I got my iPad in the mail today. Like so many other hapless nerds, I ordered it without any clear conception of what I’m going to use it for. I already have an iPhone and a MacBook; where does this thing fit in? At the same time, I get the sense that I’ll be inevitably developing software (or at least webapps) for the thing in the not-too-distant future, so I might as well get used to it now.
My first reaction was: Wow, this thing’s fast. Application switching is nearly instantaneous, and web browsing is as smooth as on any computer. I’m crossing my fingers that the next iPhone will offer a similar level of zippiness.
Second reaction: Typing is a bitch. Worse than on the iPhone, even. Slow and uncomfortable. Your thumbs can’t reach the center of the screen; this is a weird design flaw, since it makes it virtually impossible to type on the tablet unless it’s on some kind of surface. What the iPad really needs is a split keyboard. That goes for both landscape and portrait mode.
But those things aren’t so important. The really important thing is: Can I read comfortably on it? The answer is, thankfully, yes. In my highly scientific tests (reading a couple of chapters of Wolf Hall in bed), the 1024x768 screen has just enough DPI for smooth reading. (I found that the Cochin font worked best in iBooks, though the default Palatino is nice as well.) Text is way sharper on my laptop screen, but my laptop screen can’t be detached from the rest of the device and held still over my head, now can it? I’d always assumed, like many folks, that extended reading on a computer is uncomfortable because the screen is backlit. Let me tell you, I’ve used a Kindle and I’ve used an iPad, and the two seem to bejust about equally easy on the eyes. Print still reigns supreme—high DPI, low weight (hardcovers excluded)—but the iPad comes in a close second, and the experience is only going to get better in the next few years. E-ink is doomed.
The iPad has other uses that have gotten a lot of press: You can challenge your iPhone-wielding friends to Scrabble! Fight zombies with the kids! Enrage your cat! But reading is its killer app. And while iBooks, the Kindle app, and the various PDF readers are slick, the bulk of that reading is going to take place on the web.
Remember how cool it was when the iPhone brought the web to your pocket? Well, the iPad is bringing the web to your bed, sofa, or wherever else you like to settle in cozily. I’ve been reading the web version of Pro Git, and it’s fantastic. Reading a long, technical book on a computer is a pain, even with a crisp PDF on a top-of-the-line display. The hype is right: The iPad will change the way we consume content on the web. My prediction is that long-form content on the web is going to take off. The iPad might just be the rare piece of sexy technology that actually lengthens our collective attention spans.
[P.S. I feel some obligation to weigh in on the Flash debate: I really wish the iPad supported Flash. It’s an idle wish at this point—Apple’s made up its mind—but it’s not the right choice for their customers.]