on the iPad, LEGO and IT
Category iPad LEGO
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So, like many many others I was out early on Friday to go and buy an iPad. So shoot me :) I've been after an Apple tablet ever since I first started using a Macbook Pro. There was no way in the world I wasn't going to buy one in the end! Happily, unlike the rest of the world I had a very relaxed journey in. A lie-in till 8:30, some tea, a quick check of Twitter to find PCWorld had lots in stock and a short cab ride over. All done and back in an hour.
So, the quick review? Bloody brilliant - go buy one.
The long review? Well, this is based on actually not very much playing around since Friday. My mother has been visiting, so I've been very good and not engrossed in it all weekend. Even so, I can see that this is a device that has already changed the way we access the web here. I charged it on Friday and have been merrily downloading apps, playing, learning and actually using it since then. In fact, the first thing of note is the battery life. I checked 5 minutes ago and it's at 56%. That's from a single charge on Friday morning and alot of use. In fact, you get so used to the low battery consumption that you tend not to turn it off, but just place it on the table. So, a tick there (and I'd expect massive battery lives from iPhones if they move to an A4 processor as well)
Is it really that different an experience to a laptop though? Well, in short, yes. Powerup is instant - not even the 10seconds it takes my Macbook to resume - which makes a real difference when you want to use a device to quickly look something up. Also, with my Mum around, I've been looking up shops and things to do - and the ability to just turn the screen over vertically to show her, whilst it rotates in place, is far more affective than on a laptop.
In fact, take this as a 'use-case' example. Our bath taps (faucets) need replacing. I want to make sure they match the sink taps but I don't know the make. So without thinking about it, I ended up sitting on the toilet, iPad held next to the sink - comparing taps from an on-line retailer. After a few checks, I found the right one and went straight ahead with the purchase. It's not that you couldn't do that with a laptop, but the sheer ease of use and simplicity makes you use the iPad instead.
What about LEGO? How would an AFOL work with it? Well, for one - all our custom websites seem quite happy on the iPad (as you'd expect). Instructions are something else though. I recently built Ollie from the instruction scans. Not great on a laptop, the screensaver kicks in on long stages and it takes up a fair amount of desk space. iPad - bloody brilliant and just like their printed equivalent. Is it good enough for me to leave a laptop at home for weekend long events? Totally.
What about work? Well, Keynote is surprisingly good and feature complete. If I'm presenting without demos - I'll be using this. The one real downside I can see of Keynote currently though, is no presenter display. I really hope they fix that, but in the interim I could use an iPod Touch as a remote I guess. I've tried a few LEGO presentations I have and they all worked flawlessly for me. I'm also going to be buying a capacitive stylus (yes, they exist) so I can use it as a proper notebook. I can see me using it as a rolling display for international LEGO shows as well. Assuming I can secure it down, that is!
If you buy one app, buy Wired magazine. This is really what it's all about. I love my e-reader for books and honestly - the iPad does not cut it for reading books. Backlit screens are just not as readable as e-ink. Magazines though, are a completely different beast. Full colour pictures, interactive content, animation, video, audio - it's all in there and it all makes sense to use in this format. I've not bought a paper magazine in years, and it's possible I never will again. I want them *all* like this! Brickjournal.....?
So, is this the Star Trek NG tablet style future we all wanted? Well - pretty much, yes it seems to be. I still have a few caveats though...
Bookmark :
So, like many many others I was out early on Friday to go and buy an iPad. So shoot me :) I've been after an Apple tablet ever since I first started using a Macbook Pro. There was no way in the world I wasn't going to buy one in the end! Happily, unlike the rest of the world I had a very relaxed journey in. A lie-in till 8:30, some tea, a quick check of Twitter to find PCWorld had lots in stock and a short cab ride over. All done and back in an hour.
So, the quick review? Bloody brilliant - go buy one.
The long review? Well, this is based on actually not very much playing around since Friday. My mother has been visiting, so I've been very good and not engrossed in it all weekend. Even so, I can see that this is a device that has already changed the way we access the web here. I charged it on Friday and have been merrily downloading apps, playing, learning and actually using it since then. In fact, the first thing of note is the battery life. I checked 5 minutes ago and it's at 56%. That's from a single charge on Friday morning and alot of use. In fact, you get so used to the low battery consumption that you tend not to turn it off, but just place it on the table. So, a tick there (and I'd expect massive battery lives from iPhones if they move to an A4 processor as well)
Is it really that different an experience to a laptop though? Well, in short, yes. Powerup is instant - not even the 10seconds it takes my Macbook to resume - which makes a real difference when you want to use a device to quickly look something up. Also, with my Mum around, I've been looking up shops and things to do - and the ability to just turn the screen over vertically to show her, whilst it rotates in place, is far more affective than on a laptop.
In fact, take this as a 'use-case' example. Our bath taps (faucets) need replacing. I want to make sure they match the sink taps but I don't know the make. So without thinking about it, I ended up sitting on the toilet, iPad held next to the sink - comparing taps from an on-line retailer. After a few checks, I found the right one and went straight ahead with the purchase. It's not that you couldn't do that with a laptop, but the sheer ease of use and simplicity makes you use the iPad instead.
What about LEGO? How would an AFOL work with it? Well, for one - all our custom websites seem quite happy on the iPad (as you'd expect). Instructions are something else though. I recently built Ollie from the instruction scans. Not great on a laptop, the screensaver kicks in on long stages and it takes up a fair amount of desk space. iPad - bloody brilliant and just like their printed equivalent. Is it good enough for me to leave a laptop at home for weekend long events? Totally.
What about work? Well, Keynote is surprisingly good and feature complete. If I'm presenting without demos - I'll be using this. The one real downside I can see of Keynote currently though, is no presenter display. I really hope they fix that, but in the interim I could use an iPod Touch as a remote I guess. I've tried a few LEGO presentations I have and they all worked flawlessly for me. I'm also going to be buying a capacitive stylus (yes, they exist) so I can use it as a proper notebook. I can see me using it as a rolling display for international LEGO shows as well. Assuming I can secure it down, that is!
If you buy one app, buy Wired magazine. This is really what it's all about. I love my e-reader for books and honestly - the iPad does not cut it for reading books. Backlit screens are just not as readable as e-ink. Magazines though, are a completely different beast. Full colour pictures, interactive content, animation, video, audio - it's all in there and it all makes sense to use in this format. I've not bought a paper magazine in years, and it's possible I never will again. I want them *all* like this! Brickjournal.....?
So, is this the Star Trek NG tablet style future we all wanted? Well - pretty much, yes it seems to be. I still have a few caveats though...
- No multi-tasking. Which, although I thought it wouldn't annoy me too much - drives me bonkers and causes me to loose content when I mindlessly switch from one app to another.
- No notifications. Primarily, no notifications on the status bar. I don't want to flick back to the home screen to tell me if I have mail.
- No flash. Well, if you're bothered about flash. It's only stopped me browsing a couple of times so far.
- I reckon the 3G device really is worth the extra 100quid if you travel. This is about ease of access, and great as a MiFi/FroYo phone is - they aren't instant access.
- Only 1 Exchange mail account
- Slightly too heavy, but not a major factor
- Androids' search and google services
integration is far, far better.
Of course, iPhone OS4 should fix many of these things. But, would an Android tablet be better suited to me? Well, very possibly yes. If the publishers like Wired make the content available to an Android tablet (which they say that they are), then I'd probably be even happier on that platform. If the iPad proves one thing, it's that content is king - not the device. Of course, Apple make great devices and have great content. But then, so could anyone....
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