iPad Impressions (Hands-On Version)
I really want to write a full iPad review for this week’s Kibbles & Bytes. But I have to be honest—my thoughts are biased in favor of “I love it! It’s amazing! This is both a new kind of computing and the future of computing!”
I’ve yet to see someone who isn’t impressed with iPad when they start using it—even the dyed-in-the-wool iPad doubters and Apple haters. It’s a simple and very, very well-built device. It feels solid in the hand, like it will last a long time.
And I will emphatically say that iPad isn’t just a “big iPod touch,” because now iPod touch seems more like “just a small iPad.” And it’s excellent to be able to use certain touch-based apps on a larger screen.
I admit that iPad seems to be made just for me, as I have long desired an affordable handheld digital reader that can access the Internet at any time. I’m a reading junkie. There is a lot of web-based content and content wrapped in PDFs that I’d like to read, but simply don’t enjoy reading on my computer. I’m in front of a traditional computer enough. iPad puts that content into my hands. For me, it’s far more comfortable to read a handheld device with traditional font sizes than text from a computer. So far, iPad helps me focus more on the content I’m reading— with better information retention—than reading on a regular Mac.
But iPad obviously offers much more than an easy and enjoyable way to read digital material. It’s a blob of digital clay. As many have said, make of it what you will.
Finally, one of the most interesting things about iPad is how it raises existential questions about technology in a certain group of reviewers. iPad leads people down a path of questioning from “Who is this device for? and “How can I use it?” to “Do I really need or want more technology in my life? If so, why?”
Here are some new iPad reviews that are thought-provoking and cover all the bases:
TidBITS: Why the iPad Is a Blank Slate, and Why That’s Important.
Daringfireball.net: The iPad.
Arstechnica.com: Full Review.
New York Times: The iPad in the Eyes of the Digerati.