On a recent three-day business trip for the WOMMA Summit, I left my MacBook Pro at home and tested the iPad as my primary electronic device. The verdict: decidedly mixed.
Among my frustrations:
It wasn’t all bad, though. The iPad worked just fine for taking notes during WOMMA presentations (I use an exernal wireless keyboard for even faster typing), reading and sending tweets, and accessing most websites. I also read a book on the Kindle app and a pair of reports (in .pdf format) that I had stored in GoodReader prior to starting my trip.
Plus, the multiple treks between the WOMMA site and my room in a neighboring hotel were much brisker without having to carry around a heavier laptop!
Ultimately, deciding on the appropriate road-warrior device comes down to the kind of work you need to get done, and having a tolerance — and workarounds — for some of the iPad’s limitations.
As for me, I’m headed on my next business trip right now, this time with both the iPad and laptop in tow!
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The realization hit me over the weekend: After two-plus months with the iPad, I can almost type as fast on its touch screen as I can on a traditional keyboard. Almost.
I bought the Apple Wireless Keyboard in early June out of frustration and impatience with my high error rate when typing directly onto the screen. But with more practice entering URLs, writing short blog comments, and updating Facebook and Twitter, I find myself connecting that bluetooth keyboard far less frequently. (I still like it for longer writing projects, though.)
Just as with the iPhone, getting used to a new typing surface was really just a matter of time.
Flickr photo credit: myuibe.
(Click to see image in full size on my Flickr page)
My RSS reader of choice on the iPad is NewsRack. It’s the app I start most of my mornings with.
In short, NewsRack is the perfect way to keep up with your RSS feeds when you’re away from your laptop. No qualms here about the $4.99 price tag.
Following a recommendation from Jake McKee, I downloaded the Flickpad iPad app last night and have been giving it a test drive.
Gotta say this: It’s gorgeous!
And that’s it! Smooth. Simple. And well worth the $4.99 price tag.
Here’s a video demo of the app, too. Note that it was published in May, and the user interface has changed slightly since then.
Flickpad - Facebook Photos for iPad from Shacked on Vimeo.
Jake McKee has published a list of the iPad apps he “can’t do without.”
Several of Jake’s recommendations are new to me and will get downloaded and tested in short order! Here are two that sound particularly intriguing:
I don’t yet have the Camera Connection Kit for the iPad, but I’m itching to pick one up soon.
Peter Friedman, the CEO of LiveWorld (my employer) recently showed me how easy it is to use the Kit connector (either through a USB cable or with the camera’s SD card) to transfer photos onto the iPad.
Want a demo? Check out this “unboxing” video from Dan York.
One of my favorite iPad apps is Eyewitness, published by the Guardian in the UK.
Each day, Eyewitness features one new and stunning photo from somewhere in the world, including a “pro tip” that describes how the shot was conceived or composed.
The app is free—at least for now—thanks to the Guardian’s partnership with Canon.
Hat tip to Alex Jones for first showing me the Eyewitness app a few months back.
I’ve had an iPad for nearly two months now, and while it hasn’t necessarily changed my life, it is becoming an increasingly important device in my productivity toolkit.
Among the highlights:
But in addition to all of those practical uses, what really excites me about the iPad is what’s coming. We’re a mere three months into the life of this device, meaning developers, artists, marketers, publishers, and marketers have only scratched the surface of what can be done.
I’m launching this blog as a digital platform to chronicle and explore how the iPad is evolving, including its impact on our work, creative, and digital lives.
I’m expecting nothing less than a fascinating ride along the way. Thanks for being a part of it.
PODCAST. This is the second of my two-part interview with Len Edgerly about the iPad. We recorded this conversation just a few days before he bought the device.
