January 8, 2012
No iPad for Me (Revisited)
—Another look at why I won't be purchasing an iPad for myself.
In No iPad for Me I discuss why an iPad isn't useful to me. Recently, I had the opportunity to purchase and setup an iPad for someone. This allowed me to take a closer look at the iPad and to use it for my own purposes. Strangely, while I enjoyed using the device it wasn't enough to change my opinion.After having set up and used the iPad I can say the device did not disappoint. I like it a lot. I am convinced that an iPad is ideal for web surfing (blogging!), email and watching videos. It's really nice to do these activities on a device that weighs less than my laptop.
Still, the convenience isn't enough to convince me to purchase one. The core issue for me is still that I already have two other devices and I don't need a third. It's not a replacement for my iPhone or MacBook Pro. I find this conclusion odd in light of the fact that there isn't anything that I don't like about the iPad—there really isn't anything that stands out and says “this device is inadequate”.
While I won't be purchasing an iPad for myself it's worth mentioning that the degree of integration between the services supported on the iPad, iPhone and laptops is truly amazing. Apple has done an excellent job of integrating iMessage, iCloud services and iTunes so that changes on one device are reflected on your other devices. I had no problems setting up these shared services and was able create a Shared Photo Stream easily.
One thing that my use of the iPad did pique my interest on is e-reading. I've been opposed to using an e-reader for some time but am slowly beginning to come around to the idea that one might be useful because of its convenience and the cost savings book purchases.
My current thinking on this is that an iPad is too expensive to use just as an e-reader and it's use in this manner doesn't justify it's purchase as a third device for myself. This thinking is driving me to Amazon's Kindle or perhaps some other tablet. Of course if I am looking for cheap books there is always the local public library.
Note:
The URL to the "Shared Photo Stream" is offline. It has been removed from this article.
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