New iPad 2

I finally broke down and bought that new iPad I've been eying up for a while now. I haven't been wanting one for too long, but a tablet device has always been interesting to look at, and now with Steve Jobs gone, I thought I'd snatch up one of his last remaining creations before we're bombarded with so many cheap knockoffs that don't work nearly as well. I read some reviews and debated in my mind if I should get this, or save up for a laptop or a netbook. I had come across a couple iPads in person, and after playing with them for a while, I decided it would be best to get the iPad instead.

So, what is so good about an iPad over a laptop? And what is so good about an iPad instead of any of the other tablets out there? Well for one thing the iPad is a very well built device - it has a large display and works very well for viewing content. It was made by Apple, so I know it will be reliable and high quality. One thing I enjoy doing on a tablet vs a laptop is reading books, magazines, news articles, and browsing the web. The touch display makes it easy to scroll through, click links, and view information. Today's technology does this seamlessly. I also enjoy how the iPad 2 is very portable compared to a normal full-sized laptop.

Now, I do need to admit there is not a keyboard, which is annoying - especially when I can still browse to all the sites (such as this blog) and not being able to type as I would like. The on-screen keyboard doesn't have the same key layout or size, so it takes longer to get to the characters I often use. I feel with the display, while good for viewing content, is very small when the keyboard is up. I also feel the display is too small for some applications built for the iPad 2. For example, I bought the GarageBand application, and while the drums are easy to beat on and make noise, the keyboard instrument is very small for the fingers. Clicking and dragging items is also hard to do without a mouse.

Social media on the other hand - it is very easy to do with the iPad. In just a few taps I can share a video or picture from the iPad to Facebook. I can enter status updates and view other articles or picture people have on their wall seamlessly. I also enjoy how the iPad does one task at a time, but remembers where you just were, so you don't have to keep toggling between windows or keep several applications open. For example: if you click on a link, the web browser opens full screen to display that article. If you close the browser and click the Facebook app again, you'll be right where you left off. This is done almost instantly without having to wait for the program to load again.

The camera on the iPad is crappy, but much nicer than not having a camera. My old iPod touch didn't have a camera, or a microphone, or all this processing power and battery life - and I still thought that thing was cool. You can imagine how much nicer the iPad feels to me. I also like how easy it is to play games such as Angry Birds on the larger display. One thing I didn't like is how iPod/iPhone apps have to be stretched out on the iPad to fill the screen and lose that crisp resolution, but still very playable. Everything that the iPod/iPhone had on it is much bigger and easier to browse on the iPad - such as the app store and the iTunes store.

The iPad was not meant to create a lot of content, but more to view content. This I am OK with, as i do enjoy all that can be done with a touch screen and enough room and processing power. I can't imagine a better tablet or a better use for touch screen technology. This device syncs up with all the photos, documents, music, and such on my home PC and really feels like a good accessory to have around. Would I trade it for a laptop? Nope. Not even a nice laptop. Would I like it to have a keyboard? Maybe, but then again if I did, that would take away some of the novelty of it being a tablet and ruin the sleek form factor and portability.

One thing I am really using the iPad for a lot these days is reading books. I thought it would be difficult for a book to get my attention on a device that also had games and movies and music available - but something about having a nice page of simple, clean text in front of me is very appealing. I like the feeling that the iPad can be use for a number of purposes, and it doesn't do just one thing. I can tweak it to be whatever kind of device I want. I can do something as simple as read a book, or I can be doing something as complex as making a music video to share with someone halfway around the world. This is an exciting time we're living in - where we can combine the simplicity of everyday life with the complexities of technology and make it work for us and not us having to work for it.