iPad - First Thoughts

Just some quick thoughts on my new iPad.  Please keep in mind the only post-PC device I had prior was my iPhone 4 so I can't really compare the experience with the original iPad/iPad 2.

Display - The screen's amazing.  Same high quality retina display on an iPhone 4/4S but obviously with much more real estate.  With the 9.7" display I can browse the web without having to resort to the "mobile web" experience that so many websites force you to view in.  There is a web tag to put you in a "tablet" mode but it looks much like a website does on a desktop/notebook so no complaints there.

Wifi - Yep I only got the Wifi model since I didn't want to pay the extra $129 + data plan for something I would use 95% of the time on a wifi connection.

Storage - Other than the color, this was the feature I had to think carefully about before purchasing.  I originally thought the 16 GB would suffice but after reading reviews of people's storage habits (average music/video/app sizes) I decided to go with the 32 GB.  It ended up being a wise decision since currently I'm using about half that right now and will need the headroom for loading up the kid's movies on future road trips.

Camera - Still haven't took a pic yet or recorded a movie.  Honestly this isn't something I would consider doing since I have much smaller devices that could do the job.  For me it's one of those "I guess its nice it's there in case I need it" type of features but this isn't why I bought the iPad.

Battery - Love, love, love the 10+ hour battery life.  I was so used to my 6+ hour iPhone 4 battery time that its such a refreshing change to go several days without having to worry about charging my iPad.  This is good because the new iPad takes so much longer to charge than before (from what I heard on the web).  I just leave it charged overnight so it's not really a problem for me.  It appears the bottleneck here is everything has to charge via the maximum 5A USB interface.  I suspect the next version of the iPad would use some sort of miniature MagSafe power connector for charging.

Apps - I've been trying to only download iPad apps optimized for the retina display, however I still have some iPhone apps that haven't been updated yet and I enjoy playing (7th Guest/Myst, ect...).  Here's a list of my iPad apps I have so far.

• Flipboard - Really cool UI optimized for the new iPad.
• Labyrinth 2 HD - Reminds me of the game we used to play at tía Carol's house when she would babysit Rob and I 
• Garageband - Apple get's 5 stars for its apps - beautiful and functional
• iPhoto - This demo had me at the "Kai" brushes feature
• iBooks - Strange but Apple still doesn't ship this with the device

• iTunes U - Same deal as iBooks
• iFixIt - Wonderful on the large display
• Facebook - Of course!
• Netflix - Recently updated for the retina display
• 123D Sculpt - Free app from Autodesk, fun to play around with
• SketchBook Pro - Yes I got this because of the keynote demo.  Reminds me of Painter but with the touch interface
• Amazon
• Apple Remote - Getting ready for my future Apple TV purchase
• Apple Trailers - Dazzling interface 
• NBA Courtside - Gotta keep tabs on my Lakers

I'm discovering something new everyday.  Not only is the iPad taking over most of my computing time from my MacBook Pro and iMac, it's also replacing my iPhone for many tasks like FaceBook and web browsing.  The kids love using it so much that we are considering getting a cheaper iPad 2 just for them.

iPhoto for iPad

After reading about the new iPhoto app for the new iPad, the first thing I thought of when looking at the brushes feature was the old UI for the now defunct Kai's Photo Soap product.

Good design never dies, it just gets recycled.