(The) iPad

So I had the chance to live with an iPad for a while. I'm considered an Apple-hater in certain circles, but I think I was able to evaluate it fairly. I'm a gadget-geek first and foremost, after all.

Let's start with the iPad's primary use case: browsing the internet. There, it is a solid experience. The iPad quickly became my go-to device for basic web-browsing and email, due to the combination touch-screen and the quick turn-on time. The internet-browsing experience is far from flawless, though. I did have Safari crash on me twice in a 1/2 hr browsing session, which is slightly annoying but not unacceptable. And Safari creates the illusion of tabbed browsing while not really fulfilling on the promise. I suspect the "tabs" are just a visual browsing history, because if  you click back and forth between tabs it loads each page anew. Again, annoying, but not a show-stopper.

The show-stopper is the old chestnut: lack of Flash support. I know this has been beaten to death, but I cannot describe how frustrating it is to have access to only part of the internet due to the iPad's lack of support for Flash. It's incredibly annoying to see a link to a video that really captures your interest, clicking, and being met with a blank screen. Sure, Steve may be right that 90% of video is not encoded using Flash, but 90% of that 90% is delivered via Flash, so you can't view it anyway. Oh, and forget browsing most restaurant web sites.

So, after browsing the net on the iPad for a while, it quickly became tradition to walk over to my PC to catch up on the content that the iPad couldn't deliver. Why didn't I start on the PC you ask? Simple: the couch factor is very convenient and is probably the iPad's biggest selling point. Yes, even over the App Store. I find the App Store to be a novelty more than anything. There are really only about 6 applications I use regularly on my Android device, so filling up an iPad with niche apps isn't my thing.

Video-watching was fantastic. I watched several hours on a recent vacation and had an ideal experience. The gain via headphones was great, and video played smoothly.

I also downloaded and tried a lot of games, and generally found them to be of high-quality and engaging. I'm curious to see what gaming innovation is coming our way for a tablet.

I found the iPad to not be particularly effective as an e-book reader. It's too heavy to comfortably hold in long stretches, and forget reading it at the beach. I find the low-glare screen of true e-ink to be much better for reading, and with the latest Kindle price drop you would be better suited to buy a single-purpose device for book reading.

If you have the disposable income, the iPad is a nice toy to have around. You WILL use it, and probably daily. But it's a concept that needs to evolve, and I wouldn't recommend most people invest in a tablet until some other competition hits the market. E.g.,There are display innovations on the horizon that could make tablets more appealing for avid readers.