If you had asked me two years ago, I would have told you
that there was no way I’d ever own an iPad.
I thought the name was ridiculous (still not a huge fan of the name, but
I’ve grown used to it). I thought Apple
was trying to create a market for something that didn’t have a useful purpose
(why would I possibly need a tablet when I had my laptop and smartphone?). And it was expensive!
Then last year my kids wanted tablets. We tried out a cheap Android tablet for my
son, and it was just that – cheap. There
were a few nice things about it, but it ran slow and had a fairly
non-responsive touchscreen. My daughter
saved her own money and purchased an iPad 2 in November, while my son had
enough to purchase a much nicer Android tablet (the Asus eee pad transformer).
I helped my daughter set up a few things on her iPad. Despite not being an Apple worshiper, I know
my way around most technology, including maintaining the family’s iTunes
account/library, ripping our CDs and DVDs, etc.
I started playing around with my son’s tablet after he went to bed some
nights.
Yes, I have a small enough laptop, but I leave it docked to
a keyboard and huge monitor more than 90% of the time. It’s for “work”. Tablets are more for fun, and yes they are
more portable. I started using his
tablet to surf the net in bed, for a larger view of new recipes while cooking,
etc. And I liked it.
Still, I intended to wait.
And even then I would have thought I’d purchase an Android-based tablet
when the time came. I have a Samsung
Galaxy S II phone, and there’s no way I’d trade it for an iPhone. But then they had to go and make the iPad
screen so incredibly good! No other
tablet on the market can compare right now, and what is a device like this for
if not an awesome personal screen? And
so, after hearing me talk about it for only a short time and deciding there was
no way he was going to buy me yet another point and shoot camera (the other
tech product I was talking about lately), Darrell bought me the new iPad as my
early birthday gift.
Here’s what I think so far:
-
The screen really is THAT good. I downloaded identical pictures to my new
iPad and my daughter’s iPad 2. They look
great on the iPad 2. They just look that
much more awesome and true to life on the new iPad. Some of the “HD” apps being updated for it
are great (Flipboard and 500pix are a few examples). There isn’t enough content out yet for this
amazing new screen, but I hope it comes quickly.
-
It’s just very easy to use (until it isn’t). iOS is the every-man’s mobile operating
system. If you aren’t the kind of person
to make a lot of tweaks, I’d say it’s for you overall. It is smooth, easy to start using right out
of the box. I find myself thinking, “don’t
I need to clear some memory, exit out of some apps, clear some cache or
something?” But no, that sort of thing
isn’t something you go digging into on iOS the way I think even less advanced
Android users do. The apps, even ones
that also exist for Android, seem more streamlined and user-friendly for
iOS. That said, I still miss more
detailed menu options that for me at least seem easier to get to in Android
than iOS. And when you really do want to
tweak or customize something, it seems more difficult on iOS than Android. Even early on in my Android owning days, I
was able to find work-arounds for Android that I don’t think exist for iOS.
-
I like reading on it better than I thought it
would. I’m not getting rid of my eInk
device any time soon for long reading sessions (say an hour plus), but I’ve
found myself reading from the new iPad much more often than I do from my phone. The screen size coupled with the resolution
makes text very smooth and easy to read.
I can see someone who has never experienced eInk deciding that this is a
good eReader for them, and in fact I’ve heard of many people considering just
that. And of course you have the added
benefit of being able to see your favorite magazines in full color.
-
It’s fast.
Jumping from app to app, into and out of the web browser from site to
site. Nothing I’ve done seems to strain
the iPad’s processor so far. And I don’t
seem to have the heat issues that some have complained about.
-
The battery lasts and lasts. In one week of heavy evening use, I’ve only
had to charge it once.
-
iOS apps aren’t as expensive as I thought they
were, but I have already spent more on them in one week than I have on Android
apps in nearly two years. But I’ve also
recently been rethinking my “buy only add-sponsored when possible” strategy for
apps, and iOS doesn’t have the equivalent of the Amazon Android App Store where
I’ve snagged great deals on the free app of the day many, many times. There are some sales/specials worth keeping
an eye on for iOS, and that has kept me to only about $10 out of pocket on iOS
apps so far.
Bottom line, the new iPad is great. I like it.
And any way you look at it, I believe it’s the best tablet on the market
right now and Apple is doing a good job staying a step or two ahead of the
competition. But I still don’t want an
iPhone 4 or even 4S (sorry, Siri, I’m just not that into you) over my Samsung
Galaxy S II, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Oh, and that amazing screen and super-fast
processor inside my beautiful new iPad?
Yeah, they are most likely made by Samsung, according to the research I’ve
done.
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