I apologize in advance for my non-techie followers, but this post is all about computer technology — specifically Apple’s iPad. Mind you, even if computers are not of much interest to you, I think you might find this post interesting.
It was almost two weeks ago when I bought my iPad. I picked mine up the day after the international launch. I thought it was time to share my initial thoughts about the device.
Now, I’m going to assume that you’ve heard of the iPad. If you haven’t, then you should jump over to the Apple Website and read up on it a little. It is a device you will be hearing about much more over the next few years.
When Apple released the iPhone, they called it revolutionary. And it was. It still is. Love it or hate it, no one can deny that the iPhone changed the entire industry. The majority of phones being released today have touch screens. Most are compared only against the iPhone. Some measure up, most don’t.
I believe in the next year, the same will happen with the iPad. We will see all kinds of companies come out with tablet computers. In fact, I believe the iPad will kill off the netbook market completely and companies will focus on building full scale laptops and tablet computers.
Is the iPad good? Let’s just say that there are still times, two weeks after getting the device, where I’ll go to do something on it, and will be amazed at how incredible it is. It has changed 80% of my computer habits. Almost everything I do is now done on the iPad. From watching video clips, reading blogs, doing my daily Bible reading, writing sermons, researching data, reading the daily newspapers, all of it is a joy to do on the iPad. In fact, I replaced my MacBook Pro with an iPad and a MacMini and have not regretted the decision for one moment.
Tonight and this weekend, I will preach from the iPad. I’m still needing to figure out the best system for doing this (it will become obvious once Apple’s iBook APP supports PDF files). For now, I’m trying two different systems. One is an APP called Fast PDF which mimics iBooks, and the other is taking screen shots of each page of my notes and using a photo slide show.
Who is the iPad good for? Well, I think it’s the perfect machine for just about everyone. The only people I think would find it limiting are those who use specialized software, or those who do video editing. The average computer user — the one who primarily uses a computer for email, web surfing, videos, music, blogs, etc., will find the iPad a great system.
One of the blogs I follow showed this video today. It’s a 99 year old woman working on an iPad. It’s her first computer, and she demonstrates just how simple this device is to use.
So, what do you think? iPad users: what apps are you loving?
