iPad Observations: Week One

Well, I got my iPad a week ago yesterday and already it has wended its way into my heart. I have a MacBook and an iMac and an iPhone (yeah, I'm a Mac zombie I guess), and this doesn't replace anything. It really does fit a unique niche. Here are some observations so far.

- Watching TV or movies is amazing. I worried about missing Flash, as in Hulu, but I'm good so far. You can watch anything Netflix has as instant viewing on the iPad. I have the cheapest Netflix account they have, and have watched a lot of good stuff already. Pretty much all the stuff I watched on Hulu (a lot of classic TV) is available, like Alfred Hitchcock, Twilight Zone, Peter Gunn, etc. So I'm happy about that. Also, most of the current stuff I watch is on ABC, like Lost, Flash Forward, Modern Family, and their app is very nice, though still a bit buggy. Then there's Joost, YouTube, etc. etc. 

- I just downloaded GoodReader, a PDF and other document reader, for 99 cents and through iTunes added a bunch of PDFs I had of old comics, TwoMorrows digital mags, and books onto my iPad--they look great. I have had them on my computer forever, but hated sitting at the desk and reading them. Now it's like reading a comic in my hands.

- I also figured out how to sync CBR files to ComicZeal, and now have a bunch of comics and stuff to read with that. Their iTunes store description indicated that Apple had made them remove syncing by US and you had to transfer by wifi, which I was having trouble doing last night, but in iTunes tonight I easily just added the files I wanted to transfer to the file download area and synced it up over USB. I guess Apple changed their mind again on that?

- I also have a nice Vook on Sherlock Holmes (I had been reading some Vooks on my iPhone, but the larger format is wonderful, with the text and the videos). Plus a lot of other reading apps--including Kindle. 

- Google just updated their mobile app for the iPad, so all those functions are now available in big screen--including Google Books, which has zillions of books (including a few of mine!), magazines, and other fun stuff you can read and browse through. Nice!

- I had a Zinio digital magazine account already, and all my previously downloaded mags came over on their iPad app. They have a few free samples. Great fun to read mags on the iPad, which often offer additional features like videos and links.

- The iPad apps of USA Today, BBC News, NPR, Bloomberg, AP, Reuters, and NYT Editor's Choice are all well thought out and very different. But going to regular websites through the Safari browser works well too (unless you run into Flash); you don't have the screen size restriction of the iPhone, and it's almost got a screen as large as a laptop. Using iPhone apps on the iPad doesn't bug me, but they are small (or a bit blurry at 2X).

The biggest disappointment I have so far is that I assumed typing on the much larger keyboard in landscape would be a cinch, but I have found it even more difficult to use than the iPhone keyboard. On the iPhone, I only used one or two fingers. On the iPad I try to type QWERTY style, which I'm very good at, and I am really bad at hitting the keys. I don't expect I'll be doing a lot of writing with the iPad, but if I do I may invest in the keyboard they offer for it.

This really is a great entertainment device.  I have to say it's at least met my high expectations if not exceeded them.