My first week with the iPad
21 Comments | Posted: May 17th, 2010 | Filed under: Meta | Tags: iPad, kind of a review but not really., technologyShort version, for those of you who want to get to the heart of the matter:
Oh, fuck yes.
Longer version, for those of you who require nuance and such in your commentary:
Oh fuck yes, you guys.
Seriously, such a pleasure to use and while I am halfway in the bag for Apple, I tend to err on the side of wanting platforms that do exactly what I want to do when I want to do them. For the last year or so, I’ve used a Windows XP netbook as my main writing/work/whatever device when not at home, and it’s worked perfectly well for me. The iPad, however, does exactly what I use the Netbook for: email, websurfing, porn, but with better battery life and less of a reliance on the, shall we say “quirks” that Microsoft’s operating systems have. I’ve not been interrupted once this week with a security update or needing to get a driver to do something basic, and everything just works. I’m a big fan of “just working,” particularly when it comes to things like the internet, wireless, etc. It’s what I like about my iMac at home, and it’s actually what I like about the XBox and Zune platforms as well. Others view this as removing choices from your experience, and while I can see their point of view in some sort of “smash the system, rah, open source everything” way, I also simply don’t have the time to fuck around and I want to do what I need to do.
Question One You Might Have: Do I miss Flash?
No, not really. Most of the things Flash is used for are things I don’t really do that much with my portable platforms. I don’t play a lot of Flash games, I don’t spend a lot of time on video sites that aren’t YouTube (which has an app included in the iPad OS.)
Question Two You Might Have: How’s the battery life?
Splendid. I’ve been out with my iPad with Bluetooth running (for the wireless keyboad — more on that in the next bit) and I’ve used 10% of the battery life in an hour and change while using WiFi. 3G does strain it a bit more and I’m sure if I were watching HD video, it’d drop faster, but with consistent general use, I’ve been charging at the end of the day with 30-40% of the battery life still available.
Question Three You Might Have: How’s the keyboard built into the OS?
It’s pretty good for short emails, Tweets, etc. Apple has a bluetooth wireless keyboard that’s about $60 that is lightweight and easy to toss into your bag. I use it and love it, but I presume any Bluetooth keyboard would do.
Question Four You Might Have: Comics?
Putting aside my disdain for some of the interface quirks in the Marvel/Comixology app (and the fact they need to trim the white space of their pages to maximize the art-to-screen-ratio on older material,) they are pretty fucking great. I’m now seriously interested in producing comics for this platform.
If you have more questions, ask!
Will you buy me one?
No.
Also, and I should mention this in the thing, but the $10 Pages application in the store lets me do about 90% of my work from anywhere, but I am not some kind of fetishist when it comes to formatting documents that don’t need it.
How is it on your eyes reading eBooks on it compared to the Kindle? Also, were you able to transfer the books you bought for Kindle to the iPad?
(And also if John or Henry Google is reading this, please make Docs work with Safari on the iPad. please.)
I’ve found that reading eBooks works about the same for me, and I like the fact I can read at night for a bit with the lights out. They give you some nice options in the Kindle app for the backgrounds so you don’t get as much eyestrain and you can turn down the brightness.
And yes, all of my Kindle purchases are downloadable to the iPad with the built-in app.
For the record, though: I have not used iBooks, mostly because I like using the Kindle so my friends can get a cut of any eBook money I spend.
1. How’s the iPad strictly as a video-watching source? Is it awkward to hold / angle for longer periods of watching?
It’s nigh impossible to wire my house for a 2nd television but someone pointed out that since I’ve already got a DLNA media server an iPad could be a quick and dirty “alternate TV” for watching movies and shows when the main TV is otherwise occupied.
2. Also – have you tried reading a screenplay at all on the iPad? Their formatting makes them really unweildly on digital devices (the one major shortfall of my kindle) – but I suspect that a standard pdf might actually be legibile on the iPad in portrait orientation.
Brad:
TV stuff: It’s good, but I tend to lay it down on the bed and just flop out there to watch Justified or other things I’ve missed from the week. I’ve got Sherlock Holmes and The Fantastic Mr Fox on the machine as just show-off things, but I’ve not watched a whole film on it. it actually looks very nice just resting on a flat surface, particularly with the Apple case that elevates it at an angle.
I’ve not tried reading a screenplay, but other PDFs I’ve gotten are very legible and easy to navigate through with the GoodReader app.
Kevin — Glad you’re enjoying the new toy! Your review definitely leaves me intrigued.
Two questions:
Have you played any games on it?
Does it seem any more prone to overheating than a standard laptop?
Cheers,
Roel
Kevin, what programs are you using for writing? I’ve thought about getting one, but would use it primarily for writing (poetry, fiction).
Like I said in the comment to Chris:
[...] the $10 Pages application in the store lets me do about 90% of my work from anywhere, but I am not some kind of fetishist when it comes to formatting documents that don’t need it.
You can email the documents to yourself in Word format if you feel they require more fine-tuning.
You know, this isn’t a specific question so much, but – while I don’t have an iPhone, Violet does, and I have spent some time playing around with it. The fact that the OS doesn’t let you multitask seems like something I could NEVER get used to, considering I usually have at least three or four things going on at the same time – iTunes, iChat, Firefox, Stickies, etc. Since this is basically the same software chassis as the iPhone, it seems that a full-scale machine like the iPad – not just a mini-platform like the iPhone, mostly used for doing stuff on the go – would really suffer from the lack of multitasking. Or is it something you get used to after you’ve spent some time time figuring out the ins and outs?
My wife just got hers today, and is similarly impressed/pleased/ecstatic. Other than Pages, any other apps you’d recommend?
Tim:
I found myself to be much more productive on the iPad because I’m NOT multitasking. The AIM application works in the background and lets you log in with multiple accounts, so my work contacts can still get in touch with me even as I work. There’s something to be said for focus.
Jon:
There’s the usual freebie stuff: the Guardian Eyewitness, Netflix, the Marvel and Comixology apps, but I think that GoodReader is a great buy for $2 and Words With Friends is an addictive $5 social game. (Plus there’s ComicZeal for .cbrs and .cbzs, which I use for things that I have print runs of but want to re-read, like The Avengers.)
An Aside:
Marvel really needs to look at offering discounted legal copies of their back catalog, in particular things with big runs. I’d gladly pay $20 to access 50 issues of The Avengers, but paying $2 each for 30-year-old comics seems sort of counterintuitive.
Have you played any games on it?
Just some casual games. I have an XBox, so that’s what I game on.
Does it seem any more prone to overheating than a standard laptop?
Not at all.
Congrats on the purchase; it looks awesome and I can’t wait to own one myself.
1) What went into your decision to go 3G, and how have you found it to perform in terms of speed, access, etc?
2) You mentioned Pages, and I’ve read that the file system (or lack thereof) leaves something to be desired in terms of not being able to easily sync documents between devices or to the cloud. How do you work with docs–just edit, then e-mail to yourself when done? I’d love it if they built in some solid Dropbox support in Pages, maybe a future update…
3) I know you won’t buy one for Sims, but what about ME, Kevin? What about MEEEE??????
What went into your decision to go 3G, and how have you found it to perform in terms of speed, access, etc?
I live in a neighborhood lousy with wifi, but 3G seems to be pretty decent. I’ll be able to say more about this in the future.
How do you work with docs–just edit, then e-mail to yourself when done?
If they’re not client-ready, yeah, that’s exactly what I do. I view Pages as something more like an advanced version of Notepad rather than a fully-fledged word processor, but then I think the $10 price tag for “Something that lets me type what I need to in a format that’s usable” is pretty OK.
No, I won’t buy anyone an iPad. NONE OF YOU WILL WILL BE GETTING AN IPAD.
How sturdy is it? Is it sturdy enough to toss in a bicycle saddlebag?
How much time could you spend carrying it around? A laptop would have a carrying case, but I’m not sure that happens with an iPad.
Apple makes an iPad case that functions as a basic cover – it’s what I use because it folds out to become a stand that holds it at an angle. There are many carrying cases for the iPad available in Apple stores and on Amazon; I’m quite sure you could find one to suit your tastes and needs.
Kind of an odd question, but I know that you have some of those Marvel comics on DVD that they put out back before they did their digital initiative. Have you tried importing any of those pdf’s onto your iPad? I figure those would be great for the patform if they can be pulled over.
Both the Marvel and Star Trek comics-on-PDF suffer from being double-page scans and GoodReader displays spreads. You have to tap a couple of times when turning pages to read the next page, but it does work pretty well.
I was reading this commenting section and thought that I’d point you in the direction of The Frontiersman, Broken Frontier’s new mobile comics magazine which is also available on the iPad! It features mainstream and alternative content like interviews with Dan Nadel, Eddie Campbell, Kurt Busiek, Mark Millar etc and reviews and indepth articles.
Link: http://itunes.apple.com/be/app/frontiersman/id368550228?mt=8 or pdf online at brokenfrontier.com (number 4 launched today)
Full disclosure here: I’m the graphic designer of the magazine and somtime interviewer. I would love some feedback from people who experienced the magazine with the iPad!
The app is still pretty basic, it is still in full development. We’ll be adding more interactive features and a library soon so you don’t need to download the app every time a new issue comes out but these things takes time (especially on the no-budget we have here) …