Soooo ... come the new year I am selling three Android handsets to fund my iDevice obsession redux. There's definitely a future for Android as a dominant platform, but no Apple crumble just yet either.
How did this happen?
When iPad was announced, it was an exciting foray into tablet computing so obviously starting out right. I was tempted back then (what, April?), to own what I am convinced will become a collectible piece of computing history. However, Apple then sued HTC and made me wonder what all the fuss was about with Android. Turns out, Android is very very good. However, right now, for, iOS is excellent for me.
I bought my iPad (3G capable, waiting for the SIM card to be delivered any day now) from the Apple store in the Bullring shopping centre, Birmingham UK. It was kind of a leap of faith based on no more than a total of 10 minutes hands-on time and many articles of rhetoric along the lines of "what's the point of iPad". Indeed, what is the point of iPad?
My particular circumstances.
I've recently finished editing a feature film on my iMac and the house is in the process of being turned into a children's day care. I am being turfed out of "my room", iMac and all. You can see where this is going. Without ease-of-access to my desktop computer then a portable device makes a lot of sense. If the iPad could stand-alone I'd ditch the iMac. As it is, I will need occasional access to sync iTunes - the bane and single biggest disadvantage of the Apple UX ecosystem. There are annoying workarounds, of sorts.
There remains one weakness and utter reliance on iTunes. I can use, say, iCab to download an mp3 but there's no way to get that mp3 into a playlist on the device without jumping through the Mac/PC/iTunes hoop. Disappointing. That's the only thing that is really really going to annoy me during this arrangement and make me despise iTunes even more.
Observation: I could have got a laptop, even a netbook. But I firmly believe that iPad sets me on the path of the future of end-user computing (whether it is Apple based or not, the iPad is not only a great portable touchscreen device it is also a fantastic thin client - remember those?!)
So whilst Microsoft fumble to port Windows to ARM in the coming years (why the fuck bother?!) the rest of the world will be moving forward, spearheaded by Apple and Google, probably for the next 5 or 10 years until Facebook makes net neutrality debacles look like the declaration of independence.
I mean, the iPad 1.0 has 256MB of RAM. That's measly by Windows requirements and yet the iPad blows the fuck out of every Windows personal computer I have used, ever. Tight code by Apple is the only explanation. It shows Windows in such a bad light I can't believe anyone would choose it as their personal computing UX.
Markets diverge. It's a contemporary example, no? Windows isn't going anywhere for now, but its branch may be beginning to rot.
Anyway. iPad. Let me count the ways. The killer apps of iPad.
1. UX. User experience. Waking from sleep is instant. Sleeping is instant. The iOS is extremely responsive (though I have to admit, not entirely perfect every time - and as seems customary I have found a dead pixel on the screen, bah).
2. UX. Installing and uninstalling apps. Does it get any simpler than this? Another testament to Apple's coding design decisions.
3. UX. You know how iPad is a giant iPod Touch? Well it pretty much is, with a teeny tiny motherboard inside. Guess what? The rest of that iPad is essentially a big battery. This adds to the game changingness of iPad - the battery power won't last forever but neither will you be fretting about where the next power outlet might be.
4. UX. They're not lying in those videos about typing in landscape mode. I can type as fast in landscape on the iPad as I can on a fullsize real keyboard. I don't know if I could write my next screenplay without investing in a Bluetooth keyboard for my iPad, but I am confident that if I have to, I won't get RSI (unlike extended durations of typing on iPhone's keyboard - yakkkkk).
5. UX. My favourite iPad apps are those that have been designed for iPad's 9.7" screen. It's a massive ergonomic win in my book, information is somehow presented more appropriately on iPad rather than, say, in overlapping windows on a desktop machine.
And the killers of iPad.
1. File I/O. It's just a massive pain in the arse managing files via iTunes. Take my iCab downloaded mp3 as an example. If could import that into a playlist in the iPod app on the iPad and have it sync to iTunes when it is convenient to me (or - shock! - OTA) then I'd be pretty happy.
2. Multitasking. Probably due to the 256MB RAM, iPad does not keep as many apps instantly available to switch to (compared to iPhone 4 which has 512MB RAM). It's minor - but one of the thousand cuts that contributes to a future killing. An example here is Friendly For Facebook - once it gets kicked out memory it takes a few seconds to start up again. Yeah, seconds. That's not instant though, is it.
3. USB peripherals. Just forget it (eg audio interfaces and microphones) until you see official support (eg like the camera connection kit is officially for, you know, cameras).
4. Printing. Although I rarely print, you'll need an officially supported printer to do the AirPrint thing. Else there is the iTunes hoop jumping, or seeing if an app like ePrint can get to the thing you're trying to print.
5. iTunes required for activation. Just ridiculous. Other than data rape by Apple I can't think of why this should be a requirement in the second decade of the goddamm 21st century.
One more thing.
I also think Apple should bundle their iPad case/jacket with every iPad - it's very useful both in terms of protection and ergonomics in my experiences this last couple of days.
And a further footnote - this is likely the last blog post from my iMac (I'm doing an iTunes sync, see) - in all likelihood the next will be from BlogPress or some alternative iPad app. Because BlogPress allows you to select media from the iPad. AFAIK, using Mobile Safari or iCab won't allow me to select media from the iPad (I like to head each post with a dumb pic as you may have noticed) though I suppose I should actually test that assumption before calling it out.
Goodnight!
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