Comments on: Pondering ebooks & e-readers

By: Ivan

Ivan — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 01:50:55 +0000

Like I said, the screen is something you get used to. We usually type faster because we can feel the keys so we know better where the center of the key is. On a touch screen you just need to be more accurate, and you can still have feedback, either haptic (which the iPad doesn’t support) or sounds. It may not be the best, but it works surprisingly well for me at least. And you can always pull out a bluetooth keyboard if you really need to type faster.

Flash is another story. You miss a lot without, specially video. If you do some casual playing it can hurt, although you have the AppStore with millions of better quality games. The good thing is that at least Youtube, Vimeo, CNN, etc are already in HTML5 video.

I don’t think I will keep my iPad forever if they don’t fix those issues, and as an Android user (Nexus one, HTC magic, G1, etc.) I’m really waiting for a good tablet, the problem is, I know they will take a while until they make something as polished as the iPad. (they took more than a year to make something as good as the Nexus One)

By: Alain Saffel

Alain Saffel — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:04:29 +0000

Ivan, thanks for your response. The issues you’ve listed with the iPad may be fixed in coming versions? You didn’t mention Flash at all, which seems to be something everybody mentions!

I could see using the iPad when meeting with clients one on one so I can show them things on the web. That would be really good, and definitely an advantage over the Kindle.

With all the capabilities of the iPad, the Kindle DX really seems overpriced. Wondering if Amazon will drop it, or will they do more with it?

I don’t know about typing on the iPad. That would be weird with no feedback. On the positive side, I’d feel like I was in a Star Trek movie!

I like the idea of a tablet, but writing on those screens is awful. Any time I have to sign my name on one of them, it looks like hell. My signature is starting to resemble an X. :)

By: Ivan

Ivan — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:16:52 +0000

Even when I don’t like the iPhoneOS I still went to get an iPad. The fact is, my love for interface design and new kind of applications is stronger than any brand, company and trend. So I will write down a short review:

- Apple put very little effort to the OS. I was hoping for file management capabilities, file associations, widgets, etc.
- It’s an amazing device for going around the office showing documents, changes, sketching. Far superior than a netbook.
- I started to have respect for touch screen keyboards. I’m getting really fast typing on it when in landscape mode.
- The battery life is awesome.
- Having the Kindle store and GoodReader (for storing PDFs) is a killer combo.
- Not having multitasking sucks more when you have devices like this one.
- The interfaces developers are creating is just amazing. You can see really beautiful stuff in there.

I think most of my opinions are based on the fact that I like having a tablet computer. I don’t think the iPad is the best, but it’s the only one for now. I really hope for some good Android tablets to come soon.