Over the past week we’ve looked at why the iPad will be good for contractors and why you might not be the target audience for the device. After considerable thought, I’d like to share why I want an iPad.

I’m not an Apple fanboy – the only Apple device I currently own is a 4 year-old refurbished iPod Nano. I don’t carry an iPhone – I use a Samsung Ace Windows Mobile smartphone. I still like the device because it’s tiny and has great battery life for my trips. I was recently scolded for not using Keynote for my presentations. My main computer is a refurbished Dell XPS M1330 laptop which I’ve enjoyed over the past year although lately the fan has made so much noise that I can’t bring it to SXSW with me. I have been considering purchasing the new Asus ULvt30 laptop as it has a super battery and looks like it would meet my needs well.

So why do I want the Apple iPad? It’s been bashed from blog to blog and fanboys are torching their shrines to Steve Jobs. (side note, I wonder if the fanboys would have loved the device if Jobs gave one to everyone in the audience. You know, just like Google did with the Nexus One. Didn’t see much hate over that way, did ya?)

The Asus laptop weighs in at just under 4 pounds. It’s got great specs and will work perfectly for coding, working on my startup, and all the other heavy lifting that a computer is meant to handle. Everyday I am in NYC at an event, meeting an entrepreneur looking for advice or meeting with a customer of my startup. Many times it would be nice to have a device that I can whip out in a second and show off my startup, look at other startups, review a presentation, etc. Typically I use my mobile for checking my various email accounts and browsing the web using the Skyfire mobile browser. The iPad will be able to handle everything I’ve listed and more and I can travel around with a 1.5 pound machine. If I take the laptop with me, it’s lugging around a 3x heavier machine and then I also have to take a bigger (and heavier) laptop bag as well. The iPad will fit into my lightweight bag with no issues.

ReadWriteWeb had an interesting post about how the iPad will allow startups to create “instant demos”. I very much agree with this premise and could see startups purchasing one just for the demo ability.

I am also hoping that I can use the iPad as my new music playing device where I start a playlist, “hold” the device and stick it into my bag and the music keeps playing.

Based on what I have read, it does appear that I will have some gripes with the device. First, it has no camera – a camera would have been excellent for networking and I am guessing it will be on version 2 – isn’t that how Jobs creates his devices? Jobs says the battery will last 10 hours which probably means 3-4 in real life. I certainly hope the power cord is super light and easy to carry. The iPad also apparently can’t handle multi-tasking which seems stupid because many times you will want to browse the web and listen to a song in your iTunes collection. Apparently there is some issue where Flash doesn’t work on the iPad — not exactly sure how this will affect my Web usage but it is something to consider.

Update: The comments seem to indicate you can play a song in iTunes and work in the browser.

From what I can tell so far, the iPad might also improve my productivity while I am out and about because I can load up on apps that I can use to keep better track of everything going on in my life from scheduling to note taking to contact management.

It looks like there will be adapters that will connect into the iPad to allow for some external functions. I am hoping that a foldable keyboard is one of those options. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like you can carry a second battery. It would also be great if you can plug the iPad into a projector for large group demos and presentations.

I’m not sure whether I will purchase the model with the 3G. My Ace phone handles Bluetooth tethering very well so I could just use that when needed. I’m guessing you can’t add on the 3G later so my guess is that I will take the 3G version. I’m quite certain I will go for the least expensive version. The 3G service plans seem expensive to me – especially since if you only use it a drop, you still pay for the entire month. I am actually willing to bet that one of the sweet spots for the iPad will be for people who are happy with their cell phone but want a smarter device without buying an iPhone or Droid.

So to summarize why I want an iPad:

lightweight
ability to check and respond to emails and handle customer inquiries for my startup
web browser
productivity apps
meeting functionality (review presentations, review apps, discussions)
long battery life
new music player to replace my old Nano

I’d also like to note that I am sure there are other tablet machines on the market that are worth looking into. I have not started this research yet but plan to before looking at the iPad for purchase.

Had the device been available for purchase before SXSW, my bet is that you would see 1,000 or more of the devices in the convention center.

The iPad could also replace my wish of moving into a new mobile device this year. If I have an ipad that tethers to my phone and my phone to handle calls (which Sprint does perfectly), then I am all set.

Overall I think the iPad will be a huge winner for Apple. Ithink the price will drop a bit by mid-year which will get more mainstream users excited about the device. Now I need to work on getting more pageviews so I can pay for the new iPad device.

Doscount laptop batteries:

Asus laptop battery

sony laptop battery

HP laptop battery

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Tags: Ipad, Want

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 15th, 2010 at 4:26 am and is filed under Gadget. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.