iPad Perfect for Handheld Computing

Now that the Kool-Aid has worn off, I'd like to talk a little bit more about the iPad.

I am a little dismayed at all negative sniping that has been going on. Both the iPod and iPhone had their critics when they were introduced, but look where both devices are now. The iPad may not satisfy all of the computer punditocracy, but it provides a breakthrough in how we define what a computer is.

I know that I have been using my iPod touch for so long that there are times when I want to "pinch" my Pismo screen and "tap" a picture in Safari to get a closer look. The touch interface of the iPhone/iPod touch is revolutionary and works perfectly when the user is mobile or on their feet.

An iPad allows the same interface on a larger screen; which lends itself to specialized situations, such as medical usage.

The iPad lends itself to portable use. Try walking around a factory or store with a laptop or netbook. You can hold the iPad with one hand and control it with the other, just like the iPhone and iPod touch. Netbooks and laptops need to have a horizontal surface in order to function, but you can use a touch device anywhere and anytime.

Imagine giving a presentation with the ability to modify it on the fly, not tethered to a computer lying on a desk next to the projector. Imagine delivery drivers using it to update orders while they in the store talking to the store manager. As a photographer, I can foresee slipping an iPad into my camera bag so I can look at an image I just created on a much larger screen. That would be real cool.

PSP Beats iPod touch for Viewing Video

And now for a sort of related story to the iPad......

I don't like watching movies or videos on my iPod touch. Yeah, it's doable in emergencies, but the screen is tiny, and there are no speakers (I have a first generation iPod touch). I would really like more screen real estate.

As a temporary measure, I have repurposed one of my son's PSPs into a video player. The latest PSP (PSP Go) is Sony's attempt to compete with Apple's iPod touch: It has 16 GB and has done away with the UMC disc drive that Sony built into my son's PSP. Now gamers download games and other media from Sony's website.

Sony never made an UMC disc recorder or made the technology available to other manufacturers. I suppose that it doesn't matter, now that CD and DVD content is available for download, but it seems a shame that you can't take the DVD you own and record it to a UMC mini-disc. It would preserve the quality of the video and make viewing it much more pleasurable.

4.3" PSP display vs. 3.5" iPod touch screen.

Instead, I have to follow a long and unexciting process to convert a DVD to a video file - and then load it onto a Sony Memory Stick. I lose quality at every step, but viewing an episode of Joss Wheaton's Firefly on the PSP's 4.3" 480 x 272 pixel screen is much better than watching it on my iPod's 3.5" 480 x 320 display.

Of course, you have to "decrypt" your DVD (I use DVD43 on our Windows Dell) and then "rip" a digital file with HandBrake. I then "sneaker net" the file over to my Pismo and load it into a MissingSync application. Here it gets encoded (this takes forever on the 500 MHz G3) and synched with the PSP.

I use MissingSync because I can also sync photos, music, contacts, bookmarks, and calendar information to the PSP from my Pismo. The PSP is in no way a substitute for the iPod touch (the browser on the PSP sucks eggs), but I believe in having data in as many spots as possible - and viewing a video is better than on the tiny iPod screen.

What About DVDs?

Getting back to the iPad, the larger 9.7" 1024 x 768 screen will make portable video viewing much, much better than my current repurposed PSP. However, it is time to take Apple and the movie studios to task for not expanding iTunes to include DVD conversion. I can slip a music CD into my Mac's optical drive, and iTunes seamlessly imports it into my iTunes Library. I can even convert records and cassette tapes into digital files and load them into my iTunes Library.

Why can't I do the same with my DVDs? If I shell out the shekels for the physical DVD, why can't I put it on my electronic devices?

I've noticed that some studios are releasing "electronic" copies of the movies they are selling on DVDs, but how does that help with the DVDs you have already purchased? ? Why should I pay twice for the same material?

Inquiring minds would like to know.!--#include virtual="/bullet.htm"--