iTouch’d the iPad

So I finally got my hands on an iPad (thanks Pops!) and played with it for about an hour. My initial impression was very positive… it IS sexy. I am continually impressed by Apple’s design capability, not only from an aesthetic standpoint, but from a materials standpoint as well. And frankly, Jonathan Ive has reached some kind of design godlike status in my opinion.

It didn’t take very long, however, for me to realize that there are some drawbacks to the iPad that would prevent me from rushing out and buying one myself. (Note to friends: if you want to buy me one as a GIFT, I certainly wouldn’t turn it down ).

First, while the iPad is relatively light and small (compared to notebooks or netbooks), it is still heavy enough to be awkward to hold in a certain position for any length of time. I began reading a book and noticed that I couldn’t finish a single page before I was shifting the iPad around in my hands trying to find a comfortable angle to read. It is heavy enough that after 10-15 minutes of reading, it becomes a little uncomfortable to hold like you would hold a paperback book or a magazine (out in front of you, not supported by any inanimate object). I mentioned this to my dad and he agreed – in fact, he mentioned that even though he had downloaded the Kindle app for his iPad, he quickly went back to (and prefers) reading books on his Kindle. He said the Kindle is not only lighter, but the Kindle screen is actually easier to read (no glare from lights overhead) than the glossy iPad screen.

I checked out several magazines on the iPad, and even though the photo/video presentations were pretty cool, actually reading the stories wasn’t that great. I would much rather read those same magazines in their print format when I am focused on the actual story – which creates an interesting conundrum: the presentation of slides, animation, and video makes a magazine on an iPad attractive, however, the larger format for photos and the better readability of the text (IMHO) makes a print magazine more attractive.

I also spent some time on YouTube, and was disappointed to realize that most of the videos on YouTube, even ones that are marked as HD, looked very blurry and pixelated on the iPad. I’m sure this will improve over time as more and more videos are shot in HD, and wireless bandwidth increases to accommodate the quick streaming of these larger file sizes. Until then, and this surprised me, I’d rather watch most YouTube videos on my iPhone in the smaller format, than on the iPad.

I checked out Twitter next. While I could view more tweets on the iPad than I can on my iPhone, I realized that it is impossible to both hold the iPad AND type a tweet at the same time with a single hand. I love the fact that I can tweet with one hand on my iPhone. And, similar to the problem with reading a book, I noticed that I hadn’t spent much time on Twitter before I had set the iPad down on my lap and was craning my next and/or elevating my knees to be able to scroll through and respond to various tweets.

This brings me to the keyboard. I was looking forward to trying out the onscreen keyboard, thinking I might be able to use it like a normal keyboard. This isn’t the case, however, at least for me. The keyboard layout isn’t big enough for me to type on like a normal keyboard, but not small enough to access with one hand. So I found myself hunting and pecking the keys with my index finger, which was OK but not ideal. I didn’t try the iPad out with the physical stand+keyboard combo… but I imagine if I was using an external keyboard frequently there wouldn’t be much advantage to using an iPad over my MacBook.

Two more issues I discovered were the lack of Flash (already knew this but wasn’t sure how it would affect my iPad experience without trying it) and the inability to store files on the iPad (at least not outside of the app that created them). The whole Flash vs HTML5 / Apple vs Adobe battle will be interesting to watch play out over time. But, in the meantime, the user is screwed because there are so many websites that use Flash out there, those sites are seriously crippled or unusable on the iPad. And, without the ability to store files, I can’t see the iPad as a replacement for a laptop for school or work settings.

In summary, I think the iPad is a cool toy. But definitely not a replacement for a laptop. It is a sexy (but expensive) supplement to a mobile phone and a laptop (replacing neither), and for me would essentially end up being a fancy notepad for quick meetings where I didn’t need my laptop, and a nice entertainment toy for watching movies on flights. It will not replace my magazines or books, regardless of how great the user experience on the iPad is, mostly because most of the places I read books and magazines (camping, poolside, at the beach or the lake, or even on the patio on a sunny day) are places where the iPad is essentially unusable or too risky to take.

I was glad to finally get to hold one and play with one… both to satisfy my curiosity and to confirm the fact that I am in no hurry to rush out and buy one. I think it will be a few years before Apple sells as many iPads as iPhones (I’ve seen the comparisons about opening weekend sales, which indicate the iPad is outpacing the iPhone, however, I think these numbers are not sustainable for several reasons: 1) cost of the iPad definitely puts it out of reach for as many people as could afford the low-end model of the iPhone, especially since the iPad can’t replace a phone, 2) there was so much hype about the launch of the iPad, I think most of the early adopters/ubergeeks that wanted one also wanted to be one of the first to have one and went out of their way to get one opening weekend, and 3) iPhone sales were likely affected by the fact that they were accompanied by a contractual commitment to ATT which required many iPhone adopters to pay cancellation costs on their current wireless contract, and go through the pain of switching to ATT).

Mobile is the the future, I think that is certain. But my laptop is mobile enough to pretty much be perfect for what I need. If Apple made a mac tablet running OSX that had the profile of my Macbook screen, with the ports, DVD slot, fine-tip stylus (not the dull-tip, nubby stylus available for the iPad), and a decent battery life, I’d be an instant buyer. Add the ability to make calls (via a bluetooth headset), and I’ve have the perfect mobile all-in-one device. Until then, it’s a multiple-device world and the iPad is a fancy extra, not a replacement or improvement on the ones I already have.