I was excited to get my new iPad on the day of its launch in Canada, Friday.Bear in mind, I did NOT buy it with the intent for it to be my primary reader, unlike some people here might be. And for reading long-form fiction, my first impression is that I was right about it not being the best reading experience. But it will (for the most part) perform as I expected as a teaching tool, and I’ll enjoy using it at home and on the go. What were my first impressions?
NOT A KINDLE KILLER, BUT MAYBE AN OTHER THINGS KILLER
As I expected, the Kindle remains safe as a member of my gadget household. I did not find the iPad comfortable to read on for long periods. I tested various free apps and I found the Kobo and Kindle too limited (you can’t load outside content) and the iBooks app too bright. I liked its two-page landscape mode, and if I could have changed the background page colour I would have been set. But I can’t. On some other apps, I could, but then I would not have the two-page landscape view.
However, I have discovered a nascent love for comic books and magazines. These look beautiful. I used the iPad’s screenshot feature to save a clip from a magazine I sampled, and it looked amazing. I then imported the image file into iPhoto and made an album for it. I can see this being a great app for people who like to clip recipes, workouts or graphics from magazines.
CONTENT FOR RENT?
Another surprise to me was that I think I might be getting over the notion that content I buy should be mine to own forever. If you are charging me retail hardback prices for a book, then yes, it IS mine, and a book is more of a permanent artifact for me, even in e-form. But more consumable content, at a rental price? I am warming up to the idea.
Take Zinio, for example. I never thought I would pay real money for something that wouldn’t be mine to keep. But then I thought about how I behave with print magazines. I do read them and throw them away. I might tear out a page or two (especially for health magazines with recipes or workouts in them) but for the most part, I don’t need to keep all of that content forever and ever. As my screen cap from Zinio shows, the iPad makes it very easy to read a magazine and save important parts for future reference.
You can also rent movies on the iPad, which I did not know was an option in Canada. Right now, I am spending about $11 a month on our equivalent to Netflix, and I don’t always get my money’s worth because I am slow to return them. Maybe I would be better off just paying $4 on the spot when I want to watch something. I could download a movie onto the computer with iTunes while I eat dinner, then sync up the iPad and take it with me for a night of babysitting. What could be easier? Even a DRM hater like me is okay with paying for something I can’t keep forever as long as I know that’s the deal going in, and the media is priced accordingly.
SYNCHING TO THE CLOUD: YOUR DATA, ANYTIME
Three of the four apps I have been using the most so far have involved websites or services where you store content on the ‘cloud’ and use the app to access or view it, on-line or off. I think this will be the future of data storage. I do like to have local access to my stuff—I don’t trust the ‘cloud’ to always be available—but the iPad makes it easy. You can press ‘sync’ inside an app like Evernote to update everything when you’re in wifi range, and if you are not in range, you can access the data you’ve already saved. A best of both worlds situation! This is such a smart way to use technology.
I’ll have more about the iPad in the coming week. I am very pleased with my new purchase! Stay tuned for more about the iPad as a teaching tool, and how to use apps like Dropbox and Evernote to manage your media needs.
Marvel comics from the 60’s are just great. Zinio is pretty good too. I impulsively subscribed to Rolling Stone, Esquire and the Smithsonian magazines. Still waiting to buy books in the iBookstore. Who’s holding this up, the publishers again?
When is Sony going to release an iPad app with purchasing capabilities à la Kindle? Like, how complicated can it be. And, awaiting Txtr iPad app to come out. On a sidenote, Adobe PDF’s look alright in Txtr iPhone app on the iPad. 2x the app and increase the font. Not bad at all. Adobe ePubs not so good but definitely legible on 2x and enlarged font size.
My favorite apps below. Most are free and if not, have listed price:
Dictionary.com
GoodReader (99 cents)
Reuters News Pro
Twitterific
Dragon Dictation
Epicurious
Pandora
Netflix
Amazon Kindle reader
PocketPond
Solitaire City (deluxe version 5.99, classic .99 and lite is free)
Moonlight Mahjong (99 cents)
Well, instead of renting video content, have you considered the incredible free content — TV and movies — at Hulu.com and RogersOnDemand.com? There are a couple of dozen movies free from MGM on my 24″ wide-screen monitor on the latter because I live in Canada.
But, oh, wait … it’s an iPad so no Flash content can be viewed. (“Thanks, Steve! High five, eh?”) Well, I guess paying for what everyone else is getting free is okay … that’s The Apple Way. And I’ve got bags of excess cash considering the 3G enabled 32 GB iPad is almost $900 with tax in Canada — and with nothing added except a micro-SIM card.
And, man, that screen is gorgeous, isn’t it? 9.7″ diagonal on a 1960s TV format 4:3 ratio … meaning the $350+ widescreen netbook I have displays exactly the same size widescreen video image. Unless, of course, your preferred video is 70 year old (!) 1940s noir era movies in “full screen” format. Finally, “Casablanca” in my lap as it was intended to be seen.
Then there is iPad’s input mode: ever tried to select a colour from a honeycomb palette of 100 choices with your finger? Pinching and pointing and dragging works for some tasks — “show me now!” — but less well for tasks where you are creating new content … depending on the application. BTW, how is the virtual qwerty? it’s good enough for hunt and peck filling in a search box …. how well is it in composing the next great Canadian novel?
Apple’s iPad is a wonderful device for what it does. I remain unconvinced (but open to changing my mind) that it is useful for anything other than multi-media playback. And even there: a cheap netbook is widescreen vs 4:3 on the iPad meaning most iPad video has “wasted” black bars top and bottom. And I hate squinting during “Doctor Zhivago” trying to make out Omar Shariff’s chin dimple.
But at least the battery life is 10 hrs.
Alexander, I guess that like anything else, you have to consider what you want it for. I have seen the Rogers on Demand site and it didn’t really have anything that called out to me. And if I am babysitting (for example) and want TV, there are TVs in the house. What the iPad will be great for is renting new releases if I decide I want to watch a certain movie at that moment. Right now I am using zip.ca for movies and I don’t always get to choose which one I can have!
I have gone the netbook route already. Linux was a nightmare to get anything done on, and Windows had poor battery life so I had to carry a brick around with me all the time. And not all my classrooms had optimally placed power outlets. And the kids would have to sit around and wait for 5 minutes while Windows booted up. Um, no thanks.
I do understand why some people with very techie needs might want a different device. But that doesn’t mean that those of us who choose this one are making a bad choice either. Another analogy is the ebook readers, people criticized the Kobo when it first came out because it did not have wifi, but not everyone needs that feature. Personally, it was not my ideal device but my mother loves hers.
Any idea Joanna when the iBookstore in Canada will have books for purchase?
No idea, sorry