Archive: Business & Technology

I briefly held an iPad 2 the other day.  It felt lighter than my iPad 1.  And you can get a white one or a black one.  And it was a 2, so that means it's better and I should jump onto the upgrade bandwagon, right?  Maybe, maybe not.

If I didn't already have an iPad I'd certainly want an iPad 2.  I love my iPad 1 (which was just iPad without a number until a week ago).  I use it for way more than I ever imagined before I bought it, and now that it's been through two operating system upgrades it's better than ever.  There is no doubt that iPad 2 adds valuable features, but for a device that costs in the range between $499 and $829 depending on storage capacity and 3G capability (not counting the cost of the 3G service), is it worth ditching the 1 for the 2?  Let's look at the features Apple is promoting.

New Design and Less Weight

You don't really get the impact of this unless you own a 1 and then hold a 2.  I didn't think 15% of one and a half pounds would feel as noticeably lighter as it actually does.  And the 2 is 33% thinner than the 1.  However, the 1 is mighty thin and only a pound and a half.  That's pretty good for what I have come to think of as a half a computer, or notebook without a physical keyboard.  So the lighter, thinner iPad would be nice.  But not nice enough to spend the dough.

Dual-core A5 Chip

This chip is faster and can handle more at once, but as a geeky kind of person who loves new gadgets and technology I have to admit that as the years have gone by it's the anecdotal experience of a gadget that matters to me more than the shiny newness of it.  I am sure the new chip is faster, and to be honest it's the top of my list of things pulling me to the 2.  But here's the thing -- the 1 is very fast.  It appears to me to be tons faster than my PC or my Mac, which are the gadgets I had to benchmark my iPad with.  So I don't know.  Is more speed really worth that kind of money after only one year when my 1 is still working like a champ?

Two Cameras and Facetime Video Chat

When the 1 was introduced it took a lot of criticism for not having a camera.  You could buy an adapter for about $30 to attach a camera to it, which would be clunky and awkward and defeat the purpose of having a sleek pad computer.  But you know what?  I have only had one occasion to want a camera, and it wasn't necessary.  When my son went to college we thought we'd be doing a lot of video chatting on Skype, and there is a version of Skype for the iPad.  But it turns out we talk on our cell phones, which are a lot handier when he has a few minutes between classes.  So while I understand the appeal of built in cameras and agree iPads shoud have them, I have no need for them.

iPad Smart Cover

It's kind of interesting, certainly a nice Apply design.  It's a foldy bendy thng that attaches to the iPad to make a stand or protect the touch screen on one side of the device.  My iPad 1 cover protects my iPad a bit better I would guess, because it surrounds the device.  I dropped my iPad twice, one of those times on a sidewalk, the other on a carpet.  It still works.  I am a big fan of my iPad 1 cover.

The design of this iPad cover is clever, but smart?  Einstein was smart.  Maybe Einstein couldn't fold and bend like this cover, but does that make it smart?  Sometimes marketers are silly.

Garageband and iMovie Aps

These are two programs I didn't really like on the Mac, so this didn't really send me.  But it turned out that Garageband works on the iPad 1 (iMovie evidently doesn't).  I'm a music guy, so I figured for five bucks I'd try it.  I'm glad I did.  Garageband for the iPad is actually a great program.  I've only played with it for a few days so far, and I'm already sold.  You can compose songs on this, and with an adapter plug in an electric guitar or microphone for live recording.  The 'smart' keyboards, drums, and guitars -- there's that word again, but this time I'll accept it because they are smartly designed, and actually seem to be smart as they do a lot of the work for you if you want them to.  I'm especially happy about smart drums which are inspiring me to compose my next hip hop hit.  Really, this ap is amazingly well designed and actually useful as a practical recording studio program.  My only complaint is that you have to set up how many measures you want in a song before you start recording, somewhat stunting my improvisational musical style.

HDMI Out

This is for watching media on your iPad on your TV.  We don't have a high definition TV and I don't store a lot of video on the iPad, so this is one of those 'wouldn't it be great?!' features for me.  A great capability, but not one I can use right now.  If I could would it put me over the 'should I upgrade' hump?  I don't know.

The Verdict: Should I get a 2?

The iPad is an elegantly designed pad computer that has far exceeded its critics predictions when it comes to usability and flexibility.  I use mine as an iPod to play music, to actually play music on musical instrument aps, to read books, to surf the Internet, to do some of my work on, and even to see what's on television.  I don't travel with a laptop any more, which is really fantastic because the iPad is so relatively small and light.

So after feeling that geekly pull to get right onto the Web and preorder a shiny new iPad 2 I realized that I don't really want to. 

If I didn't have a 1 I wouldn't hesitate to get a 2.  But the 1 is such a great device that the 2 would probably need to be able to mix and serve drinks, give massages, and predict winning lottery numbers for me to upgrade right now.  It's not that the 2 isn't swell.  It is.  But the 1 is pretty swell, too, and these things ain't cheap.  So I'll wait until the 3 comes out and see what I think then.

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