iPad Test Drive: Day 4.5 at Last

So, without much emotion, I handed the iPad back to Tom today after erasing all of my data from the device...

--

Goodbye, pretty, shiny piece of modern technology with no apparent business use. I wish I could justify having you at my desk all the time to make me look cool at the center of everyone's attention, but I simply can't at this moment. Your battery life is awesome; your screen resolution and graphical rendering capabilities are second-to-none; and you're probably one of the sexiest gadgets I've seen in a long time. But you're just not for me, or for any regular office-dwelling employee.

However, I would really like to try out your evil arch-nemisis (if it turns out to be that way): the WePad. Don't take offense. You were the first of your kind, and you definitely made a bold statement about the new age of computing to come.

Thanks for the ride.

iPad Test Drive: Day 3.5

I bumped into a guy on the T today, and the next thing I knew he was asking me about my thoughts on "my" iPad. I explained that I was testing the iPad for work-related uses but that so far I'm drawing blanks (except for the two applications previously mentioned). He seemed really worried about my response and immediately pulled out his own iPad to show me his note-taking app. It turns out that he's a BU student who works at e Apple Store on Boylston. I'm happy for him that he's so loyal to his employer, but I really do think that the iPad is only a taste of the real tablet products to come.

A quick read of the iPad's upcoming competition gives me great hope that eventually I will have a tablet that is also a laptop replacement. Lenovo's take on the tablet is the closest to what I would consider the next-generation workplace computer, and everything else is a cool gadget with limited uses.

I still haven't thought of a paid app to try yet. Maybe something will come to me in my sleep tonight.

iPad Test Drive: Day 2.5

While it's sad to say that I probably can't justify getting one of these for my own personal use, I think that to Kevin and Leanda this iPad may be of some value for applications they've already identified. The keyword is "may", because a lot of functionality is theoretical at this moment and may even require in-house development.

Leanda believes that recruitment may benefit from using the device at live events to both woo prospects and facilitate quickener and more accurate data entry. This is dependent upon the ability to develop either a native app or a web app that enforces data validity and is easy-to-use.

Kevin sees that as course content consumption shifts more and more into the virtual realm, a device like the iPad would be the medium through which students view lectures, complete homework assignments and take tests. Again, the potential is there, but execution will depend on how user-friendly and functional the final app or web app truly is.

One good thing to report: I have to say that reading the pizza menu in PDF format on the iPad was a very enjoyable experience, although I do wish that I could've searched for keywords Ike "pepperoni".

I'll try to think of a useful paid app that I can try out tomorrow for a different twist on the iPad.

iPad Test Drive: MobileMe

Okay, so... MobleMe is an interesting product from Apple designed to get around the fact that you can't store files directly on the iPad and you can't connect it up to your computer as an external hard drive.  There are actually two apps that you have to download to use the online storage features that I personally thought could be all obtained within one app.

For instance, if you upload a picture from your iPhone to MobileMe, wouldn't you expect the picture to show up in the iDisk app's Picture section?  No, Apple didn't think so.  Apple wants you to download their second app, Gallery.

Fine, I can handle that.  But the Gallery app isn't even made for the iPad.  Apple simply took an iPhone app and threw it into the iPad section of the store.  Even the interface is iPhone-sized, forcing you to use the iPhone-style keypad for data entry instead of the native iPad keyboard.  This from the same company that couldn't be bothered to throw in foreign language input support that already exists for the iPhone...

But still!  No big deal, right?  Until you get to the final kicker of the whole ordeal:  There is no way to delete a picture that you've uploaded to MobileMe using either iDisk or Gallery.  You have to log on to the MobileMe website to manage or delete the pictures you uploaded.

Oh, and by the way, you can't do this from the iPad because Safari for iPad is not a real browser.    

iPad Test Drive: Day 1.5

This is so good that I simply couldn't wait to blog about it: a piece of technology for which I may happily pay $800, the WePad. Apparently other people also agree that a powerful piece of technology like the iPad shouldn't be locked down, monopolized and totally controlled by a company like Apple.

iPad Test Drive: Day 1

Hrmm... Interesting. So, when I attempted to start writing this blog using the iPad, I noticed that the rich text editor rendered but was unusable to me. I had to switch over to the HTML editor to start typing this stuff.

So... I've had the iPad for one day now since Tom gave it to me as part of the 1-week user experiments he will be conducting over the coming weeks. Hopefully through these experiments we will be able to find legitimate business uses for the iPad instead of using it as a glorified mousepad (which only works somewhat using the silicone cover).

Disclaimer: Any typos on this blog post is purely the result of typing on the iPad's digital keyboard and is not a reflection of my typing ability or my ability to spell.

Overall, my first impression with the iPad has been unimpressive. There definite are good features to the device, which I'll describe below.

• The stuff on the screen is rendered beautifully. 100 points for presentation.


• The battery life seems to be decent. At least it should last for a day under heavy use, because from wheat I've seen the iPad can run for even longer than the iPhone on a full charge.


• I've started playing with Numbers, and my initial thought is that the spreadsheet program for a mobile device is pretty powerful. However, the real determination of how useful it is will be dependent on whether the iPad can become a laptop replacement for some people.


• The ebook reader is really sweet, and the backlight isn't so bright that it hurts your eyes when you're reading. My wife is in love with this feature and is infinitely glad she didn't buy a Nook when that device first became available last Christmas.

Most everything that was sweet on the iPhone is sweeter on the iPad like Mail, Calendar and Contacts. But still...

I wish Safari for the iPad was a full-blown web browser with support for ActiveX controls, Flash and other rich-media technologies.
I wish Safari for the iPad had scroll bars for editing text in text areas.
I wish the iPad could sync with the iPhone to share pictures and notes.
I wish Calendar could be used to check room and invitee availability when scheduling meetings.
I wish Apple would release a scratch-protection cover for the iPad so that I'm not so paranoid about scratching the glossy touchscreen.
I wish there was an easily accessible file system browser like Finder.
I wish there was a Caps Lock key on the digital keypad.
I wish there was an apostrophe key on the same screen as the rest of the QWERTY keys.
I wish there were Chinese (Traditional) input options on the iPad like the ones they already have for the iPhone.
I wish I could write some kind of code for the iPad, using the iPad.
I wish I didn't feel like Bart Simpson in repeating these "I wish" phrases.