Sweet.
Except I just tried to upload a picture and no dice. No bueno.
So I asked the handy-dandy, highly-trained in all things iPad and he offered me a solution that will actually work for me.
Another minus is that punctuation is a bit annoying, as in properly getting words punctuated on this touch-screen keyboard.
But I could get used to it. And touch screen typing could still be much faster than writing (by hand).
The biggest purchase preventer for me right this very instant is the fact that I can't yet buy the camera adapter or the wall-plug adapter. They won't be available until "late April." What does that mean? Late April???? I leave April 22nd. Does that Mean April 21st or does it mean that if I buy this iPad now, I won't be able to plug it in and charge it, neither will I be able to upload photos to it??? It very well could mean just that. Which would render the (lovely) thing useless for the very purpose I want it for.
Blah.
Hmmm. I'll have to mull this over.
My inner Veruka Salt is screaming at me "JUST TAKE IT HOME NOOOOOOOOW!"
---
It's a few hours later and I've mulled it over. I didn't take home an iPad. Instead I purchased a sweet new lens for my camera and intend on taking the gosh-darned best photos you've ever seen of my upcoming trip. I'm pretty excited about it.
BUT, I will be purchasing an iPad. Maybe for my next trip, after the technology is all worked out and all of the applications and plugins that I could ever wish for are readily available. Sigh. I hate waiting. But Veruka will be locked back into her closet and it looks as though I'll be hand-writing my trip notes in a couple of weeks.
Christy!
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for an expensive toy just to hear your music, watch your movies and videos, surf the internet (one page at a time) or just read content... like you do it at this moment with your iphone, go for it! good toy.
If you're looking for something better, sronger, greater or for something that might give you more than your iphone, you'll be totally disappointed in the long run.
From IT guy to an Apple products fan... it all depends on "what" your needs are.
If you're looking for something that will give you "more" than an iphone while you travel or work remotely, to be honest (my personal opinion), at this early stage, iPAD can be considered an iFiasco. Just to mention a few early disadvantages:
- No Flash
- No Camera
- No USB ports
- No multitasking
- Just Wifi internet connection (might offer a little more with the future 3G model coming in May, but you'll still need to work on that additional service)
- Max 64GB of storage (this one will cost over $800)
Maybe "some" of these limitations will be solved with the "next" ipad generation, but you won't expect it to be out until next year, since they have to squeeze the market with this first version, just like they have been doing it with the iphone (the first iphone came out with lots of disadvantages in Jun 2007. A year later, they launched the iphone 3G. A year later, they launched the new iphone with a better and stronger O.S., and now... "to be announced in June", a new iphone with better camera, multitasking and new features).
I do believe that the new iphone will be such a better investment than an ipad at this moment.
Here are two good articles comparing iPad vs Netbooks:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mikebutcher/100004824/the-top-7-reasons-i-wont-be-getting-an-ipad/
http://www.pcworld.com/article/193352/ipad_vs_netbook_its_a_close_call.html?tk=twt_nm
Just curious, have you see the "WePad"?
http://www.neofonie.de/pdf/neofonie_Factsheet_WePad_english.pdf
Just sharing some thoughts :)
p.d.:
Check this video (funny one): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZHQ7hcdh9U
Luis!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your fantastic comment. I appreciate your careful analysis.
I've been through a very similar breakdown in my research with this product. Before the iPad was announced, I was ready to purchase a little netbook. I have a mac laptop and desktop for work, and an 1st G iPhone (which I'll be upgrading with the release of the 4G).
What I want the iPad for is it's lightweight portability (for backpack traveling), great battery life and internet connectivity. I just want something to travel with, to be able to type and publish content. (The iPhone is too tiny to write on properly.) I also want to be able to access the internet and watch movies. The iPad seems a reasonable answer to those needs. I'm not expecting a massively fast, power-laden animation computer from the iPad, just a convenient workaround.
I had some interesting conversations with the specialist at the apple store because publishing photo content is a bit trickier than it ought to be - the hard drive/photo directory is not accessible through a web browser on the iPad. But with MobileMe and other apps there should be sufficient workaround to this problem.
I can live without a huge hard drive because this will only be used on the road and thereafter synced with my main systems.
I had not seen the WePad - thank you! An interesting alternative.
I think you may be right about waiting for the 2nd gen iPad, it may be best to just wait and see what comes about for this product, or if it even "catches on" properly.
Thanks again!
You're right... I believe the two strongest advantages are:
ReplyDelete- Its lightweight portability
- Amazing battery timelife
I'm a huge fan of new technologies, and in fact, I DO believe it will get better and better. The tech world is moving (faster than people think) to these technologies. Obviously, Apple is kicking everyone else's butts on this one. In just "a very few" years, most of the new personal computers will be ipad "tablet style". You will see within the next 6 months how it will explode... you'll see that almost every single major It & computers companies (HP, Acer, Dell, Toshiba, etc, etc, etc.) will launch their own "ipad style" tablet pc.
I'm so into getting one of these new toys this year, but at this moment an ipad is the worst investment for me, due to my needs. An ipad wouldn't cover any of my needs, it would be 101% covered by a strong netbook. But!!!... I'm definitely getting a new iphone this year (just waiting to renew the contract).
So, I'll get some advise from you when I get it! ;)
Told ya!
ReplyDeletehttp://mashable.com/2010/04/05/hp-slate-videoconferencing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29
p.d.: Sorry about all the posts... hehehe!
Your posts have been very helpful! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteInteresting about that new tablet. I wonder if it will run Windows 7 or a mini OS, like the iPhone?
And when you're ready for an iPhone, I'm happy to help out! But really, you can't go wrong with it.
:)