Christmas Question
My wife - who's, like, really sweet - but I mean, really sweet - as in: how-on-earth-did-Klavan-end-up-with-her level sweet - keeps asking me, "Are you sure you don't want an IPad for Christmas." Now, I consider the IPhone the greatest machine ever made, the pinnacle of technology, possibly the point and purpose of technology, possibly the point and purpose of human evolution, if it comes to that. To me, the IPad looks like an IPhone that's too big to put in your pocket. And with a worse keyboard to boot. In other words, after taking a cursory look at it in the store, I thought it seemed like a step backward. A few more "advances" like this and we'll all be swimming around in the primordial soup.
Okay, I exaggerate. But my question is this: am I missing something? Are these things really great? Do they do anything my phone won't do? Or, as my wife might put it, am I sure I don't want one for Christmas? If anyone has the answer, lay it on me.
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Comments :
Re: Christmas Question
OK, this is the question that I keep asking--what can an iPad do that my phone won't? I can't use it, really, as a word processor, so I still have to carry my laptop around with me. And I already get internet on my phone.
But what people tell me is that the iPad is a great "reader." So if you want to use it as a reading device, then that's something. Also, the few people that I've seen with iPads have all been playing nintendo-like games with it (on the subway, for example). So that's something else, if you're into that kind of thing.
Aug '10
Re: Christmas Question
I am waiting for the Boxing Day sales to get myself a 7-inch Android tablet.
I bought a cheap-as-dirt Chinese Android tablet to test out the platform. Even though the device itself was slow, had no battery life, and a terribly unresponsive touchscreen, I fell in love with the software.
Also, I much prefer the 7-inch size to the larger iPad. It's big enough to work on, but still small enough to fit inside a suit pocket.
I used to be a die-hard PalmPilot user, but for many applications a PDA/smartphone is simply too small to do real work with.
Plus there's ebook reading, video-watching, game-playing, etc.
IMHO, the iPad is terribly overpriced, especially considered how much Apple hobbles the end-user by locking you into Apple's app stone.
Android, FTW.
(Just don't buy one of the cheap $100 chinese tablets, unless you just want to tinker with the cheapest hardware ever released into the wild.)
Edited on Dec 15, 2010 at 8:08amMay '10
Re: Christmas Question
Well, you can turn it upside down, should you feel the need to do that. Essentially, it's a laptop with a tiny keyboard. If you're into carpal tunnel.
Aug '10
Re: Christmas Question
Think of it this way: A tablet isn't an alternative to a smartphone. It's an alternative to a netbook or laptop.
Oct '10
Re: Christmas Question
I'll grant you that I'm not entirely fluent in the subtextual language that wives speak but does anyone else get the feeling that the iPad has already been purchased and wrapped? Or maybe I'm thinking of a sitcom I've seen.
Either way, if you want an informed opinion about the iPad vs. iPhone then Lileks is your guy. Early adopters like him make my life so much easier.
May '10
Re: Christmas Question
Most techie people I know tell me to wait for the next one probably coming in April.
Oct '10
Re: Christmas Question
I think he's onto something here. Tread very carefully Mr. Klavan.
Re: Christmas Question
Drew, I love my iPad. Why? I travel a lot and the iPad is unequalled for reading things on the move. I download the business documents I need for my road trip as PDF files, saving many pounds of paper. When I have time to read a book--Identity Man is in my Kindle app waiting for my next trip this weekend--I switch apps and voila. While reading, I have music from my iTunes library piped into my headphones. The latest Wall Street Journal issue is downloaded and waiting for me each morning, as is the NYT crossword puzzle. And if I'm too jet-lagged to read, I can always zone out to a movie I downloaded prior to the trip or thrill to the latest Ricochet podcast.
I still need my laptop to do real work and at least one paper-based thing to read during the "turn off all electronic devices" portion of the flight, but all-in-all the iPad helps me lighten my load and stay connected.
Edited on Dec 15, 2010 at 8:42amRe: Christmas Question
That's my view. I have a Dell netbook and love it; I have forbidden my sweet wife to give me an IPad or anything like it. My recommendation would be the Dell 11-inch netbook with 2 gigabytes of memory.
Jun '10
Re: Christmas Question
I have an iphone and a portable keyboard that makes posting easier. The one thing I find attractive about the Ipad is its easier for me to read. My eyesight is getting poor as I get older and I appreciate the larger print.
Aug '10
Re: Christmas Question
...at which point techies will be recommending that you wait for the subsequent next one, probably coming in September. ;-)
Jul '10
Re: Christmas Question
Allow me to be a wet blanket.
I've noted that the more electronic gadgets people have, the less quality time they spend with each other. Husband and wife will be in an airport lounge and rather than talking to each other, he's on his iPad while she's texting on her iPhone. At home, they'll be in separate rooms, typing away. On the plane, their kid, instead of getting a geography lesson from dad as they look out the window, will be playing some hypnotic video game.
Get back to traditional gifts: firearms and alcohol.
Aug '10
Re: Christmas Question
Gee whiz, can ya not just freakin' chillax for 10 freakin' minutes?!
Aug '10
Re: Christmas Question
Not necessarily in that order.
Aug '10
Re: Christmas Question
I think in the end, the real deal breaker is the Pocket issue. If you cant put in your pocket, then it can't replace the iPhone. I have gone through Sony ebooks, am on the second kindle, which I rarely take on trips. Frankly the screen on the phone is sufficient to watch a tv show , read a book, blog, what doesn't it do ?
Mine has duck calls,flashlights,levels, star charts, remote controls, voice search and dictation, the camera gets alot of use when I'm out in the wild or in a museum, gosh I love my iPhone. I consider the iPad the lazy boy recliner of the connected. With a mophie attached, it's the bomb ! And besides I give Jobs way too much money for iTunes already. And there's Quick Office, a piano, Epicurious, flixster, 5000 songs, 5000 pictures, 3000 contacts, and on and on .
The iPad with all the bells and whistles is about $900 anyway. That's 259 months of Ricochet !
Jul '10
Re: Christmas Question
Kenneth: Allow me to be a wet blanket.
I've noted that the more electronic gadgets people have, the less quality time they spend with each other. Husband and wife will be in an airport lounge and rather than talking to each other, he's on his iPad while she's texting on her iPhone. At home, they'll be in separate rooms, typing away. On the plane, their kid, instead of getting a geography lesson from dad as they look out the window, will be playing some hypnotic video game.
Get back to traditional gifts: firearms and alcohol. · Dec 15 at 9:27am
I can't LIKE this comment enough.
Gift suggestions: This and This.
Aug '10
Re: Christmas Question
It sounds like Mrs. Klavan wants an iPad to me. .
Aug '10
Re: Christmas Question
The least-expensive 10-inch Android tablet from Archos is $299.99. The 7-inch tablet starts at $199.99. This is only one company, and many others are coming out with Android tablets in the near future, but Archos has the widest selection of models you can buy right now, and they are reportedly much better than the cheap-o Chinese tablet I bought off eBay for $100 (shipping from Hong Kong included).
I used to be something of a MacEvangelist, back in 1997 when I had a PowerMac 6500/275 running Mac OS 7.6.1.
Back then, you paid extra for an Apple product because you got so much more value out of it than you got from a comparatively-prices Microsoft/Intel product. My PowerMac came with built-in non-linear video editing, audio editing, photo editing, etc, etc, etc. All for "only" C$2,500. This was revolutionary for 1997.
Today, it seems you pay extra for an Apple product because the box the device comes in is a bit prettier. Sigh.
Aug '10
Re: Christmas Question
Devil's Advocate Mode = On
The down side to shopping for an Android tablet is that you have to know what you're looking for. They are not all created equal. You need to know the difference between a resistive touchscreen and a capacitive touchscreen. You need to know the difference between Android 1.6 and Android 2.2. You need to do comparison shopping and go to stores where you can pick up different demo devices to learn which ones work best for you.
That's a lot of work for many people. The one-size-fits-all iPad is much simpler to purchase, especially if you're buying the device as a gift for someone else.
Re: Christmas Question
Misthiocracy
Gee whiz, can ya not just freakin' chillax for 10 freakin' minutes?! · Dec 15 at 9:29am
Alas, no. I'm a readaholic.