My phone rings.
“Hey, what are you doing?” says the voice on the other end of the line.
“Umm … washing dishes.”
“Wanna see an iPad?”
“What?! You have one?”
A thoughtful friend knew I was working on a column about electronic book readers and knew I would be interested to see Apple’s latest gadget, the iPad, which was just released Saturday.
Although I had already finished my column (see Thursday’s All Around Wise in the Messenger), I jumped at the chance to check it out.
It was smaller than I imagined. In my column, I call it “ridiculously huge.” I take back “ridiculous,” but it won’t fit in your purse, ladies.
As an electronic reading device, it’s appealing because it “feels” more like a book. By swiping your finger across the screen, you can turn the page, unlike the Kindle which requires the user to push a button.
Your electronic books are also arranged on a virtual shelf, which allows you to see every cover instead of browsing a simple list of titles.
Its main downfall as an electronic reader is the screen. It’s LCD, like a regular computer screen, which tires the eyes more quickly than the E-ink technology used by Kindle and nook. Those feel as if you’re reading on paper.
While the iPad is fun, I’m not sure I’d be willing to cough up $500 for it. At that price and considering its size, I’d like it to function a little more like a laptop. It’s got a great e-reader, but I also need 3G, a USB port and some semblance of a word processor.
Care to weigh in?
The model coming out later this month has 3G, you can get Pages, and what exactly do you need a USB port for?
Thanks, Sam. I heard a later version would have 3G, but I didn’t realize it was coming out this month. That’s good. I use the USB to download photos from my camera and Flip video … maybe the iPad is intended just to surf the Web, play games and read electronic books. It just seems like an “in-between” device.
It’s definitely an “in-between” device — between a laptop and smartphone. I think it does everything for which some people use a laptop. It’s more of a “lean back” than “lean foward” type of device. Also: http://bit.ly/camkit
Clicked through from Mom’s the Word. Picked up an iPad on Saturday. I do not get this argument about the LCD screen being difficult to read. I found the Kindle dim for my taste and I prefer the full color display of the iPad, further the LCD screen can definitely be tamed down by the user as is necessary. I also spend 9+ hours a day reading and working on a computer screen and don’t feel eye strain there so I think it’s really a red herring but understand that tastes may differ. The iBooks app is really lovely though. I am not thrilled that there’s no USB but give it a month and third-party folks like Griffin will make a dongle for a USB and problem solved. As for productivity, well admittedly I’m not using it for “work” per se, that’s not why I bought it. But Pages is a nicely done App and for $10, a better than decent word processor. As for 3G surf speed, I decided to buy the wi-fi version because at home I’m on my network, at work I’m on works network, and on the road I have wi-fi almost everywhere or can get it…and admittedly I plan to get a new 4G hot spot to take on the road…but my biggest point of disagreement? It absolutely fits in my purse!
Todd’s drooling over every commercial…I’m having to reign him in no matter its functionality.
Some anecdotal evidence suggests that reading on small screen devices like the iPhone might be easier for dyslexics. Interesting article: http://bit.ly/aEQPFG (via http://kottke.org)
Also, iBooks will be on iPhone this summer. http://bit.ly/iPhone0S4
Hey, Sam. Thanks for the link to the camera kit. That’s pretty cool.
Okay, Sona, your purse is bigger than mine!
As for the LCD screen, I think it’s just a matter of preference. I also spend several hours a day reading and writing on an LCD screen, and I wouldn’t choose to read on one for leisure, although the color is appealing. Thanks for mentioning Pages. Right before I read this comment, someone else also told me about it. I’ll have to check it out. Oh yeah, and if you haven’t already, check out the link in Sam’s comment for a camera kit. It takes care of my USB issues!
P.S. How do you put the tilde over the “n” in your name?
Interesting, Sam. The things that bug me about reading on an iPhone are the very things that make the experience better for dyslexics. Thanks for sharing the link.
I’ve been amazed by the iPad. I didn’t think I would want one but after the kids bought one, I’m in. For me, the reading is easy and the iPad offers so much more functionality than a Kindle/Nook. I’m a Google Docs fan so the word processing hasn’t been an issue as long as I have Wi-Fi (and there is an application for laptops that allow you to work on Docs on the hard drive and transfer to the Internet later – hope that will work on the iPad). I can see how it will quickly be a replacement for the average home computer user who doesn’t have to do a great deal of word processing/spreadsheet building but just wants to surf the net and read. I can’t wait for the 2nd generation which is when I will be more likely to pull the trigger on one.
Thanks, Jeff. I need to learn more about various word processing apps and things like Google Docs. I’ve always just used Word, and I’ve been lucky enough to have a laptop and take it everywhere. An iPad would definitely be lighter to haul around. I also will probably wait for the second generation before I consider getting one. I want to let them get all the kinks worked out.