For a few weeks I have used iPad for news consumption, daily tasks and fun. It is wonderful. And terrible. Here is why.
iPad is my first Apple product. As my laptop I have used PCs, while my smartphones have been Nokia at first and now the Android-based HTC Desire. Kindle has been my e-reading device of choice for books. And I have had a strong interest in all the new mobile platforms, especially when it comes to media content.
This summer I became the proud owner of an iPad. Working with digital strategy for Norway’s largest newspaper, Aftenposten, I had of course tested out iPad for a long time. But testing a device used by many colleagues is nothing near the experience of customizing it for your own personal use. Finally I had my own device that I could set up in exactly the way I wanted it for myself.
And my first discovery was just this: iPad is a personal device – and NOT a family device. Once you start purchasing many apps and customize the tablet with your accounts for mail, Facebook and Twitter it becomes very personal. Not that I have many secrets, but I soon found myself hesitating to let my family members use my iPad. The reason is very simple: Mail and an number of apps are very personal in nature.
+++ What do I love about iPad?
Convenient user situations. I just love how the iPad offers me convenience in consuming media and browsing the web. Yes, I can bring my laptop with me to the sofa if I like. But I just don’t want to. The laptop is too bulky and too much associated with work. The iPad, however, gives completely different associations. It is like reading a magazine: Comfortable, relaxing and efficient. Suddenly I find myself doing a lot of my web stuff in the sofa rather than at my desk. I love it.
Efficient cloud services. I love services in the cloud. They help me not to worry about where I store my stuff – and it is always available when I need it. A number of cloud services apps have made iPad a very convenient tool for me. Most important is Box.net. I syncronize all my work documents as well as important private files with Box.net – and now I have very easy access on my iPad. Need to read a report? Before I would print it out at work and bring it home to the sofa. Now I just pick it up on my Box.net app. Another very good cloud app is Kindle. I can now read my book four places: On my Kindle e-reader, on my PC, on my HTC Desire and on my iPad. And they all syncronize smoothly! For this reason alone I haven’t even considered using Apples iBooks app for reading books.
Touching the news. I love not having to use the mouse when navigating. Touching the news is a wonderful experience and a very easy way to move around. In many ways I feel it brings me closer to the content.
Rich media experiences. I love how iPad offers much richer media experiences than any other platform I use. In my opinion using iPad to consume news works just great. Unfortunately most media apps are still first generation, but I am convinced that is about to change very quickly. Already I find it a much nicer way to read news that the typical web experience. The display of photo and videos is just great!
Efficient and portable. I love how iPad gets started in a couple of seconds after you push the on-button. Compare that to my one-minute-to-start laptop and it becomes amazingly convenient. Suddenly I can check stuff in a few seconds without having to wait for ages. That the iPad is small enough to be truly portable adds to this experience.
Extremely useful. I love how iPad can be used to solve so many problems. There is always an app for what I need done and there seems to be no limitations of creativity among the thousands of app developers out there. Sure, many of the apps are crap. But there are also numerous apps that are really useful and which help me do my stuff in an extremely easy way. And since it is so easy to pay, I keep buying new apps.
— What do I hate about iPad?
Lack of multitasking. I keep getting irritated of all the times I am being thrown out of a task and have to backtrack through the start page. Take downloading apps, for instance. The procedure itself is simple, but once I click download I am being sent back to the start screen and I have to click on the app store tab once more to get another app. Back and forth. Back and forth. Why? I just don’t get it. The same goes if I read my mail and click on a link to an interesting article. Safari (an inferior browser) opens – and I have to go via the home screen to get back to my mail. I guess I have been spoiled by my Android smartphone which is so much more user friendly in this regard. Why not make it simple, Apple?
Wrong display of Powerpoint. I use iPad a lot for work. As for millions of users out there, most of my work documents are in Microsoft formats. Not only do I want to read them, but I also need to make changes. But I keep getting into trouble doing this. Graphs in my Powerpoint files frequently get distorted and even working on the Word documents takes some effort to figure out how. Given the popularity of Powerpoint this is quite a surprise. Why not make it simple, Apple?
No Flash. iPad is great for browsing. I enjoy sitting in the sofa and flip through web pages. But one big hurdle restraints my use: The lack of Flash support. I keep visiting web pages where I cannot do what I want to do. My 14 year son put it very clearly when I asked why he was not more eager to user my iPad: “Isn’t that obvious, dad? It has no Flash! I cannot watch the videos on my skate sites”. Again: Why not make it simple, Apple?
Useless in the sunshine. I have tried to bring my iPad out in the garden. It is just not a pleasant experience. It becomes very difficult to read at all and if there is any sunshine at all the iPad only works as a mirror. Reading books on the beach? Forget iPad! Use Kindle instead!
Too heavy. The weight takes away a number of user situations. One typical example: I like to read holding my book in one hand and a coffee cup in another. But holding the iPad in one hand only soon turns into a weighlifting exercise.
Cannot syncronize. Yes, I know most people have no trouble syncronizing their iPad with iTunes. Yet I am among the users who have been unable to syncronize my iPad to my PC. Each time I try I am being asked to authorize the computer. I do so and iTunes responds that the computer is already authorized. Yet when i continue, I am being asked to authorize again. And so it goes in an eternal loop. Many have described the problem in support forums, yet there doesn’t seem to be a clear answer from Apple. And I keep wondering why I have to syncronize in this way. Why not do it in the cloud as with services like Box.net and Dropbox.com? Why not make it simple, Apple?
