Macs In Life

Almost a month. The iPad has been floating around the house that long. The “new and shiny” hast transformed into the familiar. It seems that it has been around longer. Because it is so easy to use, and natural, you begin to think that you have been doing things this way forever. It is very intuitive, it’s a cliche, but it fits. This is what has allowed the device to weasel it’s way into everyday use with surprising ease. It started out as looking for uses for the iPad and very quickly has turned into the preferred device for light computing. If there is an app for what I want to accomplish, I will choose/prefer to do it on the “pad”. I cannot emphasize enough that using the iPad is what defines it’s purpose. Usability. The more you use it, the more evident that this becomes.

Are there better devices for watching movies? Certainly. I have a 52 inch plasma TV that does a fine job. But it is not portable. For the average person the iPad is more than adequate. The resolution and screen size are damn near perfect for portable viewing.

How does it stack up as a reader? Well, I actually prefer to read books, but with an iPad I don’t have to go out to buy a book. I can not compare it to eReaders because I don’t own one. I have always thought that any of the readers were a waste of money, I have an iPhone, which works in a pinch, and I would buy print material for trips. I can now see why people have purchased eReaders. The iPad allows you to carry around a veritable library. I have read that some people have experienced eye strain while using the iPad as a reader, but I can say that this has not happened to me.

Am I able to be productive with the iPad? Yes. My work consists of phone and email. Add in a dash of internet research and you have it. I predominantly work from home and now instead of sitting in my “office”, I can take my office with me. Sure, a laptop would do the same thing, but walking around with an open laptop while you’re on the phone is not too convenient. The pad is a much more elegant solution.

What about documents? There are many apps out there that allow you to port your docs to the iPad. I won’t review them in this post but I’m sure you are familiar with most of them. The larger size of the iPad makes viewing and editing documents almost as easy as it is on a desktop. With the addition of iWork for the iPad creating or editing docs on the go does not require a laptop. For me, the iPad is once again a better solution than a laptop.

Will it travel? It travels better than a laptop. The wife and I went on a four day trip to see my daughter graduate college and we only took the iPad and phones. The battery life that the iPad has made it a big hit on this trip. Plug it in at night and it is good for the entire next day and then some. Additionally, because it is so much smaller than a laptop, carrying it around does not require another bag.

Will the iPad replace your computer? No. You will still need a full fledged computer if you want to do many of the common things. Such as back up your movie collection. Or create movies. Or use Garage Band. Or want to view a Flash video. But the iPad will allow you to do many of the daily computer chores on a highly portable device. Like reading your RSS feeds, email, and most other content chores.

Once again I will tell you that I was not overly excited about getting an iPad. It was for the wife. I always like new toys, but I wan’t expecting much. I was very pleasantly surprised. All of the standard reasons for buying a device went right out the window once I started to use the iPad. It became less about productivity and more about usability. And the iPad excels at usability.