Hello my name is Joe and I am a Techoholic. I first realized I had a problem as I set frozen in indecision at an Amazon purchase screen.
Now my addiction has grown to interfere with other areas of my life as I attempt to decide which device should be used to write this post. My PC, Laptop, iPhone or shiny new iPad 2.... Oh yea new gadget wins!!!
I have decided to write a series of posts about my experience with the new iPad 2 as a first time tablet user.
The Choice:
I have been watching the tablet market with interest since the release of the iPad last year. For a time I was caught up in the hype surrounding Notion Ink's Adam and it's Dual-Mode Display. I think my mouse hovered over the pre-order button for several minutes before I came to my senses. Having just purchased a new Laptop last year my will was strong and I continued to resist the urges I felt to add yet another electronic device to my retinue. I had been eying the Motorola Xoom and it Androidy goodness but then my benevolent employer offered to subsidize the purchase of a new iPad 2, to help review it's business potential they said, I caved.
The Purchase:
Driven forward by by the promise of a free gadget I went searching on March 11th, walked by the Apple store at noon, there were already a line for the 5 PM sale. I am morally opposed to lines, especially those with no guaranteed payoff at the end. I went by Best Buy and Walmart on the way home but they were sold out. By the end of the day the Apple Online Store was showing 3-4 weeks for delivery. By the end of the weekend that was up to 4-5 weeks. I put in an order online with AT&T and resigned myself to the interminable wait. For a week and a half after the release of the iPad 2 I continued to read stories about people waiting in line outside Apple Stores in the hopes of capturing the rare stock that trickled in. The fools.
In the morning on March 23rd I just "happened" to be walking by my local Apple Store and find a few, just 3 or 4 people lined up outside. I wasn't getting inline but since I was there already I wandered over, edging closer so I could hear what was being said. A very friendly and easy-going Apple employee was chatting with those in line, why yes they did have a single 32GB Wi-Fi + 3G in black that is currently unspoken-for... I took my little white ticket and got in line. A few minutes later a not-so-friendly looking Apple employee ambled out of the store, looked around for a moment as if the light hurt his eyes, took my ticket and ambled back in. I assumed I was to follow. After disappearing for a time into the back he returned bearing an unassuming little white box and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "will that be all". I asked about a cover and I believe he grunted and pointed towards the wall behind me. 5 minutes later I left the store with my new toy. All told it took longer to cancel my AT&T order, through phone queue hell, than it did to buy my new iPad.
Day 1:
Back in my office I found myself losing focus as my gaze kept sliding off to the side of the desk where that little white box sat, teasing me with its simplicity. I was NOT going to install iTunes on my work PC just to activate my new toy. 10 minutes later my new iPad was activated and my 3G service was up and running with AT&T.
Experience has taught me to be leery of initial impressions formed during the "Honeymoon Phase" with a new gadget. I have found that the best way to get over that initial high is to use it. Really put the screws to it and see if it falters. To this end I used it for everything I could this first day. From web "research", email and meetings at work to videos, surfing and installing apps at home. I used it on and off for 14 hours, as it couldn't drive me home or feed the kids, but in the end I wore down before it did. I placed it on the charger a little before Midnight with 24% battery life displayed.
Initial Impressions:
Extremely intuitive and easy to use.
Lightweight and portable though not "Pocket Sized".
Despite the lack of the hoped for retina-like upgrade the screen is beautiful and the resolution seems to suite the screen size.
Screen is a good size for web surfing and email, on 95% of the sites I visited I did not miss my larger screens.
System is fast and responsive to input.
Multi-Hand touch screen input works great, works better than mouse and keyboard for some tasks.
Typing for those "almost" touch-typists who never broke themselves of looking at their fingers can be very fast!
I need a better App for Note-Taking and markup in work meetings, though I may use the built in Note App for personal notes as it syncs with Yahoo.
I had to fight to keep it away from grubby little kid fingers.... NO this is Daddy's new toy!
Apps Installed (Not Including Games):
Dropbox
Flipboard
Netflix
OneNote
SpringPad
Nebulous
Noterize
Closing Day 1:
I'm impressed. The iPad 2 survived it's marathon first day with my initial high opinion intact though that may be the afterglow talking... Just to be sure I wait till later in the series to make any overall conclusions or professions of undying love.
