One week is hardly enough time to really understand how the iPad might apply to and enhance work, play, and life, but I have to give my iPad back so others at the office have a chance to take it home. (Is it telling that I said “my iPad” just now? Heh heh…)
Without further ado, here are some of my initial takes on my week with the iPad. Further time and testing might have revealed more likes/dislikes and good/bad/needs improvement features, but I think I did a decent job putting it through its paces. Apple’s all about the user experience, so my review will focus on my impressions of that.
General: The touch screen interface was very intuitive to use. Of course, I already have an iPhone, so the transition was pretty much seamless for me. The keyboard leaves a lot to be desired though. I actually found myself making a lot more mistakes than I do typing on my iPhone. It’s too big for one-finger or two-thumb techniques that work well on the iPhone, too small really to comfortably type with both hands, and without being able to feel the keys, it’s very easy to make mistakes.
Reading: In general, I found reading on the device to be a very positive experience and I feel this is one area where it really shines. After a couple years of trying to read longer items on my iPhone (news articles, blog posts, etc.), I found the experience on the iPad to be quite welcome. The USA Today and New York Times iPad apps are intuitive and very much like actually reading a newspaper. Text size can be changed on-the-fly and images zoomed. Reading books through iBooks was even nicer, though there were ultimately problems. First the good:
- The text and page-flipping interface were quite lovely and provided a seamless experience (read: no delay in rendering when flipping pages, as on the Kindle).
- Text size could again be changed on-the-fly.
- Screen brightness can be changed on-the-fly, giving opportunity to lessen eye strain
- Orientation can be “locked” with a switch on the side of the iPad, so if you tend to fidget and move around while reading, you won’t have to worry about your iPad flipping its orientation.
- Text can be easily searched, bookmarked, and copy-and-pasted.
- Much, MUCH, better than reading on either an iPhone or a laptop. The iPhone is too difficult, a laptop is too awkward and restricting (can’t really roll over on your side).
Now the not-so-good:
- Though screen brightness can be changed on-the-fly as I mentioned, it’s still ultimately a backlit LCD display, which can create numerous problems. First there is the problem of glare. I’m not a fan of reading in the bright sun regardless (even in the shade), but for anyone who enjoys reading on the beach, this could be a problem. I had trouble with glare even trying to read on the bus with sunlight coming in the windows, or at home with my nightlamp on. I found it was easier to just turn my nightlamp off and use the glow of the iPad to read by. Tough to get used to at first, but I might be able to over time. Still, I spend a lot of time in front of a backlit monitor in the course of my job – do I really want to do this late at night in my leisure time?
- Though it’s much better as I said than an iPhone or a laptop, it’s still got some weight to it, making it maybe not ideal for leisure reading. Maybe again, something to just get used to.
- This is an odd one, but I wanted to note it. The iPad is COLD. I noticed it particularly the last couple nights since we’ve been having a freak May cold snap. It’s nice to cuddle up under the covers with a “dead tree” book on cold nights, but the iPad’s aluminum backing seems to such some of that warmth out of you. I suppose the coldness could be lessened with the right kind of cover, but then again, that would add to its weight.
Games: I installed the Words with Friends HD app (pretty much Scrabble) since I already had a couple of games going with friends on my iPhone and wanted to try it out. What a difference! This is a true strength of the iPad – as a gaming interface, it is superior to just about anything else. It’s large enough for a complicated game like Words with Friends to take place without a lot of zooming around, and it’s much more portable than a laptop. And the tiles are pretty close to real life Scrabble tiles! I like Words with friends because there is no time limit or pressure like there is in a real life game; you play at your leisure, when you have the time, and you are notified when your friends have made a move. Chess with Friends is another social game that works like this; I imagine the interface and gameplay is just as lovely there.
Other: I love to cook. So when I saw the Epicurious app for iPad, I was full of excitement! On the iPad it works much the same as on the iPhone – you search for seasonal recipes or by dish type or by whatever you have on hand. You can select many recipes, perhaps for a dinner party you are planning or just family menu planning for the week. You can add your recipes to your “shopping list” where the ingredients are compiled and organized by type (produce, dry goods, seasonings, etc.). Your list is presented as a checklist which you can check off beginning at home based on what you have in your kitchen. From there you have your complete shopping list! Since it’s organized by type, it’s very quick and easy to shop from. Then, when you are ready to prepare your meals, you can just set the iPad up on a stand in your kitchen and use the very lovely and easy-to-read recipe interface as your reference.
I took the iPad with my shopping list to Wegman’s over the weekend. Though it’s very nice and easy to shop with, ultimately it was awkward to lug around. Couldn’t exactly stick it in my pocket – I longed for my iPhone again for that purpose. Ideally, there would be a way for my iPad (I said “my iPad” again, uh oh) to communicate through Bluetooth with my iPhone, so that I could compile my shopping list at home and “beam” it to my iPhone to take with me. And vice versa, if I’m out shopping and see seasonal or sale items and find recipes using them through my iPhone Epicurous app, I could save them and “beam” them back to my iPad (said it again!) at home and work from it in my kitchen. In this sense I don’t see the iPad as a truly “mobile” device – I’d rather call it “highly portable” or something like that.
What do you think? Have you had a chance to work/play with the iPad yet?
