IPad thoughts

So I did buy an IPad.  Joshua Gans’ gushing enthusiasm for this device initially put me off but, yes, I did succumb. I have only had it for a few days so my views are provisional.  I have used it to access email and the web and for such applications it seems like a large screen version of my IPhone.  It is easier to use than the latter as your fingers tap the right button on a larger screen more frequently and outputs are much easier to read.

I downloaded a trial pay version of The Australian newspaper  - it is easier to read than the free version that you can still get online but the gains are marginal.  I have used the free version so many hundreds of times that I probably just have a good feel for navigating around it.

I downloaded (for $12-99) a word processing program – Pages – which is cute in its ability to embed pictures in text but which I probably wouldn’t use much.  On a plane I’d probably either use a wordprocessor or take notes using pen and paper.

I downloaded music from my IPhone and the Chinese language lessons I am currently taking. Fairly good sound and convenient to use.

As a straight electronic book the IPad is very good.  I own a Kindle and – ignoring issues of range of e-book choice - the IPad with its beautiful colour and ease of operation leaves it for dead. The Kindle I’ll keep to house the reference library I have accumulated and which I should read – but probably never will .

The ebook reader is the main winner from the IPad. One wonders what the range of IPad imitators will deliver.

The design features of the IPad are attractive. Its a neat looking gadget with austere lines and a captivating Apple logo. Heads would turn approvingly in a Toorak Road coffee shop were I ever to set foot in such a place.