Recycled Computing

My New iPad: First Impressions

- 2011.03.17

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Short link: http://bit.ly/hlSywb

Winging it's way over the Pacific, my first-generation iPad arrived Monday, and I spent an evening downloading the new iOS 4.3 software and moving all the apps, movies, and songs already on my iPod touch to it. All of this was through the Apple umbilical cord and my 12" PowerBook G4's old USB 1.1 port, so it took forever.

But I have to say that the iPad is more than just an iPod touch on steroids. A lot of the apps work better due the larger screen size.

Typing is better than on the iPod's tiny screen, and it's really not as bad as I thought it would be on the virtual keyboard. An actual keyboard is on the way, but even the single finger hunt-and-peck method is fine.

While it is pretty obvious that my iPod touch is an attachment to my laptop, the iPad is as well. It's intended to take media from a number of different sources and sync with your main computer and then function as a smaller, more accessible extension of that computer. The iPad is not a standalone device. And that's part of the beauty of it.

iTunes allows me to take the parts of my media database that fit the particular uses of each device. Now I will no longer sync movies to my iPod touch, and I probably will not sync my entire music collection to my iPad. I will fit the most appropriate media and data to the appropriate device.

What did I do first with the new iPad? I put on a screen protector - sort of an insurance policy. I read of some horror stories on the Internet, but in reality, it went on easily.

I have not purchased a case for the unit, but when I do I will report on the usability of the iPad as a note taker. I haven't really worked on using the iPad to store and view photos, but I will say that it is a great video viewer. I know what I'm taking on vacation!

All in all, the iPad takes the features that I have grown to love in the iPod and amplifies them.

Sent from my iPad

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