Yesterday I took my largest client to lunch to discuss strategy for the upcoming year. I used the iPad to show him a site I designed for him several weeks ago. The new site has a jQuery slider that looks great on the iPad. Then I used the iPad to show him his main website that we advertise on Google AdWords. His central Flash slideshow, and his right navigation (also Flash) were missing. I explained how the technology had changed in the six years since (someone else) built his main website, and that I was using the latest technology to make sure his new ventures would on smartphones, etc.
His response? “Cancel your plans for tomorrow and come to the office with your iPad to show this to the managers of our subsidiary warehouse operations. They need to know this as they plan for 2011.” Sigh.
So, this morning I will recharge and polish the iPad for another day of demo. People love this thing!
For me, the greatest advantage of an iPad is that it is NOT a laptop. I have spent so many years squandering my leisure time writing things that no one ever sees. The laptop and desktop have now become instruments of torture. My house is in a garden and all I see is a wall of dual computer screens. When I sit at my desk I am surrounded by stack of projects that need attention. Sitting in front of my computer is no longer a joy.
Sitting in my garden, however, leafing through my Facebook and my Twitter stream using FlipBoard (the award winning free iPad app), is a genuine pleasure. Because there is no keyboard, I really CANNOT get compulsive and workaholic. The iPad is an instrument of pleasure. At 800 bucks for the top-pf-the-line model I have, I would not call it a toy. Unless you would call a Maserati a toy.
Something I really like about the iPad is that I can adjust the size of the text just by sliding two fingers. Email no longer makes me feel elderly. When we watch TV after dinner, we use the iPad check Wikipedia for the name of the element PA when we see it in the opening credits of Breaking Bad. I would NEVER turn my big honkin’ desktop back on for that!
I would agree that an iPad is just a big iTouch. That’s like saying a woman is just a big girl. It’s true, but it misses the point.
We did not have wireless before the iPad arrived. I assume you already have and use wireless and you may be happy with an iTouch or a wireless-only iPad.
With iTouch, you can get the Line2 app and use wireless to make calls from your home or any wifi spot.
If you wait a couple of months you will be able to get an iPhone from Verizon. Do they provide a better signal for your area?
The next version of the iPad is rumored to come out in April with improved wifi capabilities and two cameras. One camera to take video, the other camera forward-facing so you can Skype from your iPad.
About Sprint’s AirRave — I think that is just a femto cell, and I believe Verizon offers an iPad + femto cell combo right now. Do you use wireless at your home? Elsewhere?