Andy Cunningham

Yet another “what do you do with your iPad” post has got me thinking about how I use mine.

It’s not really reduced use of my mobile phone. It might on some mid-length trips where it’s enough to carry the iPad but not a laptop.

I still use my iPod Nano for media rather than my phone. And I’m still figuring out how best to interface that to a 2004 model car.

It’s totally supplanted the Creative Zen Vision:W media player that replaced my original iPod. That’s going on eBay.

It’s become a new category of amusement as a eBook reader. I’m a bit late to the eBook party, but on the other hand I still think I’m here as an early adopter dealing with a fragmented marketplace and lots of competing and incompatible devices. I think I’ve largely seen the end of me buying paper books, but I want to know there’s a way out of the DRM before I really commit.

The other change is a bit more complex. At the start of this year I had a desktop and a netbook as my personal computers. The desktop died and got replaced with a laptop. The netbook was intended as a travel computer, and that role has been largely supplanted by the iPad. I’ve not sold it yet for one simple reason – I’ve done so little travelling that I’ve not had chance to confirm the iPad as the replacement. But the iPad has definitely taken over the “consumption” role of the laptop. When I want to sit back and read – be it forums, blogs, RSS feeds or books, the iPad is the tool of choice. And with a Bluetooth keyboard, it’s also a creation tool. But not a serious one. Because there’s no way to paste the link I copied inline into this post. So it will remain a drafting, tool, a place to make notes and write blog entries from a comfy chair. It certainly won’t replace the laptop. The jury’s still out on the netbook, but probably that’s out too.

The game changing features of the iPad are the fact that it’s “instant on”, it’s a “like a book” way to read books and the internet, and that it turns the web into something you can pass around like a book.

These sound like subtle changes – and from a technological viewpoint they are. But from a usability viewpoint they are game changing.

The iPad is indeed a third device. More portable than a laptop, more useful than a smartphone, and more cool than even an iPhone 4.

It’s also interesting that Mary Foley who writes the All About Microsoft blog also categorises the iPad as a “consumption” device. It’s something for reading, for watching, for sharing.

Well, it’s taken me about 10 seconds to confirm what I expected – with the bluetooth keyboard, the Ipad makes a perfectly acceptable laptop substitute. OK, I can’t actually use it for Real Work (TM), but for the odd spot of blogging, email or updating Facebook it’s hugely more useful having the keyboard as a actual real thing with moving keys.

I’m writing this sat on the sofa with the iPad in it’s case and the keyboard below it, both on my lap. It’s a position that will probably give any so-called expert in ergonomics palpitations, but since my spine is properly supported and I’m comfortable I don’t care. This isn’t working, this is slouching and writing for fun!

Reports that the EU are to cap roaming charges prove the EU is still on the side of big business.

The internet is a global place.   It doesn’t cost any more for me to download my email from Google when I’m in France, or Germany, or for that matter Mongolia or Argentina. And the calls costing more is an outdated concept as well.

I expect my free minutes and free data to be valid wherever I am in the world.  It might take a while, but it will have to happen eventually.

I commented on Friday  that the iPad would either become used almost as much as my laptop, or become a very expensive photo frame except when I’m travelling.   After the first 48 hours I think it’s going to be closer to the former.

For casual web surfing it’s a definite win, and when discussing something I wanted for my birthday it was nice to just put it on the table and look at together – it seems somehow less intrusive than sharing a PC screen.  Without a Bluetooth keyboard it’s a consumption device – it’s a TV not a Camcorder.  I wanted to send an email with three sentences in it, and I put the iPad down, when into the next room to get my laptop, and booted Windows to send them email because typing on screen is so painfully slow. I find the same with my phone – if you get an email reply from me from the phone it means there isn’t a real keyboard in reach.  And it’ll be terse.

I’ve got my entire music collection – 16 gigs – plus a handful of movies converted for playing on there, and I’ll convert some more as time goes on to get a reasonable collection before the next long trip.  Using CloneDVDMobile creates excellent results but does take time to do all the transcoding – about 2x the time needed to watch the video.

Installed Free Apps so far:

• Evernote.  - I already have this on all my PCs, and my phone, so it was an obvious move to install it here.
• Bloomberg.  - I’m not an avid stock/news watcher but this does present information in a useful format.
• Amazon Kindle – More on eBooks below
• Apple’s iBooks – More on eBooks below.
• Epicurious – interesting recipe site, but haven’t seen their
• GoSkyWatch – Free Planetarium app.  Great for skywatching as I always forget to take my sky maps on holiday.
• WordPress – will probably use this once I get a keyboard!
• The Weather Channel – free weather app – almost obligatory to have one of them.
• AeroGuitar Free – demo of “Guitar Hero” type game.  Not that impressed – the whole point of guitar hero is mucking about with friends, not sitting alone!
• Dictionary – again, almost obligatory.
• Plane Flight HD Free – demo of plane tracking app.  Probably not used enough to buy the app when I get hit the websites that provide this information for free.
• Adobe Ideas – not played with this yet, but seems interesting
• Urbanspoon – restaurant search – have it on the phone as well and seems useful
• IMDb – because I can.
• Periodic Table – the £7.99 paid app is gorgeous but I’m not paying that much for “pretty”.
• BBCiPlayer
• eBay- Curious, but why do I need an app when the website works fine?
• Google Earth – This has always struck me as “why do I need an app for that”, but it’s fun to play with.

Any other recommendations?

Paid Apps

• FlightControl HD (£2.99)  Most used app so far.
• Weather HD (£0.59)  This really should have been a free app.  Weather and pretty pictures.  Waste of 59p.
• Real Racing HD (£5.99)  This’ll keep me amused on travel sometime.

I’ll probably – possibly – add the Pages, Numbers and Keynote apps – Word, Excel and Powerpoint equivalents – once I have a BT keyboard which I have hinted will make a nice birthday present (and will be buying myself the day after if I don’t get it!)

On eBooks

I’ve got a whole bunch of reference PDFs downloaded, as well as the beginnings of a collection of Free eBooks.   These all open fine in the built in iBook application.  But since Amazon are promising a Kindle App for Android, and their whispersync technology means I can go to a book I started reading on the ipad, and carry on on the PC or the phone, that sounded a better deal.  Oh, and their eBooks are cheaper too.

Reading in the sun

Probably my biggest unknown was how well it would work in bright sunlight.  I intend to have it with me on vacation later in the year as my primary source of “entertainment”, and want to be able to watch videos and read books in the sun.  Watching video’s isn’t so good, but the “mostly white” screen of the book reader does an excellent job of hiding reflections off the screen, and after a while you start to focus on the screen, not the reflections, so it’s prefectly usable. If money really were no object, I’d probably get an eBook reader as well – which would also eliminate my minor concern about this being something of a single point of failure in amusing myself when travelling.

Essential Accessories I’d have bought at the time

Well, if I didn’t have a birthday in a few weeks and hence the opportunity to drop hints about presents.

1) Spare USB charger.  Nominally so I can leave one in my “travel” bag and one at home, but I’ll probably take both when travelling since I can (with the right leads) charge my phone and MiFi router off the USB port as well.

2) Case.  And the only reason I didn’t order this at the time was the quoted 3-4 week delivery.

3) Camera interface so I can download photos taken during the day to the iPad.  I really like the idea of being able to sit in the bar and look over the day’s photos.

One of the purchasing decisions for the iPad was whether to go with the built-in 3G connectivity or stick with the WiFi option.

Since I already have two laptops (work and home) which benefit from being able to access the Internet from anywhere, it seemed like a 3G/WiFi router was a better option than the built in 3G.  I don’t want to pay for separate contracts for the lapdog, iPad, and SWMBO’s lapdog. So the fact they can all share one SIM is good.

The downside is that if it’s being used to partner the iPad it’s another device that needs to be charged up.

Time to get that Gel Cell powered USB port working!!

My intention in purchasing the iPad was largely as a media consumption device.  Something to use to surf teh Interwebs while at home, watch videos on a plane, read books on a beach, and then come home and stuff full again for the next trip.

• Reading eBooks is great even in the sun.  After a while your eyes learn to focus on the screen not the reflections, and then it’s even better
• Transcoding DVDs to a format I can watch is painfully slow.  Advance planning needed to get the existing DVD collection (or at leat the interesting part thereof) converted ready for the next prolonged trip.

The true test will be in a month’s time.  Am I carrying it everywhere, or has it become an expensive Photo frame I take on international trips?

Time will tell.

I’ve given in.

After my first iPod was replaced under warranty 4 times in 2 years, and died again just out of warranty, I went on a bit of an anti-apple phase.  Which was exacerbated when I realised I couldn’t play any of the music I’d bought for the iPod on any other player.  Since then I have an iPod nano for portable music, which I’ve been rather more impressed with.

I deliberately didn’t get an iPhone – at the time I was happy with my WM6 phone.   Then corporate policies forced me down the Blackberry route, and while it’s an excellent tool it’s not a fun personal gadget so I got my own phone, and after looking seriously at the iPhone ended up with a HTC Desire.

But after looking at several eBook readers I came to the conclusion that it was going to be another device – and battery charger – to add to the netbook,  media player, and mobile phone that I take on any kind of trip.  Then I figured the iPad would do all of these things, so I’ve ordered one.  I’ll be selling the Netbook and Creative media player once it arrives – sometime the week after next as it seems Apple deem fir to take my order three days ago and ship it in 10 days time.

Not the best first impression in this day of instant gratification.  I expect same day ship from Internet companies these days.

Edit: they’ve improved the delivery date and allegedly it’s on a UPS truck somewhere near here.  I shall resist the temptation to keep refreshing the tracking page every 30 seconds.  Not so shabby after all.

I’m considering getting an ebook reader and I’m finding the technology hasn’t quite matured yet.  My specification list:

• Should fold to the size and weight of a paperback book.  Max 1.5″ thick when folded.
• Opens out to reveal two screens with the size and resolution of a printed page in full colour.
• Readable from bright sunlight to a dark room.
• Global 3G and Wifi Access for ~ £2.50/month for downloading new books.
• Ability to trade in back catalog of paper books for non-DRM ebook versions at zero cost.
• Oh, and no DRM on downloads either.  If I bought it, it’s mine for life.
• Should run for ~40hrs of reading (without backlight) on a single charge.
• 24 hr replacement if it fails in the first 3 years.
• Page redraw ~0.1 seconds.

Come on guys.  I’m not asking much. I’d pay £15/month for unlimited data if it was a general purpose device like an iPad into the bargain.

Overheard at a US airport:

“Excuse me, sir,” said the TSA officer, pointing to the young female, “She does not need to have her ID out, she’s a minor.”

Dad: “How do you know she’s a minor if you don’t look at her ID?”

Meanwhile, Adam Laurie (of hotel safe cracking fame) has proven the new UK ID cards to be a waste of time and tax payers money…

I love working in security.  Being good is so easy when there’s this much crap around.

After being tired of pages of rubbish when trying to double check my IP address, I wrote this little site.

www.IPfor.me.uk

Just the answer you want, and a single line of ads.  I hope it’s useful for others.