An iPad

Posted Wed May 5, 2010 in Hardware

Sunday morning we walked in the Cherry Creek (Denver Colorado) Apple store. Wife dropped her iPhone a few days ago and the blue pixels turned off. The problem was intermittent, but recurring. I thought it a good idea to have the device checked. We were met by a blue-shirt, who checked us in and set up a (quick) appointment with a genius.

We approached the Genius Bar and were approached by a young redhead. She confirmed Wife’s appointment and entered a note “green shirt and orange bag” into her iPad. I started asking her questions about the device. I’m particularly interested in how it fits into Apple’s lineup. It is not a computer (although close) and it is not a phone (nowhere close).

So, what is the damned thing?

I think it’s a netbook. Apple is capitalizing it’s iPhone experience and producing a device that will function as a netbook but provide a lot more capability. The screen is actually big enough to work on, especially in landscape mode. I don’t know about the soft keyboard (yet), but an external Bluetooth keyboard can be used. (Although use of an external keyboard adds to the infrastructure that must be carried.)

Numbers, Pages, and Keynote are all available. I think the device might be an excellent presenter’s tool. I could see using it in that role. It would be a lot easier to use for email than my iPhone. It would be a great way to show digital photos to friends and family. It is also quite responsive. Applications pop onto the screen. The screen is lovely as well, bright and crisp with adequate contrast. Images look like a slide show using excellent chromes.

My issue with the device is that it’s expensive — $700 for the 64G WiFi model. Also, I don’t want to pay for another ATT data plan. I want to be tether it to my iPhone and piggyback on my already expensive data plan. In fact, I should probably figure out how to tether to my iPhone for my MBP and drop the aircard data plan. I don’t use it a lot, but when I need it the plan is invaluable. (That’s why I didn’t buy-out of the plan a few months ago. I hate being stuck like that.)

So, my decision has a lot to do with how I would integrate the device into my workflow. I think it might have a role to play as a notebook (I wish I could write on the screen) and it will fulfill the general netbook position. But, I haven’t determined that a netbook is something I need either. I think they are cool toys, but again have not worked out how one would fit into my workflow.

So, no iPad for me just yet. I need to see how it would work for me first, before I plunk down hard-earned bucks to buy this cool device. Apple did an excellent job.