The iPad Notebook

[zackcurl]

Hey guys,

I decided to get an iPad tomorrow and while searching for cool bling for it, I found this.

If you have an iPad or are on the fence about it, take a look at this:

http://clamcase.com/

I think the thing is pretty neat - I know there are other options similar but this seems to be the most polished keyboard case out there.

[carbonize]

You sure you want to get an iPad given some of the Android tablets coming out soon running Android 3?

[Mitcho1989]

If I was going to get something like that, I'd just get a laptop. Cheaper and more features.

[zackcurl]

Concerning Android tablets - I love Android, I have a Droid X... I was looking at the Xoom and others but quite frankly here is the problem... Android is still way behind in the tablet industry and the iPad has had all of its software kinks ironed out whereas Android tablets are still in the beta phase. Concerning price, I got 5% off the entire order and concerning app costs, I have a ton of iTunes cards from birthdays and Christmas.

Concerning a laptop - my initial thought process was a new MacBook pro, however, they are about 2500 after all hardware costs and before software. The iPad has cheaper hardware, cheaper apps, and longer battery life (I'm not even bringing into account the huge beautiful touchscreen. Now I'm not saying that there is no use for a laptop but I already have a gaming pc that can more than handle anything that the iPad can't - it just wasn't incredibly necessary to get a laptop when the iPad does everything I'd need my portable computer to do.

And on to my initial thoughts. I'm incredibly pleased so far. The iPad has no lag, 0 bootup time, the touchscreen is incredibly responsive, and the overall display looks just as good as my 600 dollar monitor. The apps that I have gotten so far are great and work fluidly with the os.

The OS, which is 4.2, is awesome, multitasking is great, and even when I have pretty much every app I own working there is no lag or unresponsiveness. My Bluetooth keyboard was working on my iPad in less than 5 seconds.

If you have any special requests of stuff for me to try out I'll gladly give you a reply.

[Mitcho1989]

I'll agree multitasking is great on them, that's because unless the app is specially written to run in the background, iOS basically freezes it when you switch to a different app, so only one app is actually running at a time, but you don't lose anything. It's a great idea.

Don't get me wrong, the iPad is great, it's just not for me. A laptop is more my thing. Cheaper, hardware is decent, more powerful OS (Win 7), USB, DVD drive.

But I do like iOS and will be getting an iPhone 5 when it's out; I've had enough of Nokias.

[carbonize]

But you forget where Android beats iOS. That being Android has Flash and lets you install any apps you want without having to go through the iTunes store

[Mitcho1989]

True, I was on the fence between Android and iOS for a while. Flash and being able to install any apps I want was a big factor in wanting to go with an Android.

But in the end, you can't argue with iOS's stability and simplicity. It's good that Android is open, but it's also its downfall; telcos and manufacturers cripple the phones with their own software they install, so an Android update can be released, and depending on the sort of phone you have, you can wait up to a year before seeing it on your phone, as has been the case over here.

I'm definitely not an Apple fanboy by any means, but I've come to really like the iPhone. Who knows, I've got another 6 months to wait for another phone, and maybe Android will improve greatly by then, but with the news that Android 3.0 will be optimised for tablets, I'm not counting on it.

[zackcurl]

Exactly - Android updates are a gamble for your device, just because it requires some work from the company who sold the original device. One device means easier distribution and quicker, dedicated, updates.

Flash is great but there are two real places I use flash daily - YouTube and for games - both of which are supported on iPad in native apps. Flash is dying anyway with html5 and other open alternatives.

Talking about apps here's the thing - yes android is more open but more mobile devs are working on iOS than android.

And again I ain't hating on laptops just thought this would be a cool option since I already have a computer that can do everything else I'd need a computer to do. I don't think I've ever done more than browse and write on my laptop when I'm not in the house.

[carbonize]

Apple know exactly what devices their OS will run on and still they manage to cock it up.

[Mitcho1989]

I forgot to mention Flash as well. Having flash on Android was one reason I'd still go with it, but when you think about it, with HTML5 becoming the standard, you're not missing all that much, and like zackcurl said, YouTube still works fine, so I think I'd be fine with an iPhone.