Firstly I’d say that it’s pretty much exactly what I expected. It was pretty easy to get a feel for what it would be like, what with all the rumours flying around and it didn’t disappoint. That being said, the fact that it was predictable is somewhat disappointing.
People have said that it’s just a huge iPod touch and while that’s technically true it misses the point. The point is that the experience of browsing on this thing is far more comfortable than browsing on a small screen or sitting at a desk. The internet has always been a “sit forward” medium, but the iPad makes it a more relaxing “sit back” kind of media like books or television. And in my opinion, that’s the way it should be. Casual browsing should not resemble working, I’ve longed to sit on the couch with some blogs the same way my dad does with a newspaper and soon I’ll be able to.
At the beginning of the announcement El Steveo presented a list of things that the iPad would be better at than anything else, browsing was among them. Also included were photos, video, games, email, eBooks and music. Some of these I agree with and some I don’t.
Games I couldn’t care less about, but I hear a lot of people raving about iPhone games and my cousin actually bought an iPod touch specificaly for them. I’ve tried a few and they kept me amused for about 30 seconds. Even with the iPads bigger screen I still don’t want to play Need for Speed.
However, photos is obviously an area that the iPad will excel, it even looks like a picture frame. And passing this around at a family Christmas will certainly be an improvement to printing them out or having everyone gather around the computer. Not that we’ll never print pictures out again, this obviously can’t be stuck to a fridge, but when it comes to convenience the iPad is the best.
The email experience also looked great. I’m still not sure about the landscape keyboard looks a little big for what I would assume would be one handed operation (sitting it on your lap like Steve did in the demo would probably result in neck strain from looking down on it all the time). I thought the landscape keyboard would only take up one quarter of the screen, as in one half of the bottom half. That way you could hold it in one arm and type with the other hand. Maybe I’m over thinking it, it’s not really too much of a chore to move your hand over to the other side of the screen for the “A” key.
Now, music is a strange one for them to include in the list of things this will do better (bare in mind that they invented the iPod). There’s no way in a squillion years that this thing is better at playing music than a smart phone or a laptop, especially when the smart phone is an iPhone. An iPhone that’s in your pocket, that goes with you everywhere and thus you need never take your headphones out. If the buzzer on the microwave goes off when you’re listening to your iPad you have to put it down and just like that, no more music.
And a laptop can be plugged in to speakers that you can hear from anywhere in your house. The iPad would become far less convenient if it were tethered down by a speaker cable and it’s only reason to exist is for convenience.
I also can’t imagine watching videos for an extended period of time, certainly not a whole film, you do have to hold it up after all. Someone also pointed out that it would be useless for porn for this very reason, they were right. You’d be like a one armed man trying to wank and move the mouse.
The occasional Youtube video would be pretty great, but you really more browse Youtube than view it, don’t you? So it makes sense.
Lastly, books. While it’s certainly better for reading than a laptop or a phone, it’s not better than a Kindle and that’s where it falls down for me. If I’m going to use a device for relaxing and casual reading I don’t want to have to deal with any eye strain, my eyesight is already quite bad. The Kindle screen can be read on for hours, like a real book it’s pleasant and relaxing. A vibrant, LED backlit TFT screen is neither of those things.
I want vibrant colour e-ink, or something like that. Whatever it takes to make reading things like paper (yes, I want a paper internet) and Youtube videos like moving photographs. That’s when I’ll buy a tablet. Not when it’s better than a laptop or a smart phone, but when it’s better than book or a magazine.
I know, I know - TL;DR.
