- Posted on 21st Jan 11.
- In Uncategorized.
- By Walter.
- 12 responses.
The iPad is one of the most talked-about little gadgets I can remember recently. I have to admit that I was a little ambivalent when Apple first released it. That’s mostly due to a misunderstanding on my part. The only thing that I could see it being good for was as a content consumption device – an overpriced e-reader, basically.
Well, fast-forward a couple of months and I finally had a chance to play with the thing at BestBuy. Wow! It was really cool – and I’ve kept that opinion since then. That’s because I finally realized it’s not all about consumption. You can create on it, too.
I managed to get one of these little beauties (because my wife loves me and is awesome), and I’ve been using the hell out of it ever since. (That’s it up there in the pic.) In fact, I actually find myself more willing to work on it than on my computer, if you can believe that.
As a writer, I’ve come to appreciate just how easy it is to create on this thing. There’s lots of different apps for writing (or anything else for that matter). The one I have been using most is PlainText. It’s simple, intuitive and syncs with Dropbox so I can just download the updated file to my computer and paste it into my Word doc. I’ve got Office HD2 as well, and that’s pretty handy, but a bit too robust for just my creative writing. Though, it’s nice to have it so that I can save things as Word docs right from the iPad.
Typing on the iPad’s built-in keyboard isn’t bad – you can almost touch-type and I’m sure with a bit more practice I’ll get the hang of it. I’ve also got this handy dandy keyboard that docks with the iPad – that’s awesome (but you have to be at a desk or table to use it).
Personally, I really think that tablets are going to be the way computers go here soon. Witness the freaking incredible number of tablets coming out this year – why would anyone use a netbook over one of these? Actually, that was one of my first complaints back when I wasn’t quite onboard with the iPad yet. I have a netbook – and I HATE it. It’s just not easy to use. I’m far, far happier working on the iPad than I ever was on the netbook.
I guess the best thing is that it works, and it works well. I’ve been more productive in my writing since getting it, but that might just be because I can write in the living room with the wife and kids and not have to battle my stupid netbook J Your mileage may vary, of course.
Anyone else have one/use one? What are your thoughts? I know a couple of artists that have had some good results using it too – anyone want to chime in here?
-W.
Damn it man, now you’ve given me one less excuse… but must force myself to wait for iPad2
Hahaha! Yeah, details should be coming soon. I’ve read some of the Engadget info about the iPad 2 and there’s no deal breakers there for me.
Jealous! I want one! Oh well, I’ll be fine with my iPod Touch, until the Verizon iPhone comes out. I can see 5-10 years from now Tablets will be all there is. Kids won’t even know what a mouse is, maybe they don’t now.
I think my thoughts can be expressed better in comic form.
The iPad’s Legacy.
LOL, that’s awesome
Only complaint I have is that there is no mouse. It’s a pain trying to highlight things or easily click to a portion of your document.
But I love my Sudoku app…haha
if you don’t mind jailbreaking it, you can do this: http://www.theipadguide.com/content/use-bluetooth-mouse-your-ipad/7173395
Once one can properly draw comics on one of these suckers, I’m diving in!
I don’t know dude, Eric Merced (@eric_merced) had some really good looking stuff he did on his iPad – also heard from a few other artists who have had good results
Innnnteresting. Gonna give it a Googling.
Cool, love to know what you find/decide.
There’s a writing app thats supposed to be amazing: http://www.informationarchitects.jp/en/writer-for-ipad/
Very cool! I shall have to take a peek at that then. Thanks, dude