I get a new, latest iPad 2? C'mon, this is Low End
Mac!
Besides, the iPad 2 doesn't really address the issues that I feel
are the Achilles' heel of the iPad. Yes, thinner and lighter and faster
would be nice, but how about support for SD Card storage? How about
some printing solutions? How about a frigging USB port and support for
external devices?
I know that you can get files on and off the iPad with iTunes, but
it would be nice if the iPad could be unfettered from a laptop or
desktop. A little more flexibility would be nice.
The main reason I bought the iPad was the touch interface. Apple has
really revolutionized how we interact with computers, and I supposed
that Steve Jobs is right in calling Apple's move into portable devices
"post-PC".
There are four reasons why I want this interface on this device.
I think that the iPad is super for surfing the Net. It's big enough
for me to read text easily, and the Safari "pinch" and "tap" features
allow me to isolate areas on webpages. It is also a good book reader.
And, of course, it's easy to get out and use, in contrast to breaking
out a laptop.
I think the iPad is an excellent photo accessory. Digital
photography gives you instant feedback - you can look at an image right
after you take it. However, I'd like to be able to look at a larger
image than that camera's LCD allows to see if I got the results I
wanted. At the end of the shoot, it would be easier to edit selections
and, of course, email them or post them on a website. (If you think
this is just a part of a subtle plan to justify the purchase a high-end
digital camera, please don't tell my wife. She will have figured it out
anyway.)
The iPad's screen is a vast improvement on the iPod's for watching
movies.
Taking notes. Yes, if you are a fast typist, you can do this on a
netbook or laptop, but you can't draw anything. I used to love to use
my old Newton
MessagePad for this, but time has marched on. There are several
note-taking apps in the App Store, and you can purchase styluses
especially made for the iPad. This is a feature that I will probably
use at work. (I wonder if I could deduct it? Probably not.)
To those of you who think that I should jump into the Android tablet
market, I'm sorry, but I just don't think that Android has the range of
applications that the App Store has. It was sort of a master stroke for
Apple to start the App Store and turn all these independent software
companies lose to develop apps for the iPhone, iPad touch, and iPad. It
was probably the fastest way to develop an infrastructure for such an
innovative project.
As soon as my iPad arrives, I will be obsessively writing about it
(and with it, I hope). Happy iPading!
