Apple sold 7.33 million iPads in the fourth quarter of 2010. One of them was mine. Yes, I, like untold numbers of other people across the world, became a new iPad owner this past December 25. (And promptly saw the approach of the Blizzard of 2010 on its Weather Channel app, but that's another story).
So, I'm sure the big question you have – at least if you're among the iPad-uninitiated – is, "Does it live up to the hype?" Well, I've had about a month to play around with it now, and I can tell you it has a lot to offer the progeek on the go.
The iPad has been described as an iPhone on steroids, and I'd say that's a pretty apt description. It has the same app-based interface, plus it stores all your music and videos from your iPod. (The speakers aren't bad, either, for a mobile device).
Operation is a snap. You push the home button at the bottom to wake it up (the button is rumored to be disappearing in version 2.0, by the way), swipe your finger to unlock you screen, and your apps are laid out before you like an electronic buffet. More finger swipes help you scroll through different pages of apps (and, believe me, you WILL accumulate pages and pages of apps VERY quickly). Tap what you want to use, it pops right up. All very simple, clean and efficient – just what you'd expect from an Apple product. (Plus, that instant boot-up is a huge plus when you just want to run a quick check on the weekend weather and don't feel like dragging out a laptop, turning it on, waiting for it to boot, looking up your info and then turning it off again.)
And, as the commercial says, there's apps available for just about anything. Yes, there's Angry Birds. (I've held out. So far.) But there's also apps that help you choose a wine, book movie tickets, read recommendations on local businesses, and even learn Japanese. While there's no version of Word for iPad – and Microsoft says there's not going to be in the foreseeable future – there is a paid app called Pages that does allow you to read and edit .doc files. (Keep in mind that a lot of the apps out there are still primarily designed for the iPhone, and they show up on the iPad screen as a tiny rectangle in the middle. Before you download, check if the app is optimized for the iPad.)
The best download I've found yet, by the way, is Amazon's free Kindle app. You can hook your Amazon account to it and download books – you can even "loan" them to friends who have standalone Kindles or Kindle-equipped iPads. (Nook and Kobo have their own apps available too, by the way).
When you want to Web surf, the iPad has a built-in version of Safari – and there aren't very many other alternatives so far. Would love to see Firefox for iPad, though Chrome probably won't be showing up there – Google has its own tablet OS, after all. However, Safari gets the job done – although it is hampered a bit by Apple's epic war with Flash.
YouTube, however, isn't hampered at all – it's its own app, and the streaming video quality is superb. Creators of media should definitely keep streaming to these screens in mind while creating their content. (Netflix is available for the iPad – but then again, Netflix is available for everything but your electric toothbrush).
Typing on the screen does take some getting used to – tap on an area where you want to type, such as a reply window on LiveJournal, and a keyboard pops into view, filling half your screen. You then hunt-and-peck what you want to say. If you'd rather go full QWERTY, several wireless keyboards are available that allow for traditional touch typing.
The main thing the iPad has to offer the progeek on the go? Ultimate portability. It's big enough so you can see its screen clearly, yet small enough so you can just slip it into your carry-on at the airport – no having to lug along a separate laptop bag (a big plus for women frustrated by those "you can only take one carry-on and one personal item, and, yes, ladies, that personal item is your purse" rules).
In short, the iPad is a valuable tool for the progeek, and also something software designers will definitely want to work with. So, worth the hype? Oh, yes.
- Bonnie Walling