So, I've been using the iPad for 10 days now, and I both love and hate it. Ultimately, I regret buying it. No joke.

When it was announced, I knew the iPad was meant for content consumption, and I was cool with that. I figured Kris and I would use it around the house all the time. Right now, we use this MacBook Pro for content consumption: DVDs, iTunes, web-browsing, and so on. But it's clunky, expensive, and a bit finicky. Plus, I use this machine for content creation, which it excels at. I knew the iPad wasn't meant for content creation, but I ordered it anyhow.

Well, on my trip to Chicago I learned quickly that a consumption-only device isn't really good for J.D. I create content constantly, from blog posts to e-mail to videos and more. Yes, you can do most of this on an iPad, but it'll take you years to do so. The virtual keyboard is much more difficult to use than on an iPhone because the range of motion is all wrong and there's no tactile response. So, I was frustrated.

On the other hand, the thing is gorgeous. Yes, the screen smudges like crazy (and not just because of greasy food), but colors are rich and vibrant. Plus, the iPad is fast. When Steve Jobs said that the iPad offered the best web experience out there, he wasn't joking. It's great. (For the record, I've noticed that Flash is missing on a couple of sites, but it has never affected my browsing experience so far. I just don't go to Flash-heavy sites.) There are lots of apps, and the thing is fun to use. Kris and I have watched several episodes of The Office and The Amazing Race, and they look great.

So: content consumption A+, content production F.

What changes this, however, is the keyboard dock. The dock only works with the iPad in portrait mode and not landscape mode, which is a little disappointing (though there's no real way around it). And when you use the dock, all of a sudden, the iPad is surprisingly useful, even without a mouse. Probably still only a C for content creation with the dock, but that's not so bad given what it is. The real issue is: Do I really want to carry the iPad and the dock with me when I travel?

In the end, I do regret the purchase. This is an example of J.D. making an impulse purchase. (See, I'm not perfect!) Fortunately, it's an impulse purchase I can afford. And it may be one I can ameliorate by selling the iPad or finding a better use for it. (Maybe I'll send it with Kris when she travels to Virginia in May.) Ultimately, I would have been better advised to keep saving so that I could be ready to upgrade my laptop, I think.

--j.d., Apple fanboy...

Thanks for that JD. Really.

I tried out the iPad in a nearby Apple store. Touch typing in the landscape mode turned out to be really disappointing because my fingers covered so much of the keyboard that I had a hard time typing even when I was looking at it.

Conversely, hunting and pecking with my first fingers in portrait mode seemed faster, if nothing else, because that method allowed me to see the virtual keyboard.

The biggest thing that nailed it for me was "content creation" vs "content consumption". Not that I expect anyone to believe me, but I've literally come to the same conclusion as well. That what I really wanted in a portable device is the ability to not just consume content, but to create it as well... and therefore, the iPad may not cut it.

To be fair, I do think more and better content creation software will arise as time goes on. Unfortunately, the rest, such as carrying an external keyboard to its physical dimensions in the first place, I'm not sure if that can be solved anytime soon.

Again, I'm waiting to see what happens with the competition's tablets, especially Android. Certainly, based on the reviews I've read so far, the user experience is not going to be as good as the iPad's, but the hardware features available will make content creation much more feasible, all the while being more portable (at 5" to 7" screens) albeit at the cost of battery life.

That and I'm hoping against all hope that the Microsoft Courier sees the light of day.

We'll see!

Especially since Apple announced upgrades to its line of MacBook Pros today!

I actually today bought and downloaded the eBook version of Your Money: The Missing Manual and loaded it onto my iPod Touch. Looks great (and so far I like what I've read!).

I noticed that O'Reilly offers some of its Missing Manuals as iPhone (and presumably iPad) apps and was thinking that might be an interesting spin-off for the book: you could work with an app developer to integrate some personal finance tools into the app.

I can only chime in as an Apple shareholder, so I'm glad you bought it.

Unfortunately, the first generation of most things isn't the best. Yes, you can say you had it on day one, and show it off now, but if you wait a few months, or a year, the next one will be better, less glitchy, and you may be able to type in landscape mode.

Now that you have your $$, don't go squandering it on 1st gen Stuff.

Signed,
The only person in the world that still uses her huge ipod and bought it YEARS after they came out.

Another reason to have an iPad:

"Jens Stoltenberg, who was in the United States for President Obama's nuclear summit, is running the Norwegian government from the U.S. via his new iPad, his press secretary Sindre Fossum Beyer told CNN."

If an Icelandic volcano grounds your flight, you can use your iPad to run a nordic country.

Now, isn't this the same country that kind of went bankrupt due to the credit crisis? Seriously though, that's pretty cool.

However, I do wonder about maintaining state secrecy using this device. The iPhone OS platform is not exactly known for its security.

A couple of things -

Iceland is the country that almost went bankrupt and spread its financial mess all over Europe. Now it is the country where the volcano is and they are spreading teh volcanic mess all over Europe. I like Iceland, but they have not been very good neighbors lately have they?

Jens Stoltenberg is Prime Minister of Norway, a totally different country. The nordic country he is running is Norway.

As for state secrets...c'mon, it's Norway. What secrets could they possibly have? Proper telemarking techniques? The true location of Santa Klaus' workshop? The antidote for lutefisk?

It's kind of like the mortgage backed securities thing - yes, Iceland should have known better than to take all those loans. But that doesn't mean the rest of Europe wasn't an idiot for loaning them money they obviously couldn't afford to borrow.

But it wasn't loans that caused Iceland's problems. It was the fact that they operated banks in the UK (and elsewhere), accepted deposits in sterling, and tried to guarantee them without spophisticated hedging. I don't think the country had particularly lareg debts before the crisis. I think their large debt load was created when Sweden and other nordic countries, along with the IMF bailed them out. Remember, Britain was threatening to send the RAF up the Reykjavik to have a chat with those bankers because teh UK government was laregly left holding the bag for deposits that the Icelandic banks could not back.

Id say ipad is a waste of money. Why`s that

You can get a laptop/TABLET made by HP thats i guess over 2 years old, with ultra capacity battery that lasts almost 20 hours. Ipad is new but loses in every possible category with laptop/tablets, especially the old hp with that battery.

That proves that apple just makes good looking toys rather than valuable (price to value) tools.

I advise anyone to get themselves that hewlett packard laptop/tablet.

1Phone- N900 or Motorola droid (large resolution to read mail and web pages, also very programmable), but older phones with res 800x400 will do just fine. And buy internet packages. Should have wifi

2.Tablet/laptop- mentioned HP with ultra capacity battery (20 hours) and dongle for mobile internet, costs the same as ipad, but is better in every way. As far as I remember has wifi, and even if not you can buy an usb dongle

3.Wifi access to internet in your home.

4.If you need buy also a small notebook (12 hours) with wifi

5.To reduce space usage in your home - all in one touchscreen computer, but most of us can use standard tower, cause its not that important. I would choose with wifi and blu ray.

6.Blu ray reader (tv) with hard drive and access to internet through your wifi connection

7.Big tv.

8.Additional portable and rechargeable usb batteries to your laptops

And thats even more than you need


www.squidoo.com/fast-money-making

It's a cool toy. Several of my friends have one. However, it's not something I have a need for right now and it doesn't fit my informal* budget.

*I say informal because I've never written down anything, I just mentally think to myself a) do I need this and b) if not, is it cheap enough that I won't miss the money?

The iPad fails this basic test. On the other hand, I've decide that once the house is paid off, I might look into getting one. I figure I can afford to waste more on toys once that goal is accomplished.

with the iPad i love the idea of it being protable and basically a bigger version of an iPhone but what has put me off buying one is the fact the new Iphone has double the RAM and the same processor, i have a good, new-ish laptop which i use all the time for work and when actully compairing i might as well use the laptop and get my moneys worth.

but you can't blame Apple, they have sold a tremendious number and thats all there gonna see from it