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| Apple Computers by the Smartest Guys in the Room |
Many have written about iPad, both positive and negative, though the vast amount of comments I've bumped into seem to be on the plus side of things. Sure, in a perfect world, I'd wish for a little bit lighter form factor, but I would NOT want it to be any smaller in size of screen. Perhaps the surround bezels could be made smaller while keeping the display size the same?
Rumors are flying that the "next Gen" iPad may offer a video-phone via forward facing camera, which clearly would be a plus over the current model for those who are wanting to video call friends or family. Some have spoken of a more anti-glare screen that could help if reading eBooks in direct sun or bright backlight. And always there is talk of lighter weight.
You have to admire Apple though, as this device is so much cooler than the "tablet PCs" that never were... the mini-notebooks from companies like ACER and HP, with the Intel Atom processor and dumbed-down versions of Windows 7 just leave me cold. While some have knocked battery life on the iPad, if you ever owned a Mini-notebook, you know all about poor battery performance. For my money, the iPad seems to offer decent battery life, at least my first impression is that is the case.
Applications! You can't say enough about the myriad numbers of APPS available for both the iPhone and the iPad. Some apps are crossovers and don't do justice to the larger screen, but others like Shredder Chess look stunning. Another stand-out is YouTube videos on the iPad. They are razor-sharp in clarity, and with Wi-Fi are able to be delivered fast enough to view without stutter or pause, at least on my Comcast home network with WiFi transmitter.
Where Apple shines over Windows is the App Store and iTunes. More ideas from those darned smartest guys in the room! With Windows, you get involved with doing a Google search to look for programs on a given topic, but with the iPad (and the iPhone) you just open the App Store and away you go. One thing I do NOT like about Apple applications is that many of them don't offer a 'try before you buy' option. You have to commit to the purchase and then it's up to you to ask for help from the App Store if you think the application is a disappointment. They are able to operate this way (without free trials) because the price points of (most) of the iPhone/iPad apps are low enough to avoid mammoth outrage by consumers. Obviously if you get 'burned' for .99 or 2.99, you're not going to have a melt-down or go crazy complaining.
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| Books - Books - Books and More Books! |
Once you get involved with the Apple Bookstore, your world is going to be forever different. One thing I really love is that you can download the first 25 or 50 pages or so of any given book, so you can browse a bit and get a feel for the 'tone' (author's writing style and content) before you make the purchase. And in terms of a shopping experience, nothing beats browsing for books from your living room! The iPad itself makes it easy to bookmark your spot, because it 'remembers where you were' when you exit the application.
I have not tried the Kindle, but compared to what Kindle does and what iPad does, there is no contest. iPad is hands down superior, from color screen to the fact that iPad is a full-blown computing device, while Kindle is principally an e-Book reading device. Of course there is a price difference, Kindle is cheap enough an iPad owner could conceivably own both an iPad and a Kindle, but at some point you want to be carrying fewer devices.
