Well, I went and did it. Today at lunch I bought the 32GB wifi iPad.
I initially meant to ignore the iPad entirely, then only gave it passing thoughts as a possible development target for games and products. (I have a really great app idea for photography that I may still attempt seeing as nobody else on the app store has released anything in the category of note!) But I didn’t see myself using one, or even really wanting one. I already have an iPhone; why would I need a bigger one?
What changed is that one of the other gear heads at work, Jordan, not only had the audacity to go out and buy one, but also let me touch it. You hear a lot of talk about how once you’ve held the iPad things are different, but you really can’t appreciate that fact until you’ve held one for yourself. Jobs said that the development of the iPhone was just a stepping stone on the way to this, and seeing the differences between the two platforms I completely understand why this was the end game and not the phone.
For starters, even knowing the dimensions I was surprised at how small it is. I’d been expecting something much more massive; the ads on busses and billboards make it look like its the size of a fat magazine, so regardless of knowing that it has a ten inch screen I still thought it would be too large to be useful. Boy was I wrong. Maybe it’s that I have big hands, but I don’t think I’ve ever owned another device that was so comfortable. Even typing on it is great in landscape mode (this post coming to you from the WordPress iPad app). It took me a minute to find the right spot for it to sit (which seems to be balanced on my lap despite the perfectly good desk in front of me), but because the keyboard and system are just an extension of the iOS and since I’ve been an iPhone user for nearly two years, there was almost no learning curve. Although, I do like that there’s an actual undo key. I will admit I shook the pad a few times before I found it.
Right now the only thing I’m missing is WriteRoom. I hope that iPad app comes out soon. The prices on a lot of the “HD” versions of apps I use are pretty up there (Cultured Code must be insane if they think I’m giving them another $20 on top of what I’ve already paid them for Things and Things iPhone), but enough of my backup apps have become universal that I don’t think I’ll miss them all that much.
Maybe I’ll do another writeup in a month or so, but as of this minute, a few hours in, I have to say I am absolutely in love with this piece of kit. Next stop: Ableton Live + Touch OSC?