Courtesy of Elmundotech.files.wordpress.com
With my iPhone in hand, I scanned the map for a place to grab lunch in between basketball games.
I found a Chipoltle, went inside, and grabbed something to eat. I checked the phone’s Wi-Fi to see if there was a free hotspot around—there wasn’t. no big deal. I went to the adjacent Starbucks and grabbed a coffee; an extra jolt of caffeine would do me good for the rest of the night.
I still had a game story to write, of course. I had the headline, the lede and a few quotes all set to go. I logged into the WordPress back-end for the Informer and got writing on my iPad 2.
It’s an easy process from getting Apple’s latest entry to the tablet game it created online and ready to compose an article. I unfolded the gray Smart Cover so that it created an angle suitable for typing. from there, I logged into the Wi-Fi hotspot and got to work right away.
Within an hour I had typed and posted an article about Boston University’s stunning come from behind victory over Stony Brook. The iPad 2 didn’t make this process easier; in fact, it may have taken longer since I wasn’t using a physical keyboard.
Apple does have both a keyboard dock and provides Bluetooth capability to connect a wireless keyboard to the device—something I did use to live blog that same game (using the keyboard in the cramped coffee shop was just too cumbersome). The process wasn’t easier, no, but it was way more convenient and faster to use than the laptop I own.
I had used the original iPad when it first came out for about a week and again late last year for about two weeks. I’m glad I waited on owning an iPad for the long-term until this recent refresh.
The iPad 2 is faster and lightly smaller. Switching in and out of applications is a breeze, with less than a second of inoperability before being able to interact with the application. on the first-generation iPad, it was noticeably slower.
The iPad 2 fits in a category the iPad created. despite not having an implicit need that the computer and phone fulfill, the iPad creates a middle ground that will, in the end, serve a need. and that’s important—this device now does more than just help a person consume content (it’s gotten better at doing that), people can now record a song in GarageBand or edit a video in iMovie.
The entry cost used to be around $1,000 for a MacBook or iMac, or over $500 for a Mac mini (provided you have a monitor, keyboard and mouse). Now someone can get an iPad and buy the $5 apps and be creating content on par with their PC counterparts. The iPad 2 is not without its shortfalls.
The main gripe I have is with iOS’ notification system. It’s terrible, but I’ve lived with it on the iPhone and the iPad, because iOS is far better and more mature than any other modern tablet operating system.
Later this week I will delve into the application experience on the iPad 2, beginning with NewsCorps new digital newspaper, The Daily.