Initial Impression – the iPad

I’m now one of the kewl kids again…I have an iPad.

While I’ll admit a fascination with the concept of the thing, it wasn’t on my acquisition list. You see, between my iPhone or one of my many computers, I’m almost always online. Even my TV gets Twitter, Google, etc. Lack of internet access really isn’t an issue for me.

Now I have a 16gb iPad, the wireless version, and its trying hard to find its place in my life.

The Good

• Most of my existing iPhone apps work full screen with the iPad.
• Battery life – praise the Lord, something from Apple that uses a battery which doesn’t measure battery life in nanoseconds.
• Images are visually stunning in many cases.
• Newspapers make a lot more sense to me.
• The form factor here is much better for the bifocal set. I definitely default to reading email here if possible, rather than the iPhone.

The Bad

• Some of my key iPhone apps don’t transition full screen to the iPad. Notably:
  • Navionics – every navigational chart for the East Coast of the US. Too bad, this would be one of the best on the big screen.
  • Facebook – luckily I can just go to the site.
  • Most of the apps are long on promise and short on delivery. Other than newspapers, I haven’t found much that truly excites me.
  • The games are essentially recoded flash games. My daughters may like farming mangoes for the citizens of Virtual Villagers, but I’m yet to be enamoured of the gaming experience.
  • Greasy screen – the girls use it and tweenagers aren’t the best at keeping the screen clean. I may have to hire a homeless squeegee guy to keep it scrubbed down, or at least non-encrusted.
  • The thing is heavy. Holding it up to read actually gets tiring.
  • I reject the idea of paying for an app for every little thing.
  • I REALLY reject the idea of installing an app only to find:
    • It wants me to pay for the content. The modern day equivalent of getting a “batteries not included ” gift on Christmas and not having the batteries to go with it.
    • It’s a “lite” version with the functionality neutered.
    • They’re charging for an app with functionality I can easily get by going to any one of 30 existing websites that do it better.

  This week I have been doing one thing I haven’t done in several years. I am actually getting up, getting a cup of coffee and reading several of my favorite newspapers. Other than that, I’m pretty much on one of my computers.

  Share the wisdom in the comments, what am I missing?