Friday, June 3, 2011

iPad Revisited

After letting this blog lie fallow for a year, I'm finally planting a new post. I won't bother with the usual, "Dear Diary, Sorry I haven't written in so long. So much has happened." I save that for my journal which I'm likewise bad at keeping up to date.

About a month after posting my iPad review, I went out and bought one. As stated in my review, I really didn't need it. But I had harassed my wife far too long with my constant talk of iPads, to the point that she just told me to buy one so I'd shut up about it.

Now that we've had the device for almost a year, I look back at that review and find that I still agree with what I said then. It's a great device which I don't need but very much enjoy. I mostly use it for reading blogs and feeds (recently I've been using Flipboard for this) or visiting websites. Sometimes I play some games on it. And most of this usage is at night when I'm in bed but not quite ready to sleep. I've also started using it for watching Netflix, especially while running on the treadmill.

One thing I did not expect is how much my wife would use the iPad. She's become the primary user! She got hooked on it when our baby was born and she was up at all hours of the night for feedings. She mostly reads websites and public domain (read: free) books, but also listens to music, watches shows, and plays games. Sometimes she uses it for recipes while cooking.

The baby likes the iPad too, but mostly inasmuch as he likes anything he can get his hands on. Sometimes we turn on Tesla Toy and let him touch the screen to make things move. It kind of blows my mind that this kind of technology has been around longer than he's been alive. He'll grow up with it and probably know how to use the iPad well by 2 or 3 years of age!

All in all, the iPad is a fantastic device. I'm glad we have one.