[NTLK] iPad in use

[Daniel Jagendorf]

I picked up a 32G model on Saturday and have been working with it (occasionally) since then.
Regarding the issues brought up in the NT digest V7 i7:

I've had bad experiences with other devices in early adoption, particularly the Pepper pad (hoping for a newt replacement but way too slow and unresponsive).  
That said the iPad has so far done everything I expected and wanted out of the box.  It's fast--I have a 3G iphone and an 8g Touch, so I don't know how it compares to newer tech but it's faster than what I've got. I bought it for the mobility and it's great to be able to use it around the apartment.

It runs the apps I already have plus some others that I bought for it (Instapaper and Pages and Numbers).  Just the difference in screen real estate is startling.  It's a really beautiful screen, fine resolution.  I do have to clean the fingerprints off it regularly (haven't bought a protector yet).  I used a receipe for lamb off of AllRecipes yesterday in the 2x mode and it was much easier to read while cooking.  I've experienced program quits with the ABC player and I haven't figured out how to get the eyetv app to connect (similar to when I first used it on the phone).   The Netflix player streamed a tv show without interruption and at a great resolution.  It's just a great size for viewing.  It feels a little heavy, albeit to my hand it's about the same as the newt.  Better to rest it for long viewing than to hold it. 

To Forrest Buffenmyer:
If you've got the money for both a pad and a phone, sure.  The 4th version of the iphone should be coming out this Summer so you might want to wait anyways.  Or, apparently there's some new app that can create a second phone line over wi-fi on your iphone, or a first one on your more modern non-phones (Line2 is the name) for $15/month, if that helps.  

Of the problems listed in the Money Times article, the battery requires a powered usb hub and it wants more than its' smaller cousins.  Don't know if that's really a problem.  I haven't experienced wifi problems (as with streaming the netflix show).  I am using an all apple setup.  The overall tone of that article was gloating over having found some problems, so....
As for Gina Trapani's Fast Company article, I think it's about what you want.  Other than the pad becoming cheaper I don't think there's a real reason to wait, if you're looking for a device with the screen size.  It's been working as is for me.  If I feel the need to take it out of my apartment it's slightly smaller than a magazine so it's not really that different from what I would read on a commute (not going to take out in public on the subway of course).  Waiting for new apps to appear?  I would call that a sucker's game.
The Fast Company articles seem to be determined by the mindset of the writer.  One complains about how the iphone version of tweets are blocky and horrible to look at, another writes about Twitter apps written for the ipad and how impressive they are.  

As for ink notes, I've got both WritePad pro and NoteTaker lite.  WP translated my palm resting into different actions, mostly calling up the select function.  NTl mostly thought I was pushing one of the action buttons.  OTOH I never actually felt any need to rest my writing hand while working.  Since they're phone apps if I use them in 1x mode there's plenty of screen space to put my hand on.  In 2x mode it's suddenly much easier to write.  (WP is an odd bird.  It works mostly.  It has trouble recognizing simple words depending on which mode it's in, but got "fungicide" immediately).  I also have the pogo sketch, and it seems to work better on the pad (again, faster processor).  I find the squishiness of the foam head annoying, and I have to let it touch the screen for a moment before I begin writing for it to register.  I'm thinking of buying a cheap capacitance glove, cutting off one of the fingertips, and seeing if that will work with one of my old styluses (maybe with some padding).  Of the sketch programs that I looked at at least one claimed to recognize and ignore palm resting.

For newton users the lack of being able to write anywhere is obvious.  The debate over size should be familiar.  Other than that it works now, whatever may come next year.

Dan J