The Geeks and the Gods: 6 Nov 2010

Saturday 6 November 2010

iPad - it rocks!

So this is my first blog post on the iPad. After a false start I have to say I am kinda in love... with the iPad. I love my gadgets. I make no secret of that. But I do like justifying each gadget and indeed everything has it's use. In the past, the problem for me with the iPad was that as someone who ultimately loves using a good word processor for both work and enjoyment (Project number 1) the iPad wasn't a viable option - no keyboard!

Well in the same way that I gave up a Nokia mobile phone years ago for a touch screen version it looks like for my mobile life I can quite happily give up a Netbook keyboard for a touchscreen... Apple style.

I have mixed feelings about Apples products in general but have always hailed the iPod and iPhone as excellent gadgets that deserve some serious love and respect. The iPad was something that looked cool but actually, I couldn't see where it would fit in my life... that justification again.

My first experience was not a good one - in the new Covent Garden Apple store and as I was passing I popped in to have a play. It was nice but nothing special. It was a large iPhone and nothing else. I tweeted that I was disappointed and would not be purchasing one. Oops.

My second experience was a very quick play with a good friends new iPad (Simon - who I know reads this blog avidly and indeed loves the many comic book lists I produce). I explained to him my concern over the usability of the device on the basis of a lack of keyboard. He showed a couple of pieces of work that he had happily typed on the device without too much bother. After a quick play around I found that actually it was quite easy to type... As I am now. It is not the same as keys but maybe having spent almost 2 years typing on a Netbook I am used to using small keyboards.

So I buy one. Top of the range. It's a cool gadget, but is it just a really bloody expensive photo frame? My first weekend with it was a bit of a false start. I got the missus to get it in the US for me ( she was there anyway) and of course when I put a o2 sim card in it, it had a bit of a fit. We were in Leeds so I popped into a local Apple retailer, plugged the iPad in and tried to set it up. lt was fine from a wifi point of view but I could not get the 3G to work. I spent a weekend trying to get it working and absolutely no joy. This was not the fault of anyone in particular, it was circumstances conspiring against me. What was evident was two things: without Internet, the iPad has little to offer (unless you have already whacked loads of content on it) and secondly without another computer, it has little to offer (again unless you have already whacked loads onto it).

Eventually I got the bad boy plugged into my home pc (Buffy) and I had iTunes do a full restore in the hope that it would get things in line as far as the UK was concerned. Thankfully there was little in it and after the download my iPad was fully UK compliant. Inserting the o2 sim immediately brought up the necessary screens for signing up to 3G. All was good and before you know it I had a fully functioning iPad.

Now, what to do with it. One minor fear I had had before purchasing the iPad was whether or not it would make my iPhone redundant. Thankfully so far that has not been the case. I have begun to realise that there is little I can do in life without Google ( the android argument is a whole new issue and one for a whole fresh blog). My gmail account contains pretty much everything I need in life as far as online content goes. My gmail, bookmarks, docs, calendar. Without these simple tool I wouldn't know where I was suppose to be. These are essential tools and the fact that I can access them form any computer, iPhone or iPad is pretty awesome. I can type something on my phone and it is almost instantaneously on my iPad ready to be amended, sent etc. The Internet experience is excellent.. But the apps, I have yet to form an opinion on. There are quite a lot and they tend to be a little more expensive than their iPhone counterparts. That is to be expected. I guess I have to play around with the store a bit more. There are plenty to choose from.

So how do I wrap up this initial blog? The iPad is cool. Agreed. Having Internet access on a sexy shiny screen is equally cool. Having instant access to Apple App store is nice, although costly. Having another computer is absolutely essential! If you load the iPad up with stuff and go on holiday to a destination that has wi-fi, you will have a lot of fun. If it isn't loaded up and you don't have Internet access, then it is just a really expensive digital photo frame. But I love it.