iPad: why to buy it, what do do with it
I’ve used Macs since before they were cool. After a break of more than ten years, I now use Macs both at home and at work. I love the original apple spirit and I love my iMac, but I despise the closed control freak nature of what they’ve become, manifested in the iPhone. So for a long time I was one of those people who said: “iPad, huh? What use are those things anyway”. Little did I know that all that was about to change.
Recently I was visiting the JavaOne conference in San Francisco, and the Apple Store, and my co-worker started talking me into buying an iPad. When I asked, why should I buy it, his answer was: “Just trust me, you’re going to love it. And if not, then you can sell it for a profit back in Finland”. So I bought one. And I love it. And now I’m ready to spread the iPad love.
(Warning: some of the sections below are Finland-specific, like the magazines and banking. But you can get pretty much any big magazine on the iPad and most relevant banks will probably provide an iPad app as well)
Downsides
- It’s ridiculously costly compared to a mini laptop. If you’re on a tight budget or want to have the full laptop form factor, then iPad may not be for you.
- The OS is not the full blown MacOS X. The multi tasking is limited. Does this bother me, or has it at any point? Not in the slightest
- The App Store is the place to get applications. Has this bothered me? Not in the slightest.
The only really relevant downside is the lack of a keyboard when you want to type a longer email or a blog post etc. I intend to fix this by buing a Kensington iPad folio which has a bluetooth keyboard integrated. It’s not cheap to fall in love with an iPad, especially if you want 64GB of storage or 3G.
The upsides
Ok, so it has it’s downsides. What are the upsides?
- It’s so cool. Just holding it in your hand gives you satisfaction
- You can take it anywhere. Carry your computing equipment wherever you go.
- Battery life is just amazing. It can play 10 hours of video
- Apps really ease things. The UI is just so good
Ok so the list is dumb. Let me expand on these things with the uses of an iPad.
The uses of an iPad
Ok, so I’ve always admitted that iPads are cool – I just didn’t know what I’d ever do with one. Now I know. Here are the details.
Play games
Let’s get this out of the way. I haven’t really played a lot of games in ten yours. On iPad, I’m hooked not on Angry Birds (which is a finnish game, btw) but on Bike Baron (another finnish game). It’s excellent for a little mindless fun. If you never play games, don’t rule this out as a use. What games do I recommend?
- Angry Birds - duh of course
- Bike Baron – hours of fun driving around a motorcycle, trying to jump and speed past the obstacles
- Labyrinth 2 HD – the classic comes to iPad
- Nuts – don’t let the squirrel hit any branches as it’s running up the tree trunk. Good, mindless fun for 5 minutes at a time.
Sorry. I don’t play a lot. But with iPad, a lot more than I used to.
Mail and Calendar
The builtin app integrates seamlessly with Gmail and Google Calendar. Excellent usability.
Web
I now do 90% of my web surfing (is that word still used or am I dating myself?) on the iPad. The excellent display and touch screen form factor allow me to do it wherever I please.
Forums
I bought the TapATalk forum reading software for my iPad, and now do around 90% of my forum reading on the iPad. It’s just excellent. TapATalk requires a plugin installed on the forum software, but the plugin is free (the app costs $2.99). If you read a lot of web forums, then this is a must buy for iPad.
Magazines
I read the occasional Helsingin Sanomat on the iPad and since I often do not get to read the magazine before evening and hate the amount of paper trash it generates, I’m considering going to digital paper for the week and the real paper for the weekends. The iPad app for HS is very good. The iPad cannot fully replace reading the real thing, but it’s the next best thing with a lot of benefits.
Social media
The iPad has a good Facebook app and an excellent builtin Twitter app. I still like normal browser experience better for facebook. But it’s there and I use it.
Skype / Google+ Hangouts / Facetime
Excellent for video conferencing. Very good audio quality, sufficient video quality. I’ve never used the Facetime but Skype and Google+ work well.
Online banking / Stock quotes / investing
The app for Sampo-Pankki at least is excellent. Nordnet also has a good app. I do use the real web interface when I’m at home, but on the move, these are very very useful.
Photography tool
You can do a form of tethering with an iPad, but my intented use is to take it with me when travelling, then upload photographs (with the camera connector kit that costs extra and which I do not yet have) and review and clean the bad shots while travelling. The storage is not mind blowing, but if I comb through the bad ones and delete them, the storage will provide all the extra room I need over my SDHC cards.
EBay
The ebay app is an excellent and I prefer it over the web experience.
Movies
The iPad battery lasts for 10 hours while watching movies. That’s enough for a flight from Europe to the States (because you have the meals etc.). Just plugin a semi decent set of ear plugs and play. I’m not sure if it plays everything you throw at it out of the box, but Handbrake can convert any movie for iPad. I ordered a holder for attaching the iPad to a seat pillow from DealExtreme and now longer car trips with our daughter are a pleasure.
Coloring / drawing
If you have a small kid then (s)he’s going to love the coloring / drawing apps on iPad. At least my little over two year old daughter does. I only let her use the iPad every once in a while, iPad doodles are still not as cute as a real paper with non- (or barely) recognizable colorful doodles. But she loves it and that’s what’s important.
Navigation
I bought the Sygic Europe navigation software. With a few dollars extra you get 3D cities. The user interface is very familiar to those who have used Tom Tom and the maps are the same as with Tom Tom. I’ll post a dedicated blog once I have my ram mount installed in our car.
Music
Just as you can watch movies, you can play music. If you use iTunes for your music, the experience is seamless.
Use anywhere
The best thing about iPad is that you can do all of the above listed things anywhere. In the bed, in the toilet (ahem), while watching TV, in the car, in an airplane etc. etc.
Which to pick
So you’re wondering, which model to buy? First of all, the rumour is that a new iPad is coming out, so if you’re not in a hurry (yeah right) then you might want to wait a few months. But if you need to buy it now, I’d suggest that you go with at least 32GB model and if you’re unsure about whether you need the 3G, and are short on money, then leave it out. I intend to put the iPad to use as a photograph storage, so I went with the 64GB model. I can also comfortably fit my music and any videos I want to watch in there. It’s going to get crowded fast on a 16GB model.
I bought the magnetic smart cover and it’s cool and useful but it does lessen the coolness and satisfaction of holding an iPad so I never use it at home. Although it’s good to have around when travelling, I now regret buying it, I should’ve just gone for the Kensington keyboard folio instead.
