Here’s one of the fun things about buying into a “new class of computer”: thinking about all the different ways you might get to use it. After all the reading I’ve done on the iPad, I’ve come to think of it as both a replacement for the iPhone at home, and a better realization of what I wanted netbooks to be.
The original iPad was a really cool toy, but I refrained from picking one up because I didn’t find the form factor convincing, and I was, quite frankly, a little scared of it replacing my iPhone usage at home. After all, why should I shell out 620 CAD for a bigger version of what I’m already paying a contract to enjoy? I also had some hesitations about the 256 MB of RAM, since I already having trouble managing memory on my iPhone 3GS, which also has 256 MB RAM, but runs smaller applications. The sheer speed of the iPad 2 alongside the 512 MB of RAM changes all of this, and I’m now excited to jump on board.
Another milestone on the road to buying the iPad 2 has nothing to do with the new features, but rather a chat I had with Patrick about how he has used his iPad over the past year. To put it simply, he said that the iPad has all but replaced his iPhone 4 for home usage, and he’s happier for it. His tablet is more comfortable to hold for longer periods and the interfaces that he loves on his iPhone have more room to do more awesome stuff on a 9.7″ screen.
That chat with Patrick led me to think about the relationship between the iPhone and the iPad, and my previous 10″ MSI Wind netbook and my current 13″ MacBook Pro. These devices aren’t necessarily parallels in terms of utility, but I bring them up because of the difference in screen size.
I bought an MSI netbook during my second year of university because I wanted a light, mobile writing machine, but quickly found the whole experience too constricting. This had a lot to do with the tiny controls (especially the trackpad), an operating system that was designed for desktop monitors (Windows XP), and the screen size, so I sold the netbook a year after buying it and upgraded to a MacBook Pro, and, boy, what a difference it made! The larger trackpad and three inches of extra screen space made all the difference, not just for legibility of text, but for the computing experience as a whole. Simply being able to see more made me feel like I could do more, much like switching to a proper desk after trying to write on a stool.
However, I haven’t completely given up on the idea that drove netbook computing — a little device that’s small enough to tote around in a bag, but big enough to write and surf on still sounds awesome — and I’m looking forward to playing with the iPad 2 as a full-fledged mobile writing machine (with a BT keyboard, of course). I realize that the iPad’s screen is around the same size as my old netbook’s and I do see the lack of a mouse as a bit of a pain, but the fact that iOS was designed from the ground-up for touch (which generally requires a larger UI) should help a lot. Smaller screens were a lot more constricting on Windows Mobile devices, but iOS managed to do a lot more in the same amount of space.
All told, I suppose my decision to buy the iPad 2 is partly based on the hype surrounding a newer, faster device, but also because of a change in my own perspective of the tablet as a class of machine. Maybe I really have taken in too much Kool Aid at this point, but I’m really looking forward to seeing what all this Magical and Revolutionary nonsense is all about.
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