Now that I’ve had an iPad 2
Back on March 17th I finally pulled the trigger and ordered the 3G 16GB iPad 2 from my local AT&T store. On March 17 the projected wait time before the device shipped was 4-5 weeks. Lucky for me, the iPad 2 arrived in less than two weeks from the purchase date. Definitely a case of under promising, and over performing; one of the rare times that AT&T had made me very happy.
1. Why Not Buy a Xoom, or Galaxy Tab, Instead of an iPad 2?
I should preface this review with the fact that I have never tried any of the competing tablets nor have I even considered buying them. With the enormity of Apple’s app store, I don’t see how, even with superior hardware, a competitor is going to capture my business…well, I guess there might be a “killer app” that might come along and do exactly that, but I haven’t seen it yet.
Software is what drives me to buy hardware, not the other way around. I currently have an i7 desktop with 6GB of RAM so that I can render quickly in 3ds Max, and work with large images in Photoshop and Painter. I bought a Mac Mini in 2008 so that I could code in Xcode for the iPhone. I don’t have either of those pieces of hardware just because they are powerful (in the case of the i7) or small and quiet (in the case of the mac mini). The software that the computers are capable of running is the only reason I would buy either of those two boxes.
For me, software drives hardware purchases. Whenever I’ve bought hardware for the sake of owning cool hardware, I have seen that hardware collect copious amounts of dust. Witness my Wii, which hasn’t been turned on in months, and pouts in a blanket of dust. Next, check out the PS3. I bought this thing because my DVD player died and I convinced myself that I might as well get a Blu-Ray Player , and since I was getting a Blu-Ray Player I might as well get one that was attached to a game system. I’m sure you know how this line of logic goes; we’ve all done it, and it always involves spending more money than one needs to.
Anyways, I did use the PS3 during my rock band phase, but for the most part this machine is for watching Netflix. The problem with the PS3, however, is that every once in a while I try to watch Netflix and I end up having to download and install an update which seems to have the effect that after the system or software update has completed I have to retype the user name and password for the Netflix account. Sure it sounds trivial, but when you sit down with a meal and want to watch an episode of “Arrested Development” only to be greeted with an ultimatum to update the system, it becomes highly annoying. You’ve typically finished your meal by the time the system has updated. If I didn’t have all those RockBand accessories, I would have sold the PS3 by now.
So, in a long winded way, all I’m trying to say is “I like the software that is available for the iPad”.
2. The iPad 2 Hardware
My first impression was that the iPad 2 is very thin and has a gorgeous screen. My second impression was that the iPad 2 is still pretty heavy.
As strange as it sounds, the iPad should not get any thinner unless Apple make it lighter. I don’t have particularly large hands, but holding the screen with one hand, unsupported would eventually give me a hand cramp; holding something with a little more girth would probably be more comfortable **insert joke here**. You’ve really got to place this tablet on your lap or a pillow to use it for an extended period of time. I hadn’t really thought through the ergonomics of a tablet before buying it, and found it to be not as comfortable to use as I had expected.
The iPad 2 desperately needs to get lighter if one is to hold it as comfortably as a magazine or a book. It would be great to hold this with one hand, lying on my back in bed like I would with a book. Unfortunately the heft of the device makes this situation implausible. Besides the issue of hand fatigue, if you dropped it on your face, you’d be likely cause some damage. **I’ve got a really pretty face, and I can’t have that.**
On the positive side, the screen is gorgeous. I can see why the resolution wasn’t improved in this iteration of the product; the screen looks great. This is actually the first glossy screened computer I’ve owned, not counting my iPhone 3gs. I don’t care for highly reflective screens, but so far I haven’t found it problematic. I should point out that I haven’t tried to use the iPad outdoors. I would imagine it would suffer as much as the iPhone does on a bright sunny day.
As far as the performance boost of this iteration versus the last, I have no way to gauge the improvement. I don’t own the previous model, or know anyone who does. What I can say is that I haven’t seen lag with any of the apps I’ve used so far.
3. The Apps
The most used app on my iPad 2 thus far is the Timer Warner Cable app. It allows me use of my iPad as a television in my office (where there is no television). The channel selection on the app is limited, but I usually only watch CNN, or HLN when I want some background noise, and both of those channels are featured in the app.
The second most used apps on my iPad are the Kindle app and Flipboard app. Both of these apps are for reading; Kindle is for reading books (as I’m sure you can imagine), while Flipboard is used to aggregate news and social media into a really slick interface. Flipboard is really a very nice experience which is hard to describe (at least for me); you’d be better served by checking it out yourself.
Another app I use to create background noise is Stitcher. Stitcher is an app which streams podcasts, so that you don’t have download and store them on itunes.
For games, I have been playing Death Rally, and Reckless Racing. Both are top down off road racers with impressive graphics. Where they are differentiated is that Death Rally has a heavy emphasis on out gunning your fellow racers whereas Reckless Racing focuses on out cornering your opponents. Both are equally fun, though I find Reckless Racing to be more challenging, especially when you’ve maxed out your guns and armor in Death Rally.
With regard to content creation, I have really enjoyed using an app called Blueprint. Blueprint is an app which is used to design mock ups (a.k.a wireframes) for iphone and ipad apps you wish to develop. I had originally been looking for a tool to do make mock ups on the desktop, but found the prices a bit high, ranging from $40 to $80. The only reason I considered Blueprint was that it was only $15 (apparently on sale from $20). I’d still prefer to use something like Blueprint on a desktop, but the app is about as perfect as you could expect on the iPad. It is also worth mentioning that the dropbox integration built into the app is brilliant. If you are an iOS developer this is the killer app for your iPad.
4. Should You Buy an iPad 2?
Right now the iPad 2 is primarily a toy to me. There are some apps which make it a useful tool, but for the things that I do, a laptop will always be the preferable way to go about those tasks. I would have been better off buying a MacBook Air if I had wanted something that was ultra portable and still capable of content creation. This is not to say it isn’t an awesome toy! I have really enjoyed my iPad and use it everyday. I’m just saying, it’s a toy … a really fun toy which you shouldn’t expect to run Xcode on.
Should you buy and iPad 2? If you want a fun toy that can occasionally be useful, I would buy one; I’m really enjoying mine. If you expect to use your iPad as a ultra portable business tool or a content creation tool, I would opt for MacBook Air.
