Writing this on Apple’s iPad not as bad as I thought it would be
July 1, 2010 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Hello everyone. I’m actually typing this out on an iPad, which seems kind of crazy to me. I just bought an iPad not too long ago but am still deciding whether to keep it or return it to Future Shop within the 30 days that I am allotted.
The iPad itself has been great so far for surfing and consuming media such as movies and books, but I can’t really justify the cost of the iPad unless I can find productive business uses for it. This of course all starts with my ability to type on this machine.
Those of you who know me well know that I am a bit of a typing prodigy, having invented my own finger assignments using a typewriter and then going on to win the Winnipeg Typing Championship as a kid. I tried using the iPhone in a similar way after figuring out a three-finger typing approach but found that my iPhone use would be limited to micro-blogging my status updates which is fine as the iPhone has other functions that justify its cost.
Having typed this far, I must admit that typing on an iPad is quite enjoyable. I will try and figure out how fast it is that i am actually typing, but I think it would be comparable to my typing speed on a physical keyboard minus the correction of typos which pop up more using this device.
I’m still unsure whether to keep the iPad but I really do enjoy typing on it. If I can continue to improve my typing skills I think I may become faster on this device than on a physical keyboard similar to how I am much quicker on an iPhone than on a Blackberry.
Did iPad live up to the hype? Steve Jobs debuts Mac iPad tablet with iPhone OS
January 27, 2010 by vongsundara · 1 Comment
SAN FRANCISCO - JANUARY 27: Event guests play with the new Apple iPad during an Apple Special Event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts January 27, 2010 in San Francisco, California. CEO Steve Jobs and Apple Inc. introduced its latest creation, the iPad, a mobile tablet browsing device that is a cross between the iPhone and a MacBook laptop. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Content © 2010 Getty Images All rights reserved.
Apple has a habit of crashing the internet. At 1:00 p.m. today, January 27, many servers were overloaded and crashed from the volume of traffic looking for news on Apple’s big tablet unveiling. Apple’s product announcements have become big-time events. Their last major announcement, the iPhone, basically blew away the entire world with concepts that nobody could have even dreamed about, so the hype surrounding their tablet announcement had reached fever pitch. Ultimately, the unveiling was good but didn’t blow anyone away outside of its ridiculously low price. I suppose it was too much to ask to live up to the hype, though the iPhone did just that and then some.
Prior to the announcement, most people had predicted that the iPad would be like a bigger iPhone. I was hopeful that Apple would be able to dream up something better than a bigger iPhone. Unfortunately, I was kind of wrong. Now, I’m not giving Apple enough credit, because there is much more to the iPad, but the perception and word on the street will be that it’s just a bigger iPhone, and Apple will have no one to blame but itself. They even included the exact same home button.
Enough of that though; let’s move on to the positives. The biggest feature to jump out at me is the price point: $499 US dollars. This is the SAME PRICE as the top model of the iPhone. That is absolutely ridiculously low and places the iPad into impulse-purchase territory. Let me repeat that again: the iPad is the same price as an iPhone. Keeping that in mind, the other faults seem to almost disappear.
Instead of comparing the iPad to laptops, this pricepoint lets us compare the iPad to digital photo frames and the Kindle. The cost of the 10-inch LED premium Sony S-Frame is also $499, and that’s just for a digital photo frame. The iPad is also backlit by LED, which makes it at the very east a good digital photo frame. The Kindle has the same dimensions roughly, and the iPad makes the Kindle basically obsolete as a book reader.
SAN FRANCISCO - JANUARY 27: Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs demonstrates the new iPad as he speaks during an Apple Special Event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts January 27, 2010 in San Francisco, California. Apple introduced its latest creation, the iPad, a mobile tablet browsing device that is a cross between the iPhone and a MacBook laptop. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Content © 2010 Getty Images All rights reserved.
Now down to the bad points. Instead of using a modified Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the iPad instead runs on iPhone OS. I can see why Apple went this route, as this allows easy incorporation of iTunes and the App Store and 100 per cent compatibility with all 140,000 iPhone apps. I still disagree with this decision, however. The iPhone OS was not meant for such a large screen, and Apple should have taken some time to develop a hybrid Mac OS X and iPhone OS, which shouldn’t have been too out of the question as iPhone OS is already a modified Mac OS X. The Mac OS X dock would have made much more sense on a 10-inch screen than the spread out App icons of the iPhone OS.
Also, while it is indeed nice to have the ability to run 140,000 apps off the bat (with the option to zoom in 2X full-screen, blurry but still workable), Apple should have modified Mac OS X and added an App store. Heck, I’m surprised Apple hasn’t added an App store to Mac OS X already (they must be saving this for version 10.6).
Will I buy an iPad? The question isn’t if but when. I’ll probably wait until Apple updates the iPad to at least second generation. I would have bought first generation had the iPad been closer to what I wanted, but the price is just too undeniable.
SAN FRANCISCO - JANUARY 27: An event guest plays with the new Apple iPad during an Apple Special Event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts January 27, 2010 in San Francisco, California. CEO Steve Jobs and Apple Inc. introduced its latest creation, the iPad, a mobile tablet browsing device that is a cross between the iPhone and a MacBook laptop. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Content © 2010 Getty Images All rights reserved.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot the second BIG feature that Apple announced: 10 hours of battery life. That’s amazing for a 10-inch screen device (1024×768 resolution) and blows away the battery life of any laptop I’ve heard of.
iPhone 3G has changed my life, absolutely spectacular technology
October 19, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I remember my first introduction to the original iPhone over a year ago. There were rumours swirling for months regarding Apple’s eventual unveiling of the iPhone. Even with all the hype, Apple’s unveiling blew all expectations out of the water. I downloaded the conference video and was astounded with all the features the phone would offer. Unfortunately for me, it would be well over a year before the iPhone would be introduced to Canada.
A few of my friends went the route of buying an American iPhone and unlocking it for use in Canada. I decided to wait. I almost waited too long, as the introductory 6GB data plan offer was over, and I had to argue my way to getting the introductory offer. All in all, I’m happy with the cost of the data plan and the options I received (6GB data, iPhone Wireless Essentials).
I’ve now had the phone for a full two weeks, and I must say in all honesty that the iPhone 3G has changed my life. The precipitating factor for my buying an iPhone 3G was actually this website. The iPhone 3G launched with Apple’s App Store 2.0 software, allowing the downloading and purchase of third-party applications. The biggest application for me was WordPress for iPhone. Now I’m able to blog on the go, like when I’m on the bus on my way to work. The App Store opens up a world of possibilities, and having the power of the internet in my hands at all times is extremely convenient.
My favourite features of the iPhone include the complete integration with my iMac desktop computer. All my e-mails and contacts are automatically synchronized. The Visual Voicemail makes receiving voice messages much less painful (I’ve never been much for receiving voicemail).
I’m one of the few fans of the touch keypad. I have never been a fan of the BlackBerry and still find them rather cumbersome to use, so I never got used to typing with my thumbs. There have been many complaints about Apple’s touch keypad, but I think they mainly stem from users trying to type with their thumbs. The keypad is simply not made for this, as thumbs are too large and block the screen. I use my three centre fingers, and I’m confident that within a year’s time, I’ll be able to out-type any BlackBerry typist in the world. Yes, I may be a bit over-confident, but I am the Winnipeg Typing Champion after all.
The phone itself has had some technical issues. In fact, I am already on my second iPhone 3G in as many weeks. My first iPhone 3G decided to no longer recognize my SIM card. My second iPhone 3G nearly stopped recognizing the existence of a battery. Now, I generally would deduct marks off for these technical issues except for one huge factor: Apple’s customer service.
The ease of reporting my phone’s failure and the quick replacement of my phone was rather impressive. The new 2.1 software update is also supposed to have corrected many of the software bugs.
Technical issues aside, the overwhelming way in which Apple has changed the world of mobile technology far outshines anything that could possibly be semi-annoying.
Review Score: ★★★★★
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