Is an iPad worth your money?

Aquí puedes leer este post en Español…

Be warned: this post has a clear clear fanboy tint; so… don’t say I didn’t warned you!

Yesterday a friend sent me a message through Facebook, he said:

“Dear uncle Frank…. I want your opinion….. wanna get me an iPad as a birthday gift…. so I’d like to know if it’s useful or is just for showing off!!!! hahaha. Really…. tell me ‘cos I’m willing to listen your advice!”

My choice was getting a 16Gb WiFi iPad, there’s no need to go for the 3G: my daily routine carries me from one WiFi spot to another; when I’m on the move my iPhone keeps me online, all the time, anywhere. So far, WiFi only with 16Gb is more than enough for me.

Well, this is my experience with the apparatus:

Uses:

• Browsing the web: just awesomely perfect. 98% of the web renders great in Safari. I do not yearn for Flash.
• e-mail: for reading is ideal, for writing short to medium answers too.
• Reading: depends, on the document and the software chosen for the task, Instapaper and Goodreader are great apps! no problems with screen brightness… both applications allow to dim it so you can adapt to most illumination conditions.
• Listening to music / podcasts: While reading, painting, browsing, writing, etc. depends on what I’m doing.
• Painting: lots of doodling in Brushes, nothing too professional…
• Games: I’m hooked!!!
• Video: yup, full movies, some episodes of my most-liked series, video podcasts (mostly) and of course Youtube is GREAT.
• Self management: Calendar + To do lists app + Diary app + Mail
• Social: doing Facebook and Twitter is smooth, web based through Safari or any app.
• Photos: my iMac’s hard disk is replete with images I’d like to check (no time?), now the iPad is replete too…! only that now, while laying anywhere (yes time?), the images are seen, analyzed, mailed, deleted, etc.
• Newsreading: news are ok, depends of the App, Google’s Reader is Ok, also is Pulse or other RSS reader, there’s aplenty of them.
• Mapping: I don’t do this much, but when used, Google Maps/Streetview works beautifully well.

Not using it for:

• Writing: without a physical keyboard for medium to long texts there’s no use, and no, the dock+keyboard won’t help me do that.
• Designing: except doodling and sketching, the work is always done in a computer… for me: the paper/pen combo has clear preference.
• Working: it is not the platform for doing my own work, I require a big screen, mouse, keyboard and many programs working at one, this can’t happen on the iPad.
• High-end gaming: does World of Warcraft tell ya sumthin’ ?
• Downloads: handling  important amounts of data require more capacity and sometimes more horsepower.
• Reading, in transit: would be really awkward standing in a crowd with an ipad in my hand. Fancy a paper book!
• Showing off: well, just a bit…

That’s it, the usage given to the iPad largely depends on my own lifestyle: at work, street or home; frequently it comes in somewhat long spans of time: where my attention is in only one task and I’m usually relaxed… This is opposed to my mobile state of scudding from one location to another: my mind is switching between many tasks at many levels, therefore the use of a comparable technology is made in small bursts.

“…the iPad is not a laptop. It’s not nearly as good for creating stuff. On the other hand, it’s infinitely more convenient for consuming it — books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on. For most people, manipulating these digital materials directly by touching them is a completely new experience — and a deeply satisfying one.” David Pogue, NYT

Satisfied with the Machina? … Me!? Indeed!

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