Why iPad?
We saw an amazing headline this week: “Apple Sells Two Million iPads in Less Than 60 Days“. Which is a pretty amazing feat considering that the iPhone took over 2 quarters (6 months!) to sell that many phones. That’s also counting less than a week in international sales, so that’s mainly in the US. I’ve heard that many US Apple Stores are out of stock, or are limiting the number purchased to 2 per customer, as they are in short supply.
From the announcement of the iPad, to its launch, even today, I hear people asking “Why iPad? What would I use it for?” I got asked those questions about 5 times this week, but yet some people clearly “get” it and are picking them up like free tshirts.
When I try to tell people why I enjoy my iPad, I often feel like it’s difficult to express why it’s useful, why I use it instead of my laptop or why my 3 year old daughter loves and uses it so much. It is different from my iPhone and different from my laptop, but it combines several elements of each… enough that make it a really nice and convenient device to have around.
Here are some of the ways I and my family use our iPad, some of these may resound with you, some may not… I’d certainly like to hear how YOU use your iPad, or why you aren’t.
- Checking and responding to personal and work email, it’s better than my iPhone for typing longer emails.
- Checking and updating Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media status and content. Those links to websites, articles, news, videos… all work great on my iPad.
- Reading news and other content sites via dedicated apps, RSS apps, websites, then sharing on my social networks.
- I load it up with videos, podcasts, iTunesU content and books for travel or other relaxing downtime, for myself, my wife and my daughter. We all use it to consume media.
- My daughter loves it as a educational and fun game device… from drawing apps, to matching and alphabet learning apps, she picked up how to use it on the first day, and continues to learn new apps nearly immediately. What other things can you really say that about, with a 3 year old?
- I use it while my wife and I are watching movies or TV, to look up characters/actors, topics or locations around the world that are mentioned. I don’t have to get up, I don’t have to strain my eyes to see the results. I had the iPad to my wife and share the info… the technology gets out of the way.
- Many days, I use it instead of a printed newspaper while having breakfast and coffee with the family. I can instantly go into more depth during a news topic discussion, or offer insights when somebody says “what happened in Buenos Aires this week?”
- Even though I have the WiFi only model, I’ve taken in on a few daytrips and client meetings, using it for email, Skype calls and our company PowerPoint presentations too.
To not sound like toooooo much of an Apple Fanboy (Although I really am), I should mention that I’m not connected to my iPad like a leash (my wife says my iPhone is stuck to my left hand though). I don’t use it all the time, I don’t use it to create long-form content, like this blog post. This amount of content is really more suited for my notebook computer… this may change if I get a Bluetooth keyboard though (when my wife lets me).
Sometimes I use my iPad instead of my phone, sometimes instead of my laptop… sometimes instead of the TV or newspaper too. My family and I use it on the road for fun, I use it for work and presentations. It allows me to bring less gear with me, but still gives me access to much of the information and utility, and it can be a lot of fun too… I am certainly hooked, and I bet you would be too. Give one a try and see what you think… let me know too!
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[...] I’ve also posted an article on my personal blog about how and why my family uses our iPad. How do you use yours? If you enjoyed this article [...]