Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
2
shane said 1:00PM on 2-21-2011
Great Article (and find) Mel.
The thing I think happens is chalked up to expectations. People that fully believe this could replace their computer/laptop are disappointed to find that it's not a replacement...it's a tablet and that means you will use it far more to consume than to create.
Surely we can use external keyboards, etc. but for the most part I think people need to understand where and how the iPad fits into their lives.
I recently read a great article by Kevin Tofel regarding the need to ditch the iPad in favor of the Tab which is smaller and more easy to make use of.
At the end of the day - it comes down to expectations and some are finding they just don't find good use for the iPad....
3
olorcain said 3:50PM on 2-21-2011
I think shane nailed it with the idea of consuming vs. creating. That's the crux of the matter.
I am a CS Major and most of my creating is done at my university's labs. The consuming is almost exclusively done through my iPad. I wake up to Nightstand on my iPad, scan all my textbooks into PDFs and use GoodReader ro view them instead of lugging around 10 extra punds a day, I keep up with RSS/twitter/FaceBook through FlipBoard, start a movie on NetFlix while I prepare dinner and then continue the film on my PS3 when eating, inevitably loading up IMDB on my iPad when I see that actor halfway through and just can't place where I know him from, I play games on the iPad while lying in bed and just before going to sleep put it back on it's stand with Nightstand running again to start the next day.
All of those things I used to do on my MBP, but in doing the same tasks I find the iPad experience much more rewarding. I love my iPad.
4
Rod said 12:56PM on 2-21-2011
I'll say it... I love my iPad. It really has changed the way that I use technology, both at home and while out and about. The web just feels easier to use on the iPad, and I enjoy it more. I will actually put my MBP down to use the iPad for web surfing. Of course it is great for games, Netflix, and any other media you have on your home network. I watch quite a bit of video on it. But the device transcends just these elements. I also use it to maintain my budget, create music, keep time logs, take notes, keep my GTD tasks in order, track projects, read books, make presentations to clients, and I could keep going on, but I'll spare you. So, all in all, I am very pleased with my $600 expenditure. Could it do more? Yep. Will it? I'm sure. I'll own one of these until I stop walking the Earth.
7
Sparks said 1:19PM on 2-21-2011
I read the poll as basically:
1) My iPad isn't useful to me at all, to my intense disappointment.
2) My iPad is less useful than I thought it would be.
3) No surprises, it works exactly as I expected.
4) My iPad is a bit more useful than I expected it would be.
5) MY iPAD IS MY BRAIN ZOMG CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT.Read it as expectation rather than overall usefulness, and what you're looking for is item 3. You're right that the poll could be better phrased, though!
8
TheCastro said 4:01PM on 2-21-2011
There should be a "My wife, kid, sibling, signifigant other or the bum that lives in my garage hi-jacked it from me and uses it all the time for everything, I barely see my baby anymore :(" option. Because that's basically what happened to mine.
The review though has the additional problem, dude owns a laptop syndrome.
For me it was buy an iPad instead of a laptop and it's been a great choice for that and to bring on road trips using the 3G to find places and keep from getting bored.
9
conlopez said 12:57PM on 2-21-2011
I think the telling stat as relates to me is that I have used it more and more the longer I have owned it (since day one). I like your description that it is an accessory computer.
I like reading, Twitter, email, Netflix and many many apps on the iPad.
When I have to do a lot of input, I use my Mac Air.
When I carry both of them they still don't weigh what a "real" laptop weighs, lol.
13
Murphy Mac said 3:01PM on 2-21-2011
Sold mine in anticipation of the refresh, about a month ago. Miss it more than I would have thought.
15
deviladv said 1:19PM on 2-21-2011
OMG a great salad spinner is wonderful! Sometimes shaking off your greens isn't enough, and you'd have to let it drip dry for a while which could take forever, especially in the humid northeast US. Wet lettuce makes your salads watery, and dilutes your salad dressings. You really only need a good hand spinner, nothing electronic, unless you are some kind of professional chef who cleans your own greens.
But if given the choice, I'd take an iPad over a salad spinner any way. ;)
16
henry said 1:23PM on 2-21-2011
At the price of an iPad, the salad spinner is a fairly sophisticated item. This would not be some mere plastic bowl with a crank, this would be computer controlled with fuzzy logic motor control to spin to the optimum humidity of that specific salad type (via the embedded sensor of course) without damaging a single fragile leaf.
17
chrisallen said 1:08PM on 2-21-2011
any review of the iPad from the stance of "notebook replacement" is flawed from the beginning. a tablet has its own strengths and weaknesses, as i think we've seen over this past year, so it bothers me that someone can get one this "late" in the game and not know why he is purchasing it. most of his gripes, again, are from the standpoint that his notebook can already do this function, so why do i need it?
it's like buying an iPod when you already have an iPhone, expecting the iPod to play music better than the phone does... "i can already listen to music on my iPhone, why would anyone need this iPod? did i just waste $169?" yes. you did. give it to me.
19
HTCMogul.Info said 1:20PM on 2-21-2011
I've been using my iPad for more and more since I have got it. I bought it around launch time, At that time there wasn't a ton of stuff that I used it for.
Now on 4.2, (And especially with gestures on 4.3 beta...) I have been using it so much more. I use it for email now that it has the unified inbox, Twitter, Kindle for reading books, Numbers for simple spreadsheets, Pulse for reading RSS feeds.
I also am starting to use it for content creation for my app development. iDraw lets me create vector graphics which I can import into illustrator later on. Verto Studio allows me to do some 3D modeling with it when I don't need all the features of blender. And it is great for browsing the web. Basically whenever I don't need the power of my MBP or need the portability of my iPhone I use my iPad.
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