Re: Cory Doctorow on iPad, Apple ][+

[datajerk <datajerk@gmail.com>]

On Apr 3, 11:09 pm, Calibrator <calibra...@freenet.de> wrote:
> On Apr 3, 9:57 pm, Mike <magin...@computist-project.net> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Interesting article, though my own reasons for not buying one aren't
> > as idealistic.
>
> Care to elaborate as I'm on still the fence?
>
> thx
> Marcus

If you do not mind I'll throw in my $0.02 US:

My 32GB iPad arrive in the mail on Sat.  IMHO, the iPhone is a great
communications (voice and text) device and audio device, but the
visual experience is lacking on such a small screen.  IMHO, the iPad
is primarily a device to consume visual media (games, books, video,
web).  Neither is well suited for content creation (e.g. lots of
email).  Both need a computer.  Both are great application platforms.

The three reasons I got the iPad:

1.  Form factor.  I spend ~40 hours a month on planes and another
20-40 in taxis.  I find that my 15" MBP just too large.  Unless I need
to type a lot of email or code I generally just read articles, web
(Delta has WiFi), catch up on TiVo shows, etc...  The smaller form
factor makes it ideal for that purpose.

2.  Battery life.  Some have measured 11.5 hours.  I have to charge my
iPhone daily.  I often stop using my iPhone as a media/web device when
the battery starts to dip because I really need it to be a phone.  My
battery still has 47% and I've used it for hours over the last 2 days.

3.  Media consolidation.  Most of my magazines and journals I read
have a digital option.  I travel with more than 1.5lb of paper.  The
iPad is 1.5lb.  I'd really like to be paper free.  I was also
considering a "nook" for e-books last year.  I am glad BN had delays
and that Apple announced in January.  I think the iPad is a better
eBook reader.

Things I do not like:

1.  No flash.  At first I didn't think it'd be an issue since I never
visit flash-based site on my iPhone.  But I do visit flash-based sites
on my MBP and with the larger iPad screen I did hit a number of flash
sites (e.g. take-out menus) that I normally never considered
connecting to with my iPhone.  I do not think that sites that use
flash outside of video will be rushing to HTML 5.  The iPhone OS is
the number one mobile web browser, yet I still need my Mac to read
many sites that use flash for navigation.  The point is that with
millions of iPhones out there, many sites still use flash for basic
navigation--change is slow or nonexistent.  I predict the #1 JB app
for the iPad will be a browser with flash support.

2.  Freedom to run any app I choose.  This really didn't bother me too
much with the iPhone, the gains outweighed the losses.  Plus I could
just jailbreak to run the one app that I really wanted.  With the
number of apps being built as universal then you are forced (unless
you want to put some effort into it) to have both platforms at the
correct OS versions.  I lost 7 apps on my last sync because they
required 3.1.3 and iTunes just deleted them from my iPhone (including
data) without asking.  I had to install 3.1.3 to get them back (I was
out of the office without access to time machine).  I see this as
being a reoccurring problem.

Summary:

I like it.  I see it increasing my overall life productivity.  I can
take it places where my MBP would just be in the way and quickly out
of power.  No more, "I'll have to wait until I get to my MBP because I
need a larger screen", e.g. VNC sessions, large memory web sites.

If you cannot find a use case for it, then I'd not get it.  I think as
apps release and the price drops that you may find your use case.
This was true for me.  All phones do text, voice, and audio.  But it
was an app that convinced me to get the iPhone 3G.