iPad: My Thoughts

Walking into the Apple Store felt surreal as I eyed a table full of tablets being played with by numerous customers. It was obvious that I would have to wait my turn to behold the awaited creation of mobile technology, and it took all my strength to not hover over someone else cradling one! Luckily, a side counter had more iPads on display and a couple were free to be touched and caressed by my two hands...I nearly broke into a sprint to that counter!!

Holding the iPad was indeed a pleasure, for it instantly reminded me of the allure of my iPod Touch, MacBook Aluminum and iPod Classic. Apple magic was undoubtedly in every facet of that tablet as I held it under the flourescent lighting. My reflection seemed lost in glossy screen blackness that was in contrast with an aluminum backing. This aluminum gave the impression that it could be easily scratched, yet its thinness didn't seem weak in the slightest bit. While there wasn't much heft to it, there seemed to be a potential for it to become heavy after a long period of being held. The edges didn't seem conducive for comfortable gripping since they were so fine and practically sharp. The overall size was compact, slim, and backpack portable.

Turning on the screen revealed a familiar face of the iPhone OS, yet I still wasn't convinced of the iPad's charm...despite the initial excitement in seeing it in person. All the great things about multitouch seemed a little bit more impressive with the larger display, and certain apps such as Photos and Safari received a welcomed refreshment. The visual eye-candy of the iPhone interface enticed me with its vibrant colors, smooth movement, and clean lines in every aspect of its build throughout every application. The most notable moments for me were iTunes, YouTube, Pages from iWork, the virtual qwerty and the e-book reader. Every last one of these applications had its own charm, but Pages and the e-book reader were my all-time favorite! For years I had been a fan of Office for Mac and shunned Pages due to my own preference and familiarity with Windows, and was quite bothered to hear Office wouldn't be supported on the iPad. However, using Pages on that tablet really opened my eyes to the possibility of using it again if ever necessary. Performing the same kinds of actions for word processing in such a flawless and beautiful interface with the touch of my fingers felt so good...almost addictive. Using the virtual qwerty was another joy indeed, for I didn't have much trouble typing on it. I admit that it did feel a bit weird at times when in portrait mode since it feels more cramped, but spacious landscape mode is simply a work of art. I could EASILY spend endless amounts of time writing with that soft qwerty and its great touch feedback! Every press of a key was met with a prompt insertion of the appropriate character, and auto-correction carried out its usual duty. My mouth nearly hit the floor when I saw the feature to change qwerty layouts according to specified languages! With the touch of the key that appeared to have a globe on it, the qwerty keys were instantly transformed to alternate versions! The e-book reader app...I am totally speechless on it! I have no words! Honestly, that one feature ALONE would make me want to sell my Kindle and get an iPad to replace it! Plain and simple!! Sound was only okay from the speakers, but I guess it was due to the noisy surroundings. In quieter situations, I'm sure it would be sufficient enough to enjoy audio content. The accelerometer worked flawlessly as expected with EVERY single turn of the iPad. Playing back video was great as expected on the larger display, no big surprise there. I even played TRENT SENSE episodes via the YouTube app and was quite impressed!

A turn-off appeared to be from using the imdb.com application, for the resolution didn't seem optimized for the iPad. There was some pixelation in the graphics, but not enough to the point where it was horrible to see. I just assumed that was an iPhone app not yet made for iPad. Another con involved typing on the iPad soft qwerty while holding it with both hands...it was basically impossible. It seemed the only solution was to either place it on a flat surface or cradle it in one hand while pecking keys with the other. Not good. 

There was much to be gained from having an iPod in my life, yet I didn't feel the impulse to buy one. I was really blown away by the iPad and its charm. As usual, Apple did it again with its hypnotizing spell of pretty graphics and assorted colors...and I wanted to have my one-way trip to MacLand! Taking a flashback of the Fringe TV show, it was as if Steve Jobs himself had crossed bounds to the other dimension and returned to replicate its technology with the iPad! However, its sheer size made it a venture not worthwhile for me. My interest lies in pocketable gadgets, especially convergence smartphones. The things that the iPad can do can already be done in some way by the devices I already own. They may not do it as gracefully as the iPad, but they do it nonetheless. I actually like the long battery life and plastic/lightweight build of my Kindle along with its direct line to the bookstore via Sprint WhisperNet service. I like surfing the web and writing emails and blogposts on my smartphones. Enjoying multimedia is already handled by my trusty iPods and sometimes my smartphones. This network of my own gadgetry is working just fine for me in keeping me connected to the outside world and entertained in my own world. The iPad would only become a third wheel, much like the Nokia N810 tablet I owned a number of years ago. Since I had a Nokia smartphone at that time, there was no use in taking out the N810 and using its awful hardware qwerty. It eventually became more of a burden to carry along with my phone, so it ended up collecting dust until I finally sold it. There is a slight feeling in my gut that this same thing would happen to the iPad if I ever decided to get it. The iPad is a luxury item that is not really needed at this point, so the time with the demo unit at the Apple Store was well-spent in satisfying my curiosity. Honestly, I much prefer holding off for the Samsung Galaxy S and anticipating the iPhone 4 specs that are about to be announced. I wonder if my want for hardware qwerty keys could have played a role in this as well...or the fact that the iPad isn't meant to be a MacBook replacment. Either way, I am glad that I got a chance to play with it nonetheless. To those who already have an iPad, I do hope they continue to enjoy it!

TRENT
Sent from my XDAndroid Touch Pro 2
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host