September 17, 2011

No iPad for Me

  —A look at why I won't purchase an iPad.

I have been struggling with the decision on whether to purchase an iPad or not. Initially, I choose not to be an early adopter. That was easy as all I had to do was decide delay the purchase. Over a year has come and gone and I've learned a lot about what I'd like to do with an iPad if I were to purchase one. Ultimately, I determined that I would keep my laptop and not purchase an iPad.

My rationale for not purchasing an iPad comes down to two simple facts. First, not everything I want to use on my laptop is available on the iPad. Second, I don't need another device to carry around. I already have a MacBook and an iPhone. The thought of carrying a third device or having to make a decision on whether to take the laptop or iPad with me is not worth the effort.

I view the iPad as ideal for people who only want to surf and read email. I include in surfing, things like reading books and documents on the iPad. I won't replace the books I read simply because I am a little old fashioned and like my books made of paper. Surfing and email are the only things I do on an iPhone that I find inconvenient. These activities could be improved with the purchase of an iPad but the cost doesn't justify eliminating my personal inconvenience with these activities.

One iPad feature that took a lot of thinking to eliminate was the 3G option. I ultimately decided to forgo that since the iPhone now supports local WiFi though the personal hotspot feature. That and the fact that the cost of the 3G data plan coupled with the small data transfer sizes provided by Canadian carriers are patiently ridiculous.

In all, I won't be purchasing an iPad for myself because the two devices I already own more than meet my needs. I may still be ogling the iPad every time I drop by the Apple store or their web site but I don't think I'll be laying any cash down for the device itself.