Yesterday the new iPad was launched, uber fast, uber sexy and all that jazz. I’ve just had my iPad 2 for about two months now, here’s what I think of it.
The iPad is something I would never have bought for myself. I have to thank Miller Genuine Draft for giving that to me. In that time though, the two striking things for me were: 1. This is all about media consumption, nothing else. 2. Sometimes you just need a computer.
Since my iPad arrived I can certainly say I’ve played more games, and got bored of them, than I previously would have. I prefer Angry Birds on my phone, a nice little HTC, I got bored very quickly with it on the iPad. The car driver games I’ve tried, I liked, rotating the iPad for steering. Games wise I also love Temple Run but this is in very small doses, it doesn’t bode well for those with vertigo. The free version of the Sims from the Apple Store is a definite must have, hours of fun gauranteed.
I enjoyed the Flipboard and the TED apps installed and I’ve also recently installed Garageband and Avid Studio but have yet to really get my teeth into them. I just seem to prefer desktop editing systems.
Where the iPad is perfect is when watching TV online or listening to radio. I now listen to more radio via TuneIn. It’s quick, it’s handy, you can set your presets and Bob’s Your Uncle. I find it extremely handy as a lot of radio I would listen to is from outside our fair shores. Everything is together in one place, without the need for a separate app for each radio station you are listening to.
These are all good points but they are all for consuming media. For creating anything, I’m still preferring my Macbook. (No I’m not an Apple fangirl, I just needed a decent computer). I still find it hard and a bit much of an effort to write anything of any length of duration on the iPad, hence I have just ordered a bluetooth keyboard to see if that will help.
The iPad the kind Miller people gave me is 16GB with WiFi, which is perfect for when you’re using it around the house. If you wanted an iPad to bring with you to use on a daily basis instead of a laptop, a 3G version would most definitely be needed.
One thing that I’ve found that is still definitely a problem, is the fact that there are still websites and videos which use Flash. From trying to make things in flash, I know it’s horrible but there are so many sites that have not updated to HTML5 video yet, especially instructional videos. For what I surf the internet for, this makes me not want to surf the web on the iPad.
Verdict: Good for sitting on the couch and watching telly or listening to the radio online. For me, if I want to do anything else, I just prefer to get back to my trusty computer. No updating to the new iPad here, still not sure if I’d spend the money buying myself one.