I’ve been using the iPad for nearly two years now, and with all the talk this week about an upcoming Microsoft tablet, I took a few minutes to take stock of where I am with this product. Though (for those who remember that far back) the iPad was more or less forced on me in the midst of my skepticism (read paranoid hatred) about the product and the tablet in general. Now two years later, would I still choose this platform if offered another choice.
The simple answer is yes. I remain completely attached to my iPad. In fact, when the new iPad came out, I purchased one with my own money, so I could no longer be considered a, unintentional user. I take it with me everywhere, and I use it daily (understatement). In almost all cases I love the interface, and I particularly like how the compact device contains so many parts of my business and personal life. Sitting with my iPad in an airport (as long as I have wifi…another post) I can work on a blog post, answer email, watch Netflix movies, read a novel (I’ve really become addicted to reading on the iPad…recently while reading a “retro book” I found myself touching a word on the page to get a definition), or dozens of other uses.
Broader than this, I have found that my basic tech orientation has changed (please don’t rip from this post, “Greg has changed his orientation”). I used to sit at my desktop at home for hours daily, now weeks go by without touching it. This is similar to work, where I often sit with my iPad on the desk, ignoring the machine right beside me. My netbook has been relegated to the machine I hook up to projectors when giving a presentation. I am about to write an inexcusable phrase…the iPad is my lifestyle device (please, don’t hate me).
Now, I can’t say that I love to do everything on the iPad, when I have to make a complicated PowerPoint or Prezi presentation, I still use a desktop machine. I am looking forward to full integration of Office into the iPad, though I still am unsure whether it will be easier than to have the multi-tasking environment and load screen of the desktop. Probably most frustrating for me is that I’m still taking two devices with me when I do a presentation, my netbook to hook up to the projector and my iPad for my notes. I hate taking two devices on a plane. This is a problem of my own creation. When I used only a netbook I always kept my notes on paper, and I could still do this with the iPad, but my desired for self-contained presentations still outweighs my hatred of carrying two computers.
With the announcement of the Microsoft Surface Tablet this week, I’ve been asked whether the Surface may become the iPad killer. Though I am tempted to say no, I don’t see people moving to a different product at a similar price for a long time, I think it is safest to say that I don’t know. I certainly have been proved wrong more than right in my prognostications. However, in either direction, I am fairly confident that for the the next period of time, I will be using (and loving) my iPad.
As always, I welcome your comments.
Photo credit: iPad http://www.flickr.com/photos/36234195@N04/390
The iPad is essential when one travels, although Netflix like many programs works only in the US. Please be more careful with your language choices.
I’m reading Anna Karenina the old fashioned way. I love carrying it around, figuring out a method for efficiently accessing the end notes, and finding ways to prop it up. Another friend is reading it on the iPad. He swears it made the device heavier.
Heavier, and a lot sadder.
William, am I supposed to understand that there are other places than the United States?
I’ve been trying to read on the iPad more but haven’t been succeeding. About the only thing I am really committed to reading on it is Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. This is mainly due to the fact that the three volumes weigh too much to carry around on the off-chance that I will have time to read them during the day’s chores. Otherwise, I find that I am still holding paper-based books.