iPad on Eaarth
Saturday, May 8th, 2010
I knew it was just a matter of time before I bought an iPad although I thought it would be a bit more time, like maybe a year so I could get version two.
At the same time that I’ve learned about the technical intricacies of computers I’ve gotten the most out of them when I know them well enough so the technical stuff falls into the background and I’m left just doing the task at hand, which, for me has mostly been writing and/or communicating.
How long it takes a person to learn this stuff well enough for it to fall into the background (different for each person) is the key to whether they’ll stick with it long enough for it to fall into the background… I know many people to this day who’ve been using computers for years yet still struggle with the simplest tasks (this is true in both the Windows and Macintosh worlds).
It’s doubtful that the iPad was conceived for these people but my guess is it’s what at least some of them have always wanted in a tool.
In my early days it was Apple IIe/AppleWriter, IBM PC/WordStar, the Radio Shack model 100, Macintosh/MacWrite, the AlphaSmart keyboard and a few others and lately I’ve been struggling to use my iPhone as a writing tool. I knew the iPad was going to be a sweet spot in this quest for the tool to elegantly fall into the background and now that I’ve had it for a week I can say I was right.
The Macintosh SE/30 felt right: it was the original small Macintosh box with enough power so that people who knew how to use a Mac could work fast without the machine getting in the way. The iPad is like that: the speed of the thing feels right: the design and power under the hood makes using it feel more natural. Apps launch and the screen rotates at speeds that seem right, not too slow, not too fast, just right. And the iPhone OS is simple, clean, and varnished so it’s difficult to get lost under the hood because there is no hood.
I was concerned that looking at my images on the iPad’s glossy screen might not be a great experience (I’m not a fan of glossy screens for everyday computing) but in all honesty, the images look fantastic. Part of it is that they’re backlit as they would be on any computer screen but part of it is the ergonomics of the iPad: holding the image in your hand (like holding the web in your hand as Jobs said) is very different from seeing the same image on a MacBook’s similar glossy screen. It’s a very odd observation but after hours of looking at images on both my wife’s MacBook glossy screen and the similar iPad screen I like the iPad experience better. I can’t explain it.
The iPad’s built in apps for writing, email, calendar, contacts, and more are spectacular. I’m quite sure that these things and maybe even the entire iPhone OS will migrate to an Apple “computer” at some point or, the line between “computer” and “pad” will be blurred even more.
And this leads me to the one thing that I’d like to see as an improvement. I’m a touch typist: I can type quite fast using all of my fingers with eyes on the screen. The iPad on-screen keyboard, while much better than the iPhone’s is still, an iPhone keyboard with awkward shift key sequences and smaller size which makes touch typing difficult. Yes, one can get the keyboard dock or connect any bluetooth keyboard but that’s not what I want because it’s not attached and one can’t prop the combined thing on one’s lap.
What I want is a hybrid of the iPad and the MacBook Air. Call it Apple’s netbook or whatever you like, but I want a full hardware keyboard attached to the iPad with the option of detaching it at any time. I find holding the iPad for any length of time tiresome I don’t particularly like typing with it on my lap or on a table; being able to rest it on its keyboard, like one can a MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro would be a nice advantage. And, you’d lose the trackpad of course as you’d have a multi-touch screen.
That’s my only wish so far.
Frankly, I’ve not been able to use the iPad much because the second day it was here my wife Anne got ahold of it and downloaded a book (Eaarth) she has to read for school for next year to try out reading on the iPad. As an avid reader she was skeptical of both Kindle and iPad for serious reading but so far she seems to like it and I may not get it back for a while which is fine by me: ammunition for buying another one.
The fact that my wife could pick the iPad up and in less than a minute buy and download a book and start reading is what the iPad is all about. She’s not an unsophisticated computer user but she’d never used an iPad before. As I said, the device falls into the background more quickly than any other computing device I’ve ever used. It feels like 1984 (birth of the Mac) all over again.
Richard – check this out:
http://www.macrumors.com/2010/05/06/clamcase-laptop-like-shell-for-the-ipad/
Interesting Chet… I think I’ll wait for an Apple-designed solution in a future model (hopefully).
Chet: I misspoke, the iPad coupled with the Apple Camera Connection Kit will take any USB keyboard, like a Neo. I’m ordering a Camera Connection Kit right now!
Cheers from cloudy Eugene! I’m using an Apple Bluetooth keyboard and it works great. Richard, it’s a bit nonstandard but you might consider Hackintoshing a Dell Mini 9. I have one (2GB/32GB) and it’s a great little machine for traveling. The driver install is very good and everything works including the webcam and trackpad shortcuts.
Like you, I’m not sure my iPad will replace the (my) net book but it is the best reader I’ve ever used. I’m happy to send photos and instructions in you’re interested in a Dell Mini solution.
Hey Dennis, great to see you here. I think I’m going to be using both an old AlphaSmart Neo keyboard via the iPad Camera connection kit (USB) and eventually will buy an Apple wireless keyboard if/when I get a monitor for this MacBook Pro and that keyboard will do double duty by traveling with the iPad.
Thanks for the tip on the Dell Mini.
Richard
I’m interested in the iPad again! Its form factor had made me thinking about the possibility of using it on the road with the Neo as the keyboard, and thus leaving the netbook at home. But since it didn’t “talk” to the Neo, I have been looking at, and waiting for, the competition. Now, I’m considering the iPad again, but probably the second generation. In any case, there’s no news when it’ll be officially available in Malaysia. “Officially” because it is already available here, at approximately US$300/- above the RRP.
I await your review of the iPad + Neo (via Camera Connection Kit).
Chet: I’ll let you know when I get the kit and get it hooked up but it will be a while, the kit is back ordered. Stay tuned.
Richard so exiting you got one. So the big question is next time you go to LA will you only take your ipad???
No Edward, I’ll take both my MacBook Pro and the iPad. The question is, will I use the iPad on the plane? Probably although I like to carry DVDs and watch them on this computer so the iPad isn’t useful for that unless I rip the movies. Plus, I prefer this “real” keyboard for serious typing.
Now, a MacBook Air with an iPhone/iPad OS… that’s something I’d bite on fast.
Cheers Richard! I’ve been an avid jailbreaker since the iPhone first came out. Despite Apple’s efforts to deem jailbreaking illegal, I’m siding with the EFF and think it’s reasonable to modify an OS to make it more functional. If the courts rule with Apple, I’ll stop being bad.
Please check out some of the features demonstrated in this article: http://bit.ly/92ZgAJ
I think you (and others) will find many of the added features worthwhile and consistent with the holy grail of a MacBook Air with a touch screen. And if you hate being jailbroken, it’s about a five-minute process to restore your iPad to factory settings.
Questions? Comments? Flames? Let me know!
Dennis: This is very cool, thanks for the link. Given that I’ve only had the iPad for less than a week and have used it very little given that my wife is reading a book on it, doing anything to it beyond basic use is beyond me at the moment.
However, if I’m going to use it as a partial replacement for this computer, I’m going to want a real keyboard on it and given what I just posted about holding things on my lap (which I continue to do as I write this) I’d prefer something attached, not loosely docked.
The fact that I’ve not read a lot about this need from others on the web means to me that not all that many people touch type. If they did, I can’t imagine they’d feel differently.
As I remember, you touch type too so my guess is you’re comfortable with your iPad propped up on something. That means that sitting in a comfortable chair and touch typing might prove difficult.
As Chet posted above, the http://clamcase.com/ looks close to what I want. I just want it from Apple so it’s less an afterthought.
Hi Richard
One of the guys on the Flickr AlphaSmart group has reported success using his iPad with the Neo and posted a picture here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/67161163@N00/4607501680/
Thanks Chet, blogged and credited.
He posted a video, too:
http://vimeo.com/11754480