So I have an iPad. A week or so after the iPad went on sale I wandered by my nearby Apple Store just to take a look at it. Well the place was littered with them so that even with all the hype it was possible for me to walk right in and play with one. After five or ten minutes I realized that this was really fun so I bought one.
I bought it because I’ve wanted something like this for a long time now. Several years back I bought a Fujitsu tablet PC. I did my research and it was very highly rated. And true, it did its job as well if not better than any other tablet out there but in the end it just wasn’t that usable. Why?
- Too bulky. Way too big to hold in one hand. Just a bit too big to carry around on a whim.
- Too small. For the occasions where using it as a laptop was convenient, it always felt too cramped.
- Sucky battery life. Lasts a bit over two hours if you don’t do anything strenuous like use the internet wirelessly.
- Gets hot if you use it for more than thirty minutes. Since it’s too big to hold conveniently it ends up in your lap and that just isn’t pleasant when it starts to get hot.
- Windows XP for Pen Computing is OK but really it wasn’t designed for that interface and for many things using the pen to navigate just feels clunky.
As I’ve noted before, I am no rabid Apple fan. I bought it because it’s simply the best device in its class right now. And having used it several months now, I feel I can enumerate the pros and cons of the iPad along with items that are basically a wash.
Pros and Cons of the iPad plus Items that Even Out
Pros
- Well implemented multi-touch OS. There’s no awkwardness here where you wish you had a mouse because this OS was built for this interface from the ground up.
- Battery life 10+ hours. If I have a mobile device it’s because I want to be mobile and not constantly worried about how much battery I have left. With the iPad I’ve never worried about the battery and typically go for a week or more between charges.
- Furthermore, I’ve got the apps I want.
- A decent web browser that supports HTML5, although I still wish I could get a version of Firefox.
- A youtube app with plenty of other video apps available, thus rendering the whole Flash-for-video thing moot.
- A couple of minor games in case I need to waste a little time with plenty more available.
- Oh and because there are so many games available that pretty much renders the whole Flash-for-games thing moot as well.
- I like to draw cartoons. Autodesk Sketchbook Pro for iPad has been great for this purpose.
- It has more book readers than you can shake a stick at. In addition to Apple’s own iBooks, I have downloaded Kindle, Nook, Kobo, a Free Books reader and a couple of comic book readers. At least in the realm of books I have a choice in who I do business with.
- Size. At first I thought I’d rather have something a bit bigger to draw on, but having used it and, more importantly, toted it around everywhere I go, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is just the right size.
- Cases and totes. Do a quick google and you’ll find there are tons of choices here. I bought two: A rubber case (or should I call it a cover?) so it’s not quite so slippery, and a small tote to make it easy to carry around.
- Wi-Fi. An absolute necessity and it works great. I’ve heard of some people with weird wireless setups that have had trouble, but it’s always simply just worked for me. It works at home, it works at other people’s homes that I’ve gone to, it works at all the wireless hotspots I’ve tried it at.
- No USB. I’m going to actually put this up as a plus for the iPad. I want this to be the ultimate untethered device, and adding USB crap just doesn’t fit in that mindset. Furthermore if it did have USB, then every device you add would eat away at battery time.
- Accelerometer keeps the screen properly oriented when moving it about plus there’s a switch to lock the screen in a particular aspect when you don’t want the accelerometer kicking in.
- Ambient light sensor means that its relative brightness adjusts to the environment. I haven’t noticed the iPad being too bright or too dim so I guess that means it’s working.
- Single universal volume control that is easily accessible via a physical control in the case itself. When you’re running Windows you’re always aware that you have separate controls for in-app volume versus OS volume.
Cons
- Cannot replace your own battery but have to pay Apple $100 to do it for you. At least I have an Apple Store close to where I live. All batteries wear out eventually; I’m just hoping this one will last a few years before I have to shell out the bucks to have some teenager at the Apple store do what I am perfectly capable of doing myself.
- 3G coverage limited to AT&T. Doesn’t affect me since I didn’t get the 3G version. And frankly I don’t like anybody’s data plan all that much. Maybe five or ten years from now when I decide to upgrade to some new tablet (which may or may not be Apple depending on what’s available by then) maybe I’ll get something that has 5G (or whatever) coverage if, by then, there is a carrier out there that has a reasonable data plan.
- No wireless sync. When you sync your iPad with its master computer you MUST use that cable.
- Highly reflective screen. For the most part it’s unnoticeable but if you’ve got a direct light source somewhere shining at just the right angle it’s annoying.
Neutrals
- No multi-tasking. Doesn’t affect me. I don’t need a constant stream of specifically-mixed music via some specific app going while I do other things. And no multi-tasking means longer battery life which, as I stated way up as Pro #1, is a good thing.
- No Flash. Flash has got a serious bloat problem. I think it’s great that it’s available to give developers a shared platform that works identically on PC, Mac, and Linux. But it simply wasn’t designed for a mobile device, and by shoe-horning in features to get it to work on mobile devices Adobe is just adding to the bloat. More bloat means eating battery time which, as I have stated several times, is a bad thing. I wouldn’t mind having some energy efficient version of Flash, but I don’t miss it either.
- Weight. Sure it could stand to be just a bit lighter. But for all it does it could have been a lot heavier. And for me it’s light enough. I can hold it one-handed and read for hours. Hint: Get a rubber case for easy gripping.
- No camera. Well sure it would’ve been neat to be able to do video chat. But that’s not why I got it and I’m not sure how much I’d’ve used it. And as to still pictures it’s simply too big for that. I own a digital camera anyway in addition to my phone’s camera which I never use.
- No built-in printer support, but there are apps out there that allow you to print to networked printers wirelessly, so that’s OK.
- Because it is such an energy-sipper doesn’t ordinarily get hot. But because it has to be an energy-sipper there are no allowances for cooling it down, such as fans. For the most part this is a good thing because cooling systems add weight, are loud, and eat the battery. The down side is when the iPad does get hot, such as in direct sunlight, it simply tells you it is too hot and shuts down. I don’t consider this a con because it is more than outweighed by the pros you get in return, thus rendering the whole issue neutral.
- It has a digital compass. I’m not sure it’s come into play … ever.
The App Store
I haven’t mentioned this because really it’s both a pro and a con.
- Pro: Because the App store is completely controlled by Apple, they can make sure that all of the apps are high quality apps designed specifically for the multi-touch environment.
- Con: Because the App store is completely controlled by Apple, they control what I can buy for my device, not me. They can often be capricious in what they approve or reject.
- My conclusion: The controlled environment is OK for now. But in the long run I’ll want to be able to make my own choices.
In Conclusion
Overall I have to say that owning the iPad has been a fun experience. It does what I want it to do and does it well. I realize this device is not for everybody and I hope that my two cents worth here is of some use to you.
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Great write-up. You hit the highs and the lows and the who-cares really well.
I’ve played with the iPad on a couple of occasions and while there are a lot of attractive aspects, I’ve come to the conclusion that it just isn’t for me. I’ve had an iPod Touch for a couple of years and the iPad strikes me as the Hulk’s version of that; I can’t imagine toting it around comfortably, though my imagination certainly has limits.
Understand, I really like my iPod Touch. I carry around pretty much everywhere, because I can just stick it in a pocket and forget about it (yes, I have a case to protect it). The only way I could put the iPad in a pocket would be to buy those pants that I look terrible in.
Typing seems easier on an iPad than the iPod, but I don’t do much typing there. The iPod is mostly just for checking websites and what-not. (And the Kindle app is extremely readable.
As I said, very nice, thorough right-up, and more importantly, not from a fanboi. Apple partisans can write the most brain-scratching things {“No, no, it’s lack of utility is what makes it better.”)
It is indeed nice to read a more balanced view of an Apple device, although I found the no-USB-as-a-positive thing somewhat reminiscent of a defensive fanboy’s mental gymnastics. If you’re not interested in making use of USB list it as a neutral, sure, but having the port available wouldn’t really cost anything. The micro scale’s form factor is small enough to be unobtrusive even on phones, never mind tablet computers, and the AB connector is designed specifically to accommodate variable client/host roles (granted, the latter wasn’t mentioned as a problem in the post).
I mean, sure, Apple’s proprietary connector probably works fine, but I fail to see how having a more standard interface would hurt the device. Nobody would force you to plug a full hub of power-hungry devices into it. Perhaps the iPad can’t provide enough power to meet the USB standard, but that’s still a neutral at best. I get why they don’t include it (they like to control the experience), and wouldn’t expect them to, but even if you consider the carefully controlled experience a pro, this is a mere side effect or a cost, not a benefit it affords.
Rant rant rant. Good post EXCEPT FOR THAT ONE BIT.
BC, I completely forgot about mentioning the iPod Touch. Soon after I bought this someone said to me, “So it’s basically just a big iPod Touch”. Well, sure. To me, however, the additional screen real estate makes all the difference in the world. I’ve played with the iPhones before and I can’t stand them. The screen is just too small for me. That’s why it’s great that there’s a choice and I’m glad the iPod Touch works for you.
James, I see what you mean about USB, maybe I should’ve put it in the “Neutral” column. I think that where it comes to USB Apple was in a “lose/lose” situation. If you support USB then you have to allow for USB drivers. And the next thing you know people are getting their little teeny iPad memories all filled up with USB drivers and not having room for anything else. Of course, they could have put in just a few basic drivers for the most common devices, particularly external storage. But of course they would’ve been damned for every device they didn’t support. I really don’t see a practical way for them to include USB and still get the performance out of this little device that they get.
The “Apple Port” thing on iPods, etc, has always struck me as a sign of Apple’s middle finger approach, “my way or the highway.” I sure wish there was some Universal Serial Bus, maybe, that would have ports on almost everything, and be accessible via cables you could get from anywhere. That way, if your Special Apple Cable broke, you wouldn’t have to fork over a fortune for a new one.
I am 100% with you on the cable replacement issue. If something happens to that cable I have to buy a replacement from Apple or gamble on an overpriced (but cheaper than Apple) clone from Best Buy. Whereas if it was a regular old standard USB port I wouldn’t have to buy anything as I have extra USB cables out the ass.