The iPad Life

I bought my first iPad about a month after the initial release. I say my first because we’re actually a two iPad family. I quickly realized that, first, I wanted the 3G functionality and, second, that the iPad could be a suitable replacement for Jenny’s old MacBook we were abandoning. So shortly after my first purchase, I bought a second and these two devices have become our primary home computing and entertainment devices. Throughout this first year of iPad life, I’ve meant to write my thoughts about it. The release of the iPad 2 has given me enough motivation to finally start writing.

I intend on this being the first of several articles, most of which will focus on app recommendations. But this first article will instead focus on the most important recommendations I can give: why you should or shouldn’t purchase an iPad.

Let me begin by mentioning that I have had limited use of competing tablets. I have used a Samsung Galaxy Tab and recently had some time with the Motorola Xoom. Personally, even with the new Google Android release (Honeycomb), I can’t recommend the Android tablets to the average buyer. The best way I can say it is that Android tablet buyers already know they need or want an Android based device. If you aren’t sure, then you’re likely going to do better with an iPad. The software is more mature, more user friendly and the value for your money can’t be beat (yet). I do have very high hopes for HP’s WebOS based TouchPad and the Blackberry Playbook, but those devices are not yet available and as first generation devices I cannot recommend them.

Let me also add that I feel I can only properly recommend the iPad now that the iPad 2 is out. Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPads. But for many, the extra features of the iPad 2 have been worth the wait. The camera and FaceTime functionality alone was reason enough to tell my grandparents to wait.

What’s it good for?

Okay, enough caveats and preamble, let’s get down to it. Should you get an iPad? Very possibly an iPad will make sense for you or your family, if not now, then when you next make the decision to upgrade or replace your personal computer. To understand why, let’s consider the right way to use an iPad.

My philosophy, and if you get nothing else from this article consider this, is that to get the maximum usage of your electric devices you have to clearly assign functions to them. Now that may sound silly, but in today’s world of smartphones, tablets, netbooks, laptops, desktops, and internet and cloud connected everythings, you will increasingly find yourself with multiple multi-function devices. Your smartphone can do almost everything your laptop can, in some cases more. So why use one device over the other?

As functional as all these devices are, some are clearly more useful for certain tasks than others. These tasks may seem obvious (your smartphone is hopefully a decent phone), but many are not. Case in point: I do all my “social networking” on my phone or iPad. Facebook and Twitter are banned from my laptop. This is partly because Facebook and Twitter happen to work very well on the iPhone, but it’s also to reserve my laptop for more serious work purposes. I don’t want to be distracted or tempted by Facebook on my laptop. This is what I mean by assigning purposes to your devices. You will get much more use out of them when you make clear decisions what you will and will not do on the device.

With that in mind what is the iPad good for? Others will surely have different lists, but I find the iPad excels (i.e.- is better than any other device) for the following:

• Watching movies via Netflix, Hulu Plus, or iTunes
• Playing games like Angry Birds or many, many others
• Reading website articles
• Reading maps
• Reading news feeds (RSS)
• Reading PDF documents
• Reading ebooks*
• Reading children’s ebooks
• Reading certain magazines and newspapers
• Sharing electronic documents face to face
• Sharing photos face to face (slideshows)
• Taking short notes in a meeting
• Video calls (FaceTime on the iPad 2)

The exception for ebooks is if you happen to have a Kindle. I admit that the e-ink based ebook readers are fantastic reading devices. If that is your primary use case, then by all means, pick up a Kindle. They’re great.

As the list shows, the iPad is best for consumption. It’s not true that you cannot create on a tablet, you certainly can. I’m just pointing out the functions for which the iPad blows away other devices. I’ve been searching for years for a more comfortable way to read PDFs and the iPad has finally delivered that. I do as much of my daily reading on the iPad as possible. I read more because of it.

Likewise, the iPad is the primary entertainment device at home whether it be watching movies or TV, playing games, or reading interactive ebooks with my six year old daughter. The iPad is certainly her device of choice and, if anything, we have to limit her time on it.

But the iPad isn’t just fun and games. I use the iPad extensively when traveling for work. I know a number of people in sales who find the iPad perfect for working on the road, showing presentations and data to clients, and keeping in touch with the office. I prefer to carry my iPad into a business meeting rather than my laptop. It’s perfect for short meeting notes, referring to documents or an agenda without the distraction of laptops. And there’s still some feeling of living in the future when I hand my iPad to a colleague or client to look at some particular article or bit of data. No need for print outs or remembering to email the information later.

There are also a number of things the iPad is good for, though not necessarily the best device for. For each of these activities, the iPad may be a very good device, but with some sort of caveat.

• Email
• Writing long documents
• Creating music
• Creating artwork

The iPad can do all these things and in some cases do them exceptionally well, but it often requires particular apps or equipment. For example, this article was written on my iPad, using IA Writer and the on screen keyboard. Using IA Writer with the bluetooth keyboard can be a fantastic writing experience, but that requires knowing about and purchasing IA Writer and a keyboard.

You might be surprised to see email on this list rather than the first. Email on the iPad can great unless you deal with large volumes of email and have to spend time writing long, well formatted replies. For casual email, the iPad, like your smartphone, is fine. In fact, for my grandparents, the iPad may largely be used for email and that’s great, but for those of us who live in our inbox, the iPad won’t be your primarily email device.

There are some things the iPad is simply bad at and these include:

• Spreadsheets (and other heavy data entry work)
• Managing photo libraries
• Managing large music/video libraries
• Coding

I’ve used Numbers for spreadsheet work and while it works, I would stick with a laptop. Likewise for coding - you’re just not going to develop software on an iPad.

I wish one could manage photo libraries on the iPad, but the workflow just isn’t there. I’d love to take my photos off my camera, view and filter them, make basic touch ups, upload them to flickr and then back them up to my computer. And while that all is possible, it’s ridiculously complex for a device like the iPad. The ball is really in Apple’s court to provide the necessary APIs for developers to make this happen, but until then it won’t replace iPhoto, let alone Aperture or Lightroom.

Even if the workflow were there, the iPad doesn’t have the storage space to be your archive for digital media. You’ll still need a home laptop or desktop to store all those photos, videos and music files for posterity.

For that reason, I believe the future of home computing looks something like this: a single home laptop or desktop shared by the family, perhaps even used for work, which serves as a hub and storage archive. This will be complemented by one or more tablets, smartphones or iPod Touch-like devices for individual, personal use.

Which iPad to get?

Personally, I found the 3G so compelling, I went out and bought a second iPad primarily for that feature. The device was more mobile than I expected and I found I often used 3G when traveling or even just around the neighborhood. In fact, I’ve been tempted to drop my home DSL and perhaps someday I will.

That said, for many, the WiFi model will suffice. If the device will primarily be used at home, then save the money. Moreover, more and more smartphones these days can act as mobile hotspots, allowing you internet access in a pinch.

For most people, the 16 GB model will suffice. I have a 32 GB model and I do use a lot of space, but then, I have a inordinately large app library and there’s no hope of throwing my full music library on even the 64 GB model. If you can afford the space, it is nice to not have to worry about managing apps, photos and music, but only if you can easily afford it.

I hope this article has been some help for those considering purchasing an iPad. As I mentioned, I plan on writing a number of other articles on specific app recommendations and use cases. If you have any specific questions or reviews you’d like me to cover, please leave a comment.