29 April 2010

07 - What's on my iPad?

In an earlier piece I covered the stuff that comes with the device out of the box. So here I'm just gonna run down the apps that I've bought/loaded and what we (me and my hosts) think of them.

This is after just a few days of use, so by no means is it a definitive viewpoint, nor is it a definitive list of what's out there. Where possible, I am using an iPad version of the app, but some of these are iPod apps. I've left a couple out, because they aren't really worth talking about.

If you spot any outdated info here, please feel free to comment, as apps are being updated at a rate that's faster than I'm generally using them! In fact, by the time that's past between writing and posting this (I went to Disney World!), the number of apps on my iPad has doubled, so I'll post another selection at a later date.

Skype. Even though it's only available as an iPhone app at the moment, Skype is a big winner for me on the iPad. As well as it working great with the built in mic & speakers, the iPad provides a strange new type of portability that I didn't foresee as being relevant. You can carry someone around the house in the crook of your arm - or put them on a shelf - and talk to them hands free. It really is a weird sensation. Like talking to a picture frame. Hopefully, when Skype get round to doing an iPad version of the app, they will allow you to receive video, too. This is a must-have app for Skype users!

Marvel Comics. Marvel's iPad app is both a shop and and a comic reader. As well as reading, you can browse currently available titles & download them directly to the iPad. As I've said elsewhere, the comics look great on the iPad, so this is definitely worth checking out. On the downside, Marvel only seem to have old titles available at the moment and they are expenisve. I'm not really interested in paying nearly $2 for a 6 year old comic which takes about 15 minutes to read!

BBC News. The BBC were quick to create a news app. It's nothing amazing - it grabs live news articles from the news website and reformats it for the iPad. There is a scrolling news ticker and a live radio button. There doesn't seem to be a way to change the radio from the BBC world service, though. If that's what it is. I'm not sure because it doesn't actually say. None the less, it does the job of providing the news just fine. Video clips play back full screen, and I don't get any 'video can't play back in you region' type errors that I often get on the BBC main site when I'm out of the country. Strangely, you can only edit the news sections in landscape mode and the app has crashed quite a few times, but you can start it up again immediately and normally its fine. All in all, its an ok experience: a bit better than going to the BBC website if you are just looking for the main stories.

Wikipanion. On my iPod there is a Wikipedia app, provided by Wikipedia. They haven't done an iPad version (yet), but someone else has, and frankly, it's so well done I'll probably stick with it. Like the BBC News app, it reformats the website data for the iPad. Unlike the BBC app it provides some additional functionality in the form of customisable settings, bookmarking, links to wiki dictionary and, most importantly, a search box.

AccuWeather. I tried a number of different weather apps, but AccuWeather has the best layout for me. It has nice features, and has been carefully designed to fully utilise the iPad's screen. We use it at least twice a day!

Facebook. No sign of a iPad specific app yet, so I'm using the iPhone version. One of the things that makes the facebook app so nice to use is that there absolutely no adverts.

The Guardian Newspaper. Another iPhone app which scales well. The text has a little anti-aliasing on it, but that's offset by the fact that larger text is easier to read. The photo galleries look great, which leads me to wonder what the resolution of the pics are, because on the iPhone you can't zoom in to them, yet on the iPad they don't don't have the anti-aliasing issues that the text suffers from.

The Guardian Eyewitness. This is an iPad app that takes select images from the gallery of the Guardian's iPhone app and provides them in a higher res along with photo tips. It comes with 100 pictures and adds a couple more each day. There is a slide-show feature and a mini-browser. The pictures are excellent and this makes for a good muse when you are bored.

Kindle Reader. Despite selling a competing e-reader device (the Kindle), Amazon have decided to play nice with Apple by providing an app that allows you to read your Kindle purchased books on the iPad. I don't have any Kindle purchased books, so I can't really comment, but now that I have the reader I might buy some, which I guess is their master plan.
I did manage to get a free/demo version of Alice in Wonderland and it looks nice. Clear text, easy page turns. Bookmarking features and other navigational aids seem to work pretty well, but until I read a whole book on it, I can't really add much more.

NYT Editors choice. Selected articles from the current issue of the New York Times for free. They are presented nicely - it looks and feels like a newspaper - and there is a good selection to choose from, including: main news, business, technology, opinions & features sections. The articles all have photography with them, and you can email a specific article to someone if you wish.

TweetDeck & Twitterrific I couldn't decide which Twitter app to use, so I thought I'd try them both. To be honest, I still can't decide. They have different pros & cons. I think TweetDeck is winning because it goes straight to the most recent tweets, unlike Twitterrific, which picks up where you left off. If that was a couple of days previous, it would be a bit of a chore scrolling though a zillion tweets. However, I'd say that Twitterrifc has the easier-to-read interface. There is a lot going on in Tweet Deck.

ComiXology. These guys are actually the builders of Marvel's app, but this one is for everyone else (except DC), so there is a much larger selection of comics available. Its much the same as the Marvel app - you can read, browse and buy directly, as well as flip pages with your finder and zoom in to panels.

Night Stand. An iPhone classic. This works great on the iPad as the Flip clock is large enough to be seen from down the hall!

Flight Control HD. One of the best finger-drawing control games on the platform. The HD version for the iPad takes the game into a new direction, cos you've got a lot more room to mess with a lot more planes.

IMDB. Like Wikipanion and others, this is just data from their website reformatted for the iPad. And, like those others, it's done really well.

Shazam. As a retired DJ and one time club promoter, I've always loved the Shazam service. It started in the UK about 5 years ago as a text service. You dial a 4 digit number, hold your phone to a speaker, and about a minute later you get the name of the track. That is, if the Shazam magicians can identify it. The iPad app does the same thing, but it does it pretty well and very fast. I tried it out on a 10 second sample of a badly ripped alarm tone on my mobile phone, and it gave me the track name (Ame/Rej) almost immediately. And its been successful with everything else I've thrown at it.

Netflix. Potentially a killer app if you have a Netflix account. Access any streaming film or TV show instantly. Unfortunately, it wasn't plain sailing. It was a little tricky to find what I was looking for, and when I did... the app crashed when I rotated the iPad accidentally and the screen re-oriented itself. Gave it a second chance, and the same thing happened again. Eventually, I managed to watch an episode of 'Weeds', and the experience was quite good. No delay or buffering or drop outs. Of course, I was doing this via a US Netflix account, so it will be interesting to see what happens when I get back to the UK. I'm not sure that the service is available to non-US residents.

SHOUTcast. This is an iPhone app. It simply provides a direct connection to the world of SHOUTcast internet radio. The iPad's external speakers and long battery life make it a great portable radio!

ABC Player. This app is provided by ABC Television and allows you to watch the last 7 days (or more) of popular TV series, streaming directly to your iPad for free. This includes Lost, V, Flash Forward and loads of other shows. The shows have ads in them and - rather cleverly - when the ads are running you can't pause or fast forward the video stream, but aside from that, the app is quite nice. I suspect there will be an app like this from every major broadcast network sooner or later (if that's not the case already).

Drop7. Possibly the most addictive iPod game ever. There is no iPad version, but it doesn't need one. It actually works better on a larger screen cos you are less likely to put a numbered ball in the wrong spot. And the kids love it.

28 April 2010

Interlude - Direct from the iPad

I wasn't going to do this just yet, but seeing as I'm stuck at Orlando airport with 4 hours to wait for my flight (thanks to check-in incompetence by Jet Blue, I missed my scheduled flight to DC), I'm going to write and post this blog entry directly on the iPad.

"Wait a second", I hear you ask, "you mean all those other blog entries weren't done on the iPad?"

No, they weren't. Until now, I've had access to either a desktop or laptop on my travels, and I've had so much to write, that I used the fastest input method possible: a good old fashioned keyboard and mouse. But needs must (or whatever the expression is) and I've got nothing better to do at the moment.

So, the first thing you should know is that I'm using the Notes app to type this blog. I tried using Google Docs, but for reasons unknown to me, you can't input text into the Google Docs app on the iPad. Nor can you input text into Google Docs via Safari on the iPad. Google detects that you are using a mobile device and subsequently disables editing. I have no idea why, that's just the way it is. But Notes seems to work well enough. When I'm done typing I'll cut and paste the text into Blogspot via it's web interface.

The second thing you should know is that I'm sitting in an armchair at Starbucks with the iPad on my lap, Apple case folded back into the 'type' position. It's actually quite comfortable, except for the fact that every time I hit a key the pad bounces and wobbles a little bit on my knees. But so far, it's not causing me to mistype any more than a normal laptop keyboard would.

The Apple case is a must have accessory and I wonder why it wasn't included with the iPad in the first place. I can only imagine it's so that a third party accessory industry can develop around the device.

The case actually proved harder to get than the iPad. It took a week of constant visits to the Apple store before I could finally get one. Another $40, but worth the money. It only folds one way, creating a wedge shape, but that wedge is stable in several positions, allowing you to stand it up in both portrait and landscape orientations, and also lie it flat with a sloping elevation for easier typing. It's made of some kind of rubbery, felt-like substance that is non-slip and feels quite nice to the touch.

OK, so I've typed everything you just read in one pass, with minimal errors and my hands don't ache in any way. Neither do my wrists. I could get used to this.

Not sure if I could get used to the looks I'm getting, though. Everybody is curious - I'm not sure if that's because they can tell I've got an iPad or because they can just tell I have something different. After all, this thing sure doesn't look like a laptop. Or, perhaps they think I'm the person playing the honky-tonk piano that's blasting through the speakers. I can imagine it probably looks that way.

Right, now I'm going to try and get this online. It's 4.07pm...          

OK, now it's 4:13pm and I'm about to post from inside the Blogger interface. It took 5 minutes to find an open Wi-Fi network and get the Blogger site logged in and functional. Here we go... (see comments below for my conclusion!)

23 April 2010

06 - The nitty gritty details

OK, so I've bored you all to tears with the personal stuff. By now, if you're still with me, you are wondering about the truth of the matter. The details. The technical porn. OK, even though you can probably get this information anywhere, here comes my version. As far as I'm aware, this is accurate based on what I have in my possession (the actual device) and, of course, the official blurb from Apple Computer.

The hardware:

The iPad comes in 16, 32 & 64gb versions, with a 3GS variation on the way. I can't talk about the 3GS cos its not shipping yet. Mine is the 64gb model. I chose that because the difference in price is relatively minimal and based on how full my iPod touch is I'm guessing I'd fill a 16gb one almost instantly and a 32gb one not long after that. I downloaded 2 SD quality episodes of Lost from iTunes and each of those are 600mb+

It weighs 1.5 pounds. That's about the same as a thick, hardback book or a little more than a pint of milk.  Yes, a pint of milk. It took me ages to think of a common household item of about that weight, so sorry if it's a silly one. But while we are on the subject it's an interesting thought:  Imagine surfing the web on the side of TetraPak of semi-skimmed milk, whilst eating your cereal. You may mock, but one day it will most likely be possible.

The first thing which stands out about the pad is its beautiful screen. It's a 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy multi-touch display with a 'Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating'. In real terms that means that the visible screen size is roughly 14.73cm x 19.68cm (5.8" x 7.75"). That's a little bit smaller than a marvel or DC comic book, but bigger than of a sheet of A5 paper. The resolution is 132 pixels per inch, which is a lot better than most desktop monitors. You get a grand total of 768 x 1024 resolution - higher than a regular PAL or NTSC tv screen but just a little shy of 720p HD TV.

As for the fingerprint resistant coating... well, I can't imagine what it would be like with out it, because mine gets covered in fingerprints all the time. They wipe off easy enough, just don't expect to see anything on it in direct sunlight. Between the glossiness and the fingerprint smudges it doesn't really make for a great outdoor viewing experience.

It has built in speakers and a microphone, both of which are quite decent. The speakers are loud enough and of high enough quality to enjoy movies, TV or radio-like audio, though If I really wanted good sound quality I'd be using headphones or I'd attach it too an outside source. There is an external up/down volume control on one side.

The microphone is particularly good. When using the Skype app, quite a few of my friends commented that I sounded better than my usual set up at home (a Logitech 9000 Quickcam pro, which is actually quite good).

Apart from the power switch, the only other external details are the Dock Connector Port, which connects the iPad to external USB devices (the same type as an iPhone) and a little slider which locks the accelerometer. That's the internal mechanism which rotates the screen depending which way up you hold it. It's extremely sensitive, so there will be times when you want to switch it off to stop the screen re-configuring. It's a nice little feature to have in hardware, as it saves you fumbling around for menu options.

Lastly, it has a single control button under the screen, just like the iPods & iPhones, and it functions in the exact same way. Press it once to turn it on. Press it once to exit an app and return to the home screen. Press it once while on the home screen to go to the search page. You get the picture.

Meanwhile, inside the box the iPad sports a new chip called the A4. It's a 1GHZ low power consumption processor. On a device this small, that much power is a lot. Certainly enough to playback 720p video and handle most of the tasks you'd throw at a gadget like this for a long time. As far as I can tell the 10 hour battery claim that apple has made is pretty accurate, possibly even an underestimate.

The Wi-Fi works great. It supports all the common Wi-Fi setups you are likely to run in to (802.11a/b/g/n). At the home where I'm spending my holidays there are both g & n networks and it handles them both just fine. I'd read reports of people having trouble connecting to Wi-Fi, but that's not the case here. I should also add that the networks in the house are not provided by an Apple Wi-Fi box (Airport), just a regular Linux controlled wireless router.

The Bluetooth... is a bit of a mystery to me. According to Apple, its Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology and can be used for connecting external keyboards and headsets etc. But in the real world, it appears that it's not the full Bluetooth package that most mobile phone users are used too. Whilst I can pair it with my SonyEricsson phone for instance, I can't do anything with that pairing. I was hoping to send pictures from one to the other, which is a pretty standard thing to do. I'm guessing I can't send data or create network connections with it either. Admittedly, I didn't try very hard. It is just as easy for me to mail the pictures to myself and frankly, a lot quicker.

The software:

The iPad operating system works pretty much the same way as the iPhone one. The bigger screen size means you can rack up more icons on the lower shelf (6), while the main screen has room for 20 app icons.

Surprisingly, it doesn't ship with many apps. Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Safari, Videos, iPod, iTunes, App Store, Photos, Notes, Maps & YouTube. There is a very good argument to say that most of these aren't apps at all: 'App store' & 'iTunes' are 2 portals into the world of shopping, while the others are just beefed up utilities that appear on pretty much every mobile device that's out there. Safari, Maps & YouTube are the real apps and those are pretty standard fair.

What's also surprising are the ones that are missing, yet come as standard on the iPhone or iPod: Weather, Calculator & Stocks. There may be others missing too, but I can't remember. If anyone out there can think of any I've missed and wants to ask me, just leave a comment and I'll tell you. I'm really surprised that there is no calculator. Seems like a strange thing to leave out. I mean, come on Apple, for $699 you could at least give me a friggin calculator function! Do I have to buy one? I find that a little offensive!

The others don't bother me as there are better, free versions available in the app store.

An even bigger surprise is that it doesn't come with iBook, which has been one of the most talked about utilities in the pre-release hype. Considering it's by Apple, it's free and available on the iTunes store, this makes no sense. Why not have it pre-loaded? With a sample book. There are enough classics in the public domain to make that a non-loss affair.

Safari is Apple's standard web browser. I can see no meaningful difference between this version and the one on my iPod. It's fast and simple to use. It doesn't support flash (one of the big debating points about the apple mobile platform in general), but it does support HTML 5. Most sites I've been to work quite well on it, although that could be because I've become very good at dodging Flash sites in general.

Maps is the same Google application that we are all familiar with, except this version appears to be tanked up on steroids. Its fast and easy to use. Quite a different experience from the browser and phone versions, even though it's essentially the same app.

YouTube... I seldom go directly to YouTube. Most often find myself there by accident. I almost never use the YouTube app on my iPod and I avoid it like the plague on my PlayStation 3 (my first experience with YouTube XL on the PS3 crashed my system, horribly). Once again, probably because of the bigger screen, it's far more usable on the iPad, as there is enough room for a video and a list of movies to go with it.

iPod is a redesigned music player. It's a bit of an oddity, actually, as it feels more like the desktop iTunes application than the iTunes one that's actually on the iPad. The iTunes application seems to be just a portal to the iTunes store.

Strange that of all the things Apple appear to have fumbled with the iPad (in my opinion), it's the one that allows me to give them money from the comfort of my armchair! The app store gives me negative karma because of the country differences between the UK & US and I had to find the iBook app for myself. The iPod & iTunes apps have a weird kind of cross over feel with the desktop and are unusual if you are used to the iPhone.

Anyone would think they didn't want more of my cash.

Next: 07 - What's on my iPad?

05 - First Impressions

If first impressions count, then it counts double for technology. Like real-world human relationships, when you see or use a gadget for the first time, that initial first contact can be make or break your perception of the device forever.

Sitting down in an armchair or sofa with an iPad for the first time felt very natural. Much like holding a hardback book or thick magazine, and a lot more 'normal' than sitting with a laptop. I'd heard that it was quite heavy, but I found it quite comfortable in my hands, although I should out that I have monster sized mits, so that may have something to do with it.

I spent a little time setting up my mail and configuring the handful of apps that I'd loaded via iTunes and then... 'pling'. What was that noise? Oh look, an email...

I'm the kind of person who can't leave a phone ringing or an email unread (and often, unanswered). I turn my phone off a good deal of the time so I don't have to insult the people around me by rudely using it when I'm in their company. Did everybody hear that? Phone addicts, were you listening? Anyway, even though I was planning to do something else, suddenly I'm sitting there answering mail. It took a few moments for me to decide if I wanted to hold the pad in portrait or landscape format (I'm still undecided) but aside from that, the fact I was using a new device was lost to the job of communicating with a friend..

Then someone - I don't remember who - wandered into the room and asked if we were going to go hiking later that afternoon. Someone else pointed out that it would depend on the weather. Weather forecast? A few seconds later we had that answer via the Accuweather app.

The weather wasn't looking particularly good so watching a movie was put forward as an alternative. We found and used the Netflix app to order up the movie in question. Then I opened up a couple Google docs to reference a recipe I'd uploaded a few weeks earlier.

And so it went on. Without too much fanfare the Pad was totally incorporated into family life. When the adults weren't tinkering with it, the girls were playing Drop 7 & Flight Control HD. After dinner a couple of us sat and did the New York Times Crossword on it (in 49 minutes placing us 2200ish).

Now, you're probably wondering what the big deal is. Can't I do all those things on my iPhone, laptop or whatever else? Yes, of course I can. But, that's the point I think. There is no big deal. The iPad just... works. An hour down the line I was using it as if I had always owned it. And so were the people around me.

By the end of the first day, the iPad was sitting on the table, being used in turn by various members of the household: At first out of fascination and curiosity, but later because it was just a lot easier than any of the other devices in the house.

Whats on TV? Shall we watch something via Netflix? Let me check my twitter. A quick update to Facebook. All these things are pretty instant and accessible, with no resorting to manuals, scratching of heads or cursing. Just touch the icon with your finger and you are instantly there. OK, so it's not perfect - yes, there were websites that I couldn't access because they were built around Flash, but only a couple. And again, I'm used to that from my iPod touch.

Now, compare that experience to getting a new netbook or laptop. Or most new phones. I doubt that its that fluid. First you'd spend a lot of time with basic set-ups. Then you'd spend ages doing the latest system updates. Then you'd have to install the various browsers and plug-ins you need. There would be several restarts along the way. Then & only then would you be ready to use the device in a meaningful way.

OK, so that explains the netbooks and laptops, but why is the iPad so much easier & natural to use than even the iPhones and iPods?

On the surface it looks like a giant version of these items. In many ways it is. The feature set is similar, and interface is identical and so are the apps. but there are a few important differences, which make all the difference.

The bigger screen, whilst obviously more liberating, means you hold and use the device differently. Its readable at quite a distance, so it's a lot easier to share the experience with someone. Most small handhelds and smart-phones are essentially a one person device. This means that two people or more can do the crossword together, read a book together... a group can watch a TV show or a movie and all see and hear it equally well.

The bigger screen makes certain things far more comfortable to use - most notably web-surfing, but also email and anything else which involves a large quantity of text. Without changing the size of the text you don't have to scroll as much. Sometimes not at all. A small detail, but a very important one. How many times have you given up looking at a site on your phone because you couldn't see all the relevant information at once?

The faster processor means it's just... faster. A stupidly obvious statement, but with something like Google Maps it's important. Have you ever tried zooming in and out or scrolling a map on your smart-phone and its so slow you just abandon it? Or more likely, you put the device down and go do it on your desktop machine? And going back to the screen size, could you see it all at once?

Which brings me to digital comics. Two of the biggest turn offs to reading comics on a smart-phone have been size and speed. No matter how clever the comic app is at zooming panels and expanding dialogue boxes, most comics are supposed to be read with the full page in view. Which is nearly impossible on a smart phone. Even the largest text is difficult to read without zooming in. The iPad is nearly the same size as a standard print comic. That, combined with the fact that you can flip the pages nearly instantly ,makes it feel very similar to reading a paper version.

So, I ended the day reading an issue of 'Elephantmen' in bed and then, when I was done, popped it on the little charger base that my friend had pre-ordered for his own, yet to be delivered, 3GS iPad and went to sleep watching an episode of Lost which I'd bought from the iTunes store.

End of the first day... no bugs, problems, disappointments or other things that would make me doubt my purchase.

I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprised.

Next: 06 - The nitty gritty details.

21 April 2010

04 - The out of the box experience

Way back in the last century, back when I was still waving an Apple flag and believing the hype, my current host - Ron - who back then was definitely not an Apple supporter, conceded that the one area where Apple products were superior to all other companies was in what he called The Out Of The Box Experience. (Interestingly, over the years, he has become a total Apple convert and now owns way more Cupertino product than I do. It's a funny old game, isn't it?)

The Out of the Box Experience is what happens when you get something home and unpack it for the first time. How long does it take to get working? Do you feel happy with your purchase? Or guilty? Or frustrated? With computers, most of the time it's the last of the three.

So, there I am, sitting at the dining room table with the iPad box in front of me. I lift of the cover and... there it is. No foam. No cardboard. Just iPad, fitting perfectly fit in it's box. Without taking it out you can press the power button... and on it goes. Lifting it out, there is a small space underneath which holds a cable and a small booklet. That's it. No case, no keyboard, no straps, no... anything. Yes, even the top of the range model comes with no extras. But I'll get to that later. First things first... plug it in and get it fired up.

Like an iPod or iPhone, before you can use it, you need to plug it into a computer - PC or Mac - loaded with the latest version of iTunes and register the device. There is a brief registration process and then it's ready to go. The battery was fully charged, so I'd say from box to full usage takes only about 15 minutes? I'm not entirely sure because the process was delayed by having to update iTunes and me refusing to put the iPad down. I was happy just rotating it in my hands watching the little icons re-configure themselves. Simple things, simple minds.

Indeed, the Out Of The Box Experience here was quite good. It wasn't something I was ever really too concerned about in my younger years. I was way too fired up on the technology to care. If anything, I'd have probably been disappointed if there wasn't loads of manuals and cables and things to plug into each other.

But these days?... Been there, seen it, done it.

I just spent $750 on something so I expect it to work immediately. Is that unreasonable? I don't think so. The very thought that you'd buy something that didn't work is illogical. OK, I can think of a few exceptions. A kitchen sink maybe. Or a cooker. Items which are large and potentially dangerous and need to be physically installed into your house.

Consumer electronics should not fall into that category (noted exception being a 50,000 dollar home theatre installation). Especially when they are aimed at joe public. Or my mother. If my mum spent that much money on something and got it home and couldn't get it to work immediately, she'd nip over to Steve Jobs house and give him a thick ear.

Eventually I finally stopped myself just rotating it round and round and actually decided to use it. The first thing that all iPad owners will agree on is the surprise in lack of loaded apps. I wasn't expecting it to be decked out with games and things, but it doesn't have a calculator, weather, stocks, or many of the other things that a standard iphone or iPod comes with. Not a big deal because the app store is but a fingerprint away, but surprising none the less.

The second thing that I suspect all iPad owners will agree on is that it has the worse choice of desktop picture ever. It's a relatively innocent night landscape photo, but the time lapsed stars look distinctly like scratches on the screen, so that was the first thing to go.

There were some reports in the press of wireless problems, but I certainly didn't experience any. It found and joined the wireless-n & g networks without any issues.

But there was one thing that confounded me. As a British resident, my iTunes account is with the UK iTunes store. I had no trouble setting it up in iTunes on the computer and syncing it to the pad... but the iTunes and App store apps on the pad itself wouldn't allow me to connect to the store via wi-fi. It says 'App store does not work in this country' (or words to that effect). I think it means that the UK app store doesn't work in the USA. Which is weird because my iPod touch has no trouble. So maybe what it really means is we haven't set up the UK app store for iPad yet.

Nonetheless I can find and load apps via iTunes on the PC or I can also use a US iTunes store account if I wish, so I'm not bothered - I'm assuming that as soon as they launch the device in the UK the store will become available.

So, less that 45 minutes after arriving back from Best Buy I'm sitting comfortably on the couch, pad in my lap. I've loaded up some apps - a few iPad ones and a few iPhone ones, so... now lets see what all the fuss is about.

NEXT: 05 - First Impressions...

03 - Trying to buy one

When I arrived in the USA on 8th April, buying an iPad wasn't on my mind. I came here to see old friends, do some research for the comic-book project I'm working on and get some medical advice. Although this would be my umpteenth visit to Washington DC area, the previous one was 3 years ago, so I was really looking forward to it. I'm a bit of a yank-o-file at heart.

The friends who I visit out here in Virginia with are tech-fiends. At least Ron is. Sharon is a tech-fiend's wife, which makes her a tech-minion. Their two daughters, aged 4 & 8 are thus, spawn-of-tech. For kids so young it is a marvel to behold them reprogramming the TiVo, using an iPhone or surfing the web.

So it didn't take long before the subject of the iPad came up. I was surprised to find that there wasn't already one in the house since they'd been in the stores since the weekend before. But it turns out that only the Wi-Fi versions were shipping. The 3G versions would be coming at the end of the month and it this was the model they (Ron!) were waiting for.

A couple of days into my trip, we went to a local mall which has an Apple store. I'd been jokingly warned by people that the approximate time between picking one up and wanting one was less than 5 minutes. Yeah, right.

Yeah, right!

First impressions are everything. I picked it up, saw the Marvel comics app on the screen. touched the icon and was suddenly inside an issue of the Fantastic Four. Faster than it took to type that sentence. Flipping the pages was quick & felt natural. At 100% size the art looks great but you can double tap to zoom into a panel. And then side scroll from panel to panel.

Then came Google maps. It was so fast that I found myself wondering if the maps were preloaded.

I remember looking up at the opposite row of iPads and seeing an Apple store employee cleaning fingerprints off a demo model and making a mental note to get some cleaning stuff on the way home so I could keep mine shiny.

Definitely less than 5 minutes. Probably less than 3.

Of course, they were out of stock. At all Apple stores everywhere. And they didn't know when they would get any more in. Maybe later, maybe tomorrow. If we wanted we could buy a nice case for one though, said the (somewhat flirtatious) store assistant. Er, no thanks, Mr. Genius!

So we trundled away wondering where else we could get one. Would it be worth trying another Apple store? Online orders wouldn't arrive for days. Was he telling the truth when he said there might be a delivery later? How different an experience than my previous visit to the very same apple store.

On the way back from the mall we stopped at Best Buy. They didn't have any either it seemed... or did they? We checked the Best Buy website, which said that they did have them. The store staff insisted they didn't... but they didn't look comfortable about it. 'Come back tomorrow, first thing!', they said. The younger of the two guys looked a bit sheepish. I got the distinct impression that they were holding back - probably because of some sales quota or promotion which would start the next day. I mean, Everybody knows they always have some out back, right?

That night I couldn't help but imagine my own work comic work on the iPad. The truth was that seeing the project I've so lovingly crafted with my Japanese co-conspirators on the iPad is more likely than ever seeing it in print. And I mean as a paid, published digital comic, not a free web-comic.

There's nothing wrong with free web-comics. they are great. I read them all the time. But I want to do this full time and getting published as a comics writer and earning enough to live off it is probably harder than finding work as an actor, being paid as a musician or getting a regular writing gig.

The lure of self publishing has always been big, but somewhat intangible at the same time. You still have to put down a lot of cash to get your work physically printed and also distributed. It's inherently risky as there are just so many things that can go wrong without even taking into account if you work is actually any good.

But after seeing the Marvel comics app... and also the ones from Comixology, IDW, Comic Book Mobi... suddenly, that meadow of green grass on the other side looks an awful lot closer.

Next morning, we went back to Best Buy. The store opens at 10am. By 9.50am there was a small crowd outside. Seeing that they were a pretty mixed bunch of regular looking folk, I said to my friend Ron that I doubted they were all there to get an iPad.

Wrong.

At least half of them were. Now, bear in mind that this is seven days after the initial launch. Think about that for a moment. A week later stores are still sold out and people are still lining up for them. That's pretty nuts. I don't think that any other product in recent history has had this kind of initial response. Maybe the Buzz Lightyear toy, during Christmas 1996? In fact, as of this writing Apple have announced that they are delaying the international launch by a month as they had underestimated the demand in the USA.

However, the magical Apple delivery truck had come by and they were plentiful in stock (or they had simply shifted a load from out back, I don't know which) and I walked away 15 minutes later $736 poorer, but with a warm, tingly feeling in the the nerd center of my brain that I'd not felt since I bought a PlayStation 3 the previous year in Japan.

Was today the first day of the my home computing future? Will I see the light and move into digital publishing? Or did I just buy the world's most expensive mouse mat? We shall see.

NEXT: 04 - The Out of the Box Experience.

02 - Why do I want an iPad?

Given what I've said previously you may ask yourself, why on earth would I want an Apple iPad? A very valid question and one I have been asking myself repeatedly. The truth is, I want a tablet and the only thing out there that ticks all the boxes is the iPad.

Right now, the main focus of my creative life is writing. In particular, comic books, but other mediums as well. I've spent the last 15 years working high end graphics: mostly in the TV & film industry, with a couple of journeys into emerging new media trends and a large dose of architectural visualization. Pretty much all of that was due to technical expertise (I had the skills and that's where the money was) or with an aim to learn certain skills required for my life long mission: creating my own original content.

I've reached a point where I've learned most of what I need to know from a technical & production standpoint with regards to graphics. Now I need to focus on the meat and potatoes: storytelling.

Comics, aside from being a life long passion, is the perfect arena to hone those skills. Its one of the few visual storytelling mediums that can still be produced a very small team of people. It also allows complete freedom of expression. This is something I learned in Japan (no surprise there), a culture which not only embraces the comic-book, but encourages it.

Trouble with comics is, that they, like everything else, are heading down the digital road. Since its rise to stardom in the mid-90s, the industry has suffered from rising prices (at the consumer end), a reduction in distribution channels and, worst of all, closure of many, many comic-book retail outlets.

And then came the Internet & smart-phones. Savior of all?

The last few years have seen a rapidly growing trend in the comics industry to publish online. It started with web-comics. These are comic-strips that are written and produce directly for an online audience. They tend to be shorter (anything from 2 to 9 panels) and lean towards topical, often humerous, subject manner. They also tend to be 'published' at a high frequency. Similar you could say, to a newspaper comic strip.

Traditional print comics are finding a home online also, as consumers are starting to have mobile devices - laptops, smart-phones & tablets - which are small enough to use comfortably and have a visual display capable of doing the medium justice.

Alas, so far the digital comic experience has been a bit lacking. Partly because the major comics publishers have done little to embrace the digital medium and also because the devices were not quite right. Until now.

Does the iPad herald the way forward for the industry? It's about the right size, has a fantastic screen, is full colour and always connected to the internet. More importantly, several publishers (most notably marvel) have released applications specifically for the platform and are starting to make their back catalog of print comics available in digital form.

I've never been taken by the idea of digital comics, but as a comics creator, who is most likely going to self publish, I can't ignore the technology. I'd be foolish too. Furthermore, I'm hearing reports - from people I respect - that the iPad is a surprisingly good comic reader.

So I want to experience this semi-new medium directly. I'm tired of hearing everyone else talk about it, either positively or negatively. I want to form my own opinion.

I've also found, over the last few months, that people have been asking me about the future of tablets, mobile media consumption and the production and conversation of content at an increasing rate. They think I'm some kind of expert, probably because in other areas, I sort of am. So, again, I need to get with the program quickly, lest I risk losing one of the factors that gives me a career & employment advantage.

I want to know what is involved in creating these very cool interactive published items like the Sports illustrated demo or the Bonnier mag plus concept. And what about regular eBooks (or is that iBooks?) and other, simpler content. And most of all, how do I make a digital, zoom-able, finger-flippable comic? Can I do all this from regular DTP packages? Do I need an interactive authoring tool like dream weaver? Do I need to code? I don't want to rely on someone else to give me this information, because I'm supposed to be an expert in such things. And I can't figure it out without actually getting my hands wet can I?

Now, some people have suggested I wait. After all, I should know better than anyone the dangers of early adoption. What if the products a flop? What if the hardware is duff? What if...

It's clearly not going to be a flop. 300,000 sales in the first weekend, in just one country, means it's safely out the gate. As for the hardware, the technical reviews are glowing (from trustworthy sources) and Apple have proven to me time and time again that they make good, reliable hardware.

So why wait? If I'm going to buy one I may as well get it now. Yeah, its a safe bet that they'll bring out a better one in a year, but I don't want to wait a year from my tablet experience, so I may as well get it at the beginning of its product cycle, rather than at the end. Else I'll feel like an even bigger chump when I buy one and it's out of date a couple of months later.

But what about 8 years later? Will I get laughed out of the Apple store again when I'm looking for a new USB cable, whilst all the staff are floating around on their hover-macs and helping customers choose the right colour for their iContactlenses?

But the final and biggest reason I'm going to get an iPad is... my mum wants one. When I got back from Japan, she was extremely taken by my iPod Touch, but felt that it was a bit too small. I showed here the Bonnier concept demo and her response was 'That looks good. Why don't you get one of those instead?'. I feel it important to mention that she's just turned 70.

Having been raised an obedient son, I smiled and said 'Sure thing mum. As soon as they are available'.

NEXT: 03 - Trying to get one

01 - Apple and me

A long time ago, in a country far, far away, I made a significant investment in Apple hardware. At the time, as a technical illustrator, typographer and editor of an online Apple journal called eZone, it was the required thing to do. It was also an expensive and somewhat risky thing to do. It was 1995, and as far as the world at large was concerned, Apple was in its death-throes - Microsoft had Windows 95 on the boil and a little company called Netscape was threatening to do away with the OS all together. The future of publishing was the CD-ROM and the word 'Google' was a seldom used numeric definition.

But I was young, had a financial backer and was very busy making cool things. Creatively, they were exciting times. My main source of news was Wired magazine and I was young enough to believe the hype.

Several years later all that had changed. It was 2001 and I was working in a completely different (well almost) field - Visual Effects & 3D - which required me to make a near total conversion to the PC & Unix platforms.  Apple had totally lost its grip on the design market. It didn't make any sense to pay a premium to use software tools that functioned just as well on 'the other side'. I was finally able to work with the leading software in the field and was no longer suffering from the restrictions of a marginalized platform. My Apple laptop had become a music player in the corner of the studio.

Fast forward to 2007. Apple had bounced back big time and was once again the darling of the technology world, with iMacs, iPods, Intel based hardware and rumors of a super-cool phone on the horizon.

That winter as I was traveling to the USA, the only laptop I had available to me was my trusty Apple 'Wall Street' power-book. It was 8 years old, but the display was as beautiful as the day it was bought and whilst it was a little short on disk space, it was still perfectly suited for business tasks and simple graphics work. It even had wi-fi.

Unfortunately, somewhere on my travels the power supply died. At the suggestion of an old mac-head friend, I visited an Apple store when I arrived in the USA to see if I could find a replacement. Sure they hadn't sold that model for years, but it had been extremely popular in its day and we figured they'd still have a power supply lying around somewhere. I mean, if you bought a car (or even a cooker) from one of the world's leading manufacturers, you'd still be able to get a part 8 years later. right?

Wrong. I was literally laughed out of the shop. The Apple store staff, decked out in white, surrounded by their spaceship inspired silver furnishings and wafer-thin, platinum laptops & iPods treated me with contempt. Of course they couldn't help me! That was the technology of the last century. Was I out of my mind?

I was not happy. Back in the nineties I was an Apple flag waver. When everyone else was getting ready for the reading of the will, I was trying to convince the world that the future was still being invented in Cuppertino. Not only had I spent hard earned cash on their technology, but I'd run a publication that had championed their products. At one time, we were linked on the Apple home page. In my dusty cellars I had at least 3 generations of pre-OSX mac hardware including Apple monitors and screens.

The exact short phrase I used when I left the store can't be written here, but one of the two words was 'Wankers'.

But strangely enough, I didn't become an apple hater, like so many are. Instead, it made me realise that all companies are effectively the same. Microsoft, Apple, Google, Adobe, AutoDesk. They don't care about you. They are only in this for financial gain. You're a fool if you think it's any other way.

Think different? Don't be Evil? Where do you want to go today? Its all BS.

This realization - all be it somewhat late in life - was quite liberating. It gave me the ability to see technology in a very objective manner. Not just in terms of its technical specification, but also with regards to what it is used for and the effect it has on its users, their work and their environment.

That objectivity has allowed me to make more sensible purchases and not get swept along with the hype. Which turned out to be quite useful when I went to live in Japan. Technological mecca. But I survived the experience without succumbing to my inner nerd. Apart from my PS3 console I did not get sucked in to buying more new tech! My iPod touch was purchased second hand, and only when my 6 year old palm pilot passed on to the big newton in the sky.

So that brings us to the present day.

It's April 2010. I've just spent 18 months living in Japan and I'm now on holiday in the USA for a few weeks. The iPad is here. One of the most hyped pieces of technology the world has seen so far. The internet is humming with talk about it, its been on the news, people are either queuing up in the streets for it or spitting venom on those who are. Even people who pre-ordered them had to wait and outside the USA they not even on sale.

I've decided I'm going to get one. I'll explain why in the next post. But I'm going to approach this as objectively as I can and whilst I do it, I'm going to try and chronicle everything.

Here we go, once more into the breach my friends...

NEXT: 02 - Why do I want an iPad?

19 April 2010

00 - Why am I doing this?

It was the comments on Facebook that made me do it in the end. A few days into my holiday, I posted that I'd tried to buy an Apple iPad but had failed. My Facebook friends responded with a surprising amount of comments and mail. They were remarkably polarized: Some thought the device was cool & wished me luck, others queried the financial and/or technical rationalizations behind my quest and some were plain insultive.

This led me to wonder how a piece of technology can generate such emotional outbursts, both positive and negative. What drives people to be passionate about some thing that someone else owns, to the point of offensive behavior? I mean, it's just a collection of electronic parts and more importantly, its my money.

The more I thought about it, the more curious I became. So why not buy one and write about it. I wanted one anyway, and it would give me something constructive to do during my holiday.

The pieces I'm going to post here are very personally motivated. If you are here for a deeply technical review, you are probably in the wrong place, as there are other, much better places you can read one of those.

However, if you are looking for a honest, discursive review of everything from rationalizing the purchase of a new device, failing to get one, what kind of effect it has on the family and what was actually good about it... well you are in the right place!

Somewhere on this blog page you should find links to my initial musings on the various stages of my exploration into the device. I'll add more later. feel free to comment - after all, that's what started me on this journey in the first place.

NEXT: 01 - Apple & me

1 April 2010

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Small Print

A tip of the hat to Sharon Ritchey, Carl Schenkenberger & Frans-Jozef Rutjes for their invaluable help and encouragement. Without them I'd be wasting my days on a game console or grumbling about 3D software that doesn't work properly. Or eating. Probably the latter.

The content of this blog is my personal opinion, based directly on my personal experiences. Feel free to email me at hairytech@gmail.com if you want to discuss anything on here. Or better still, leave a comment.