I'm back! I've been busy with work recently and writing the blog hasn't been the highest priority. However, today felt like a good day to get back to writing a bit.
This morning, I officiated a couple of youth basketball games. Afterward, I headed to the mall to grab some lunch (Spaghetti and Meatballs, bread stick, potatoes).
After stuffing my face, I decided to head to the Apple store located in the mall. It had been about a month since the Apple IPad had been released and I figured it would be a good time to check it out.
There were still quite a few people checking out the IPad's, but I got lucky. There was one available IPad that no one was using to I immediately swopped in and began to explore it's functions. Specifically, I used the IPad to check my email, go to Youtube, and browsed around Yahoo. All in all, I spent about 15 minutes or so using the IPad.
My impressions? I surprisingly liked the IPad but not for the reasons that Apple may want. Apple markets the IPad as a replacement for the netbook computers that have taken off in recent years. I don't think the IPad will replace netbooks due to the touch screen keyboard. I found it difficult to touch type. Perhaps I will get better with practice but that was a minus.
It should be mentioned that the IPad touch screen keyboard is better than the IPhone because the screen is bigger. I never liked the IPhone touch screen since it was too easy to hit the wrong key. That is less of a problem with the IPad. Also, there is an option keyboard that can be used though it wasn't demoed at the store.
On the positive side, being able to browse with Safari on a large sized mobile device was great. Watching YouTube videos and seeing websites in full size was definitely a bonus. The IPad's were using basic wireless to connect to the Internet and I had no complaints about the speed.
I believe the IPad is going to be a hit with the multimedia crowd. Lugging a laptop around to watch videos and listen to music is sometimes impractical. The IPad is hardly small BUT is portable enough to not get in the way. I believe tons of people are going to use the IPad to watch videos, listen to music and read a book, especially when they travel.
While the IPad is not great for email or other business applications that require a lot of typing, it's not impossible to use those applications. People will just have to get used to the touch screen keyboard.
Additionally, I saw other people playing with various applications such as games. I didn't get a chance to look at those applications but will try to do so in the future.
All in all, I liked the IPad and would consider getting one just for the multimedia aspects. I love watching YouTube videos and being a music guy, I would listen to tunes as well. However, I won't be getting one anytime soon as I want to see what Apple's future plans are with the IPad before plunking down money for one.
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