My Initial Impressions of the iPad
So, thanks to a combination of pure blind luck and a massive helping
of generosity, I am now an iPad user. Now, I'm an Android fanboy (I
run and write for ZADroid), so the reality distortion field that
makes your average Apple consumer tear up at the sight of anything
with a half-eaten fruit on it doesn't really apply to me.
not, but it may be more objective than what someone with a cupboard
full of empty boxes from Apple can give you. "What about the Galaxy
Tab?!" I hear you scream? Well, it's way too expensive, and in my
opinion, Android isn't quite ready yet to power a tablet. We'll see
once I get to review one. For now, though, I have an iPad, so I may
just as well use it. I've been using the iPad for about a week now, and I must admit, it's
quite handy. Apple's hardware has always been a notch up from anything
else on the market, and the iPad is pretty solid, and pretty nice to
look at. I don't like the shiny glass screen and the fact that it is
one of the worst fingerprint magnets I've ever seen. I think that it's
too heavy. The screen is gorgeous, bright and vivid, and very
responsive. This is perfect for consuming things with bright colours,
like movies and photos, but I find that trying to read a novel tires
my eyes faster than I expected. So, I'll probably acquire a Kindle
soon for that purpose. I also think that a front-facing camera
couldn't hurt, but hey, that's planned obsolescence for you. Oh, and
the battery life is astonishing. Software-wise, I'm at both ends of the spectrum. As someone that is
passionate about UX and user interface design, I've always appreciated
the (mostly) consistent nature of iOS. It's also the first platform
where you'll see new, sometimes brave, but intuitive, user interaction
design. So, there's that side of the coin. The keyboard is much better
than I expected it to be, too. On the other side, I find iOS clunky to
use. Way too many taps to get somewhere simple in a lot of cases, and
no hard back button, makes for a frustrating experience. Example? The
arse-backwards way of attaching photos to an email. The notification
system sucks. It has been said before, but needs repeating, because it
sucks so hard. No multitasking. Not much more I can say about that.
Sure, the update in November will add multitasking the table, but we
all know this isn't real multitasking. We'll see. iTunes for SA. I'm
sorry, but I don't feel like jumping through all those hoops that'll
get me a (T&C violating) US account. So, yes, I'm satisfied with the
content South Africans can access. No games, movies or music, but I'm
not much of a gamer, and there are ways around the other issue. So, all in all? I like it. It has its shortcomings, but show me a
modern piece of technology that doesn't. I don't see it as essential,
and I wouldn't spend my own money on it (maybe when the third
generation arrives I may feel differently about that). That being
said, I have found a place for it. I do find myself using the iPad
instead of my netbook for quite a few things. To me, it's all about
consumption, which is something the iPad caters for exceptionally
well. When I need to do something that requires a bit more complexity
than the iPad can handle, I pick up my Android phone, or head on over
to my desktop. Does the iPad replace an existing piece of technology?
No, but it does seem to fill a niche I didn't realize existed.
5 comments
I played with an iPad this week for the first time and I was surprisingly underwhelmed by it. It's not that I didn't like it, I just expected to like it more (being the Apple user).
On multitasking: Although Apple's take on multitasking isn't TRUE multitasking, I have to say that after many hours of use on the iPhone, it really is good enough. It's been implemented well enough (and adopted well enough as well) so that the casual observer probably won't tell the difference. It is already invaluable to me and I really miss it when I use my older iPod Touch that doesn't have this functionality.
Nevertheless, it's a fair review and just strengthens my view that Android fanboys are the fairer of the two extremes.
1. Multitasking is not realtime or true multitasking? What do you mean by that?
2. The hard back button is exactly what annoys me about an android phone. It's unnecessary.
Otherwise you're spot on.
I have to disagree on the back button, though. I find it more intuitive to stretch my thumb out slightly and press a button than having to change the position of my hand to the the top left corner of the screen to tap a soft button. It's a minor personal preference thing, though.
If you are interested in how things work, check out the "Multitasking" section on this Ars Technica article: http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2010/06/ars-reviews-ios-4-whats-new-and-...
"...iOS multitasking isn't really multitasking in the traditional sense—it's certainly not what you get on a desktop computer, or even what you get from Apple's own iPhone apps. Apple claims that it only allows for certain functionality so that the OS can continue to preserve battery life and performance in a sane manner. So, what exactly can you do with this new feature? Really, the answer isn't so much that apps will be "multitasking," but rather that they'll be "doing a few things in the background": Audio, VoIP, Location, Local Notifications, Completing Tasks, and Fast App Switching" - and, "...Apple basically freezes all their processes in the background unless they're performing one of the aforementioned kosher functions..."
