

Ask HN: Four months since launch: how are you finding the iPad? - AlexMuir

I'm curious as to what people's thoughts on the iPad now that the dust has settled.<p>I use mine almost exclusively for reading blogs in the evening.  My girlfriend enjoys just browsing about on it.  That's about it - no photos, no videos, no audio.  Minimal gaming.  I also use Goodreader for technical PDFs.<p>Aside: It's been four months and there's not really a sniff of a competing product yet.
======
vaporstun
I _absolutely_ love it.

It truly has changed huge portions of my life. I initially bought it somewhat
second guessing myself thinking I was buying an over-expensive toy that I
would regret, but have changed my mind drastically. Now someone would have to
pry it away from me.

My laptop used to be tied to me wherever I was in my house, but now it has
essentially become a desktop because I have almost no use for it. It is
larger, clunkier, gets very hot in my lap, has far shorter battery life, etc.
I had a netbook but almost never used it because it was so slow it was
unbearable. To jump into a browser and get to GMail was a few minute endeavor
which quickly left me so frustrated I'm surprised the thing did not end up out
my window.

The iPad is fantastic for most of my everyday things such as checking my
email, web browsing, etc. It's always on and FAST, so I am never frustrated as
I was with my netbook. I no longer have to take my laptop with me on trips as
the iPad will suffice in most scenarios. If I'll be gone for awhile, I bring a
bluetooth keyboard and have iSSH which I can use to connect to any of my
servers on the road. Once I've got an SSH session open, it is not really much
different from using a laptop. When I'm on a plane, I can spin up multiple
movies back to back and its 10+ hour battery life means that I'll almost never
run it out by the time I land. No laptop could compare to that and it is in
such a small, convenient package.

I still use my "real" computers for development, but for almost everything
else, I use my iPad. In fact, it is very nice to separate my development from
my time-wasting viewing. Now I do nothing but development on my laptop and
have my iPad for casual browsing. That separation is very nice.

And one of the uses I did not anticipate when I first got it is the photo
sharing aspect. Now anytime I am with family or friends and I mention
something such as a trip I took, I can pull the iPad out (I take it with me
everywhere because it is compact enough...I did not do the same with my
laptop) and casually flip through photos, giving them visuals to accompany my
stories.

My latest "killer app" is OmniFocus; their iPad implementation is stellar. It
truly has changed my workflow and my ability to keep things prioritized. I
previously was using the iPhone version of the app doubled on the iPad and it
just wasn't all that great.

I would seriously recommend one of these to most family/friends looking to
pick up a computer because it would do everything they need and be quite a
value. My sister asked for a recommendation on a computer and was looking at
some systems that were $1000+. Since all she does essentially is check her
email and browse the web, I coaxed her into getting an iPad. She saved a few
hundred dollars and has loved the device far more than a laptop. For more
developer types, it is less viable as a replacement and more of a lifestyle
augment, but it was a purchase I would make again in a second.

~~~
npp
I'm just curious; how can you recommend it to family/friends looking for a
_computer_ , since currently you still need an extra machine to sync the iPad
to? Is it that they have a desktop and wanted a laptop?

~~~
wmeredith
You can just have them sync or activate it at an Apple store. You really don't
need to do it again after that. OS updates would be out of reach, though,
which are important. I'm still not sure why Apple tied the iPad to an iTunes
install. It's such a brilliant device (wife and I love our 32gb wifi model)
but this is a serious flaw.

~~~
c1sc0
Maybe because then the user is more likely to put their credit-card on file
with Apple?

------
ghshephard
I have read five novels ( Carpe Jugulum, Blackout, The Graveyard Book, Never
Let me Go, and the Accidental Time Machine) and and find it far more
convenient than my Kindle1/K2 for indoor reading - Ironically the battery is
always charged on my iPad (I tend to let the kindle run down) and until the
graphite kindle comes out, the ability to read at night is the deal breaker.

When I go on vacation though, I expect the Kindle will be in heavy rotation as
my primary reader though - particularly out in BRC during the day.

Netflix, even with it's so-so iPad interface is frequently in rotation, and
when Hulu-Plus -finally- sends me an invitation, I expect to get a lot of use
from it.

Videos are in frequent rotation.

I've spent way to many hours on Games (PvZ, Build-a-Lot,BloonsTD)

DropBox/Good Reader/Instapaper get rotated every other day. Innovative Use: I
have a Go program that I worship (SmartGoPro) - and every Friday Night, when I
get together with a Friend for our six-hour Go session, we go through a bunch
of Life-Death problems, both new and old, on the iPad.

All-in-all I really like how the iPad and the iPhone compliment each other. I
use the iPhone for taking pictures, Blogging, GPS, SMS, eMail, instapaper a
lot. But I find that general browsing I now typically reach for the iPad.

The Laptop at home gets very little use - only when I need to hop onto
Terminal.App or use Remedy (Grrrr Flash) do I actually bother to open it up.

WSJ is killer - I open it up every morning and read it on my walk to/from work
+ they keep improving the App! The WSJ really, really are good. What's going
on at the NYT - they've totally lamed out on the iPad.

Of the three magazines I read - Time, Popular Electronics, and Wired - Only
wired really wowed me, and now I actually look forward to the new magazine
coming out. I haven't looked forward to the day a magazine comes out in 20+
Years (Dragon Magazine).

So, for me - iPad is a huge win. Looking forward to iPad with a retina
display. :-)

~~~
jackowayed
> _until the graphite kindle comes out, the ability to read at night is the
> deal breaker._

Could you explain this? The only thing that's been holding me up from
preordering a K3 is that I'm not sure if I want white or graphite.

~~~
ghshephard
I said Graphite, but I really meant "K3" - the K3 has a $60 cover has support
for night reading. [http://www.amazon.com/Lighted-Leather-Chocolate-Display-
Gene...](http://www.amazon.com/Lighted-Leather-Chocolate-Display-
Generation/dp/B003DZ166G)

I went through three (3) night lights on my Kindle(s), and was never happy
with any of them. Glare was really annoying, which is tragic if you think
about how well the Kindle normally handles (sunlight) Glare.

Here's hoping the Amazon Night Light solves it. Kindle + iPad have really
inspired me to start reading again.

~~~
chrisbolt
It's kind of crazy that the cover for a $140 kindle costs $60.

~~~
jackowayed
It has a builtin light (and some magic so that the Kindle powers the light),
but still, yeah.

I'm looking at getting upsold by $110 on a $139 device. First it was "well,
$50 for 3G everywhere forever is probably worth it". Now it's "$60 to keep my
now-$189 Kindle nice and to have a light that doesn't suck is probably worth
it."

~~~
spydez
How do you know this light doesn't suck? So far you're 3 for 3 on sucky
lights, and you haven't tried this new one.

If there's a review for the new one that says, "This doesn't suck," then
there's probably a review for your previous 3 that says the same thing...

------
potatolicious
I love mine. For the first time I've been able to leave the laptop at home
entirely when traveling - need restaurant lookups? Map where you are? The iPad
does all of that, for much lighter, and is about a million and half times more
usable than your standard netbook.

It's a "laptop lite" so to speak - for most basic uses it's brilliant. When
I'm on vacation and I don't want to write code (or pen long, important
emails), the iPad is pretty sweet. It's also gotten me reading again, which is
a nice plus.

I have the 3G version, so it's also a really nice way to just chill out
somewhere and check Facebook or something without having to worry about WiFi
(or carrying a dongle).

Also: as an enthusiast photographer, I find it incredibly useful to show
people photos. It's an _incredible_ screen - better than most desktops and
laptops have - and it's just perfect. I've had multiple pros express the same
sentiments.

------
zzzmarcus
I like it, though for as much as I use it, I can't seem to fall in love with
it like I did the iPhone.

I use it principally for:

-Reading. iBooks is awesome. I love how it syncs your place so you can pick up on the phone. I haven't used the Kindle app much (which does the same) because most of the books I read are old and freely available in epub or PDF. I also use, to a lesser degree, Instapaper and Reeder. I used to use Stanza but the lack of sync is a deal breaker. Sad really because it's such a nice app.

-Playing Music. I use it as a banjo tuner with OmniTuner (an iPhone app) and I also use TabToolkit and GuitarTookit as well as PDF's with written music and tab. It's more convenient than lugging around books or loose leaf paper.

-Listening to Music. The speakers are good enough to make moving it around from room to room and using it for background music nice.

-Occasional Browsing. I really don't like browsing on it and it feels like the only browsing I do on there is wasting time. I get the nagging feeling that I should just be reading a book, or doing something off-screen altogether, rather than browsing. The tabs are clunky, the browser is slim on features and typing is too slow.

-Mindmaps, Mockups. I don't think it's the ideal tool (yet) for either of those activities, but I sometimes do both if I don't have the laptop handy. iMockups is pretty nice. I'd put OmniFocus on there if I hadn't already spent so much on it for my Mac and iPhone. I'm not dropping another $40 for it.

-Etc., Games, Email, Evernote, Netflix, YouTube. I play Carcassone and Settlers. I use Flashcard apps to try to teach my baby to read. I respond to emails and write notes in Evernote. I'm not a big fan of typing on the iPad (I prefer the iPhone keyboard) so I use it for email less than I expected, but still, it's nice to have it there. I thought I'd use it for video all the time, and the times I do, it's wonderful. I'd guess I watch a movie on it twice or three times a month.

Overall, I'm glad I have it, I'd probably miss it a lot if it was gone and, as
you can see from the list above, I've integrated it many areas of my life.
Strangely though, I don't have a strong emotional attachment to it. I don't
get excited to defend it and I don't sell it to friends/family. With the
iPhone I couldn't wait to recommend it to everyone I know.

~~~
danudey
iBooks is easily the best PDF reader I've used on any platform. I find myself
syncing PDFs to it to read instead of scrolling through them in my browser,
even when I'm at the computer anyway.

We use it for a lot of browsing. I have a laptop and a Mac Mini connected to
the TV, so when my girlfriend is over (often) she uses it to browse, browse
YouTube clips, catch up on news, Twitter, etc. it's quite handy.

I got a copy of Air Video and the associated free server for Mac, and we use
that to watch TV or movies in bed (we watched Lisa's Wedding the other night
to celebrate Lisa's wedding).

For games, I finally got her into PvZ by loading it up on the iPad, and then
putting the thing down for a few minutes. There's also Dig It HD, stick golf,
and a few other casual time-wasters. Also planning on getting Scrabble and the
Scrabble word tile iPhone app for myself and my girlfriend (and other
friends), to try that out. Interesting use of technology.

I started reading comics as well, though I only browsed through a few free or
cheap issues available on Comixology. I also found myself getting frustrated
with books, so I loaded up digital copies of Scott Pilgrim on it, and found
myself reading much faster than I normally would.

Likewise, I read more on the iPad (and now, my iPhone 4) than I have in recent
years, mostly because of the convenience of having books anywhere. I mostly
use the Kindle app, just because the iBooks store was devoid of non-free
content when the iPad launched in Canada, and Amazon has a better selection
(plus I can shop from my laptop).

Losing it wouldn't be devastating, but it's incredibly convenient. I take it
with me most of the time when I leave the house (I have the 3G version) and
it's nice to be able to just load something up.

------
petercooper
Game changer for me. Somehow, the format lends itself to reading "properly" in
a way a desktop computer does not. So I've actually started reading e-books
instead of print and have gone through a ton of academic papers. I also no
longer take my MBP out with me. I can present and do most things I want on the
road with the iPad. It's also great for getting the "silly" browsing of the
news, Reddit, etc, out of the way in bed or at the dinner table.

~~~
Tycho
I like to keep the dinner table sacred... But it occurred to me the other day
that's where speech recognition would be really useful. Prop the iPad up and
tell it what websites to visit, dictate emails etc. Could be a viable mass
market opening for voice recog tech (cause otherwise I tend to agree with that
recent Spolsky blog - who _really_ wants speech recognition interfaces?)

~~~
petercooper
See, I would find that makes the table a lot less sacred because it's where a
lot of conversation goes on, and barking orders at my iPad isn't going to be
popular ;-) Not only that, I'd rather my wife didn't know I was goofing off
instead of working, ha!

------
fierarul
I know HN is US-centric but I would just like to point out that it's only been
about 2 months since the iPad is available in large EU countries like France
and Germany and 2 weeks since it's available in other (Austria, Belgium, New
Zealand, etc). It doesn't even sell world-wide yet.

The same about the iPhone 4 which although available in the US for almost 2
months, has just been released to some other countries.

~~~
c1sc0
It's not just the devices that are US-centric, it's the whole iTunes
experience. I find the selection of Movies & Books available through iTunes
Germany to be sub-par insofar that I've bought all of my eBooks in Amazon
Kindle format.

------
DocSavage
My mother (almost computer-phobic) has been using it for months and now loves
it. She uses it for e-mail, loading up pictures from her camera, and some
music. Since she has poor satellite internet bandwidth, the iPad isn't very
useful for video at her location.

I've been using my iPad extensively. My main apps are:

\- Evernote with auto-sync to my MacBook Pro. It's great for simple note
taking. Still wish it had a stylus and sufficient touch resolution.

\- iAnnotatePDF and Goodreader for PDF reading. I use the former if I need to
markup the text.

\- Netflix. The streaming video is awesome if you have good Wifi.

\- Dropbox. I loved my Dropbox account before, but with the iPad it's now
irreplaceable. My 50GB dropbox account serves as my extended iPad disk system.
Any paper, ebook, etc., can be opened in my iPad app of choice.

\- E-mail and Safari, of course.

\- Flixster, IMDB.

I have the cheaper 250MB 3G account and only use it when I'm away from decent
WiFi.

~~~
silverlake
My mother is also computer-phobic yet adores her iPad. Every week she's
telling me about some new app she's figured out. Apple has inadvertently
nailed the Seniors market.

------
kirpekar
Wow. I'm certainly in the minority here. I returned mine after about 3 weeks
of use.

For me it's just a very expensive browser. I spend 10 hours a day in front of
a computer screen at work. When I come home in the evenings, I like to
minimize my screen time. I usually limit myself to checking
email/facebook/twitter for about 5-10 minutes only. On weekends too, I like to
spend less time in front of a computer. And if I do, it's work, so I have to
use my work laptop.

So the iPad did not really make any sense. Check email, check out CNN, HN and
check out twitter. 5 minutes a day and $600?

The other thing I noticed is that there are significantly fewer apps for the
iPad as compared to the iPhone. And iPhone apps look plain ugly in the iPad.

Basically seems like an overkill for me. I know, different strokes...

~~~
superk
So you're surprised that there are significantly fewer apps for a device
that's been out for 4 months versus one that has been out for 3 years?

------
elblanco
Considering how many people here seem to be using it for simple browsing and
book reading, perhaps a better question is, is it a $500-900 value or would a
lower price point make more sense considering the typical use-case?

~~~
danudey
The high point is the versatility. It makes a great eBook reader, but it also
makes a great comic reader, a great web browser, a great YouTube watcher, a
decent twitter client, a remote control for my home theatre, a game console, a
Skype phone, an interactive map, a Scrabble board, an image editor, a
newspaper, an RSS reader, the National Film Board of Canada's digital
archives, an IM client, a way to stream video to anywhere in my home, an
iPhone locator (MobileMe), a dictionary…

The point is, it's incredibly versatile, and it does a lot of things very
well. On top of all that, it's light (but feels sturdy), it's small (but not
too small), it can go a few days of casual usage without a charge (so I can
plug it in whenever is convenient), and it's easy to use.

I paid $850 Canadian or so for the 32 GB 3G version, and other than the first
day, when I was trying to get a hang on what to use it for and where it fits
into my life, I've never wondered about the purchase. Using it to read news
articles and RSS feeds, then switching it over to recipes so my girlfriend and
I can make truffles before we curl up in bed and watch a movie on it, it's
really a wonderful device. I could do all of that on my laptop, but it would
be more cumbersome, take up more space on the counter, run out of battery
faster, weigh more, etc.

------
Tycho
It'd glorious. I would much rather do any casual net browsing on the iPad
because it's easier to read. Then throw in the fact that you can be much more
comfortable, take it more places, and not feel like a dork sitting with a
laptop while everyone else is watching TV. I loaded a whole bunch of family
photos onto it which really becomes 'magical' when you're visiting relatives
etc. It's also easy to pass around or crowd around.

Makes consuming academic papers and online lectures much more palatable
(that's the main reason I bought it). I'm pretty fast at typing on it only
problem is often I hit N instead of spacebar.

Not into the handheld gaming scene but it's got me back into online chess -
iPhone screen was too small for that.

Not done a lot of book reading but on the other hand I installed a pagedump of
Wikipedia for offline access, so as a reference tool it's brilliant (I also
have a Python Docs app). Makes a good compliment to desktop computers for when
you need a second screen for something. Or use it as a TV/radio.

And of course I'm sure many great apps will be invented in the future.

P.s. It's worth stressing just how great the battery is - genuinely lasts all
day, greatly enhancing the portability factor

~~~
thenduks
_often I hit N instead of spacebar_

I often hit spacebar instead of N! Perhaps meeting like this will cancel out
our habits... :)

------
hanshasuro
Mine has become the place I _prefer_ to do my evening reading. Twitter, RSS,
Instapaper, eBooks; my iPad is my coffee-table/bedside computer.

~~~
AlexMuir
That's where I'm at too. It doesn't cook your nuts like a laptop.

------
thenduks
I absolutely love it. I use it for everything but development/work... and I
mean everything: browsing, email, reading, ordering pizza/food, as a reference
when _making_ food, buying stuff online, researching stuff to buy _offline_ ,
listening to music, sharing photos (like, physically I mean), checking the
weather, playing board games (and other multiplayer stuff) as well as single
player games like Osmos and Angry Birds. I use it to keep up on Facebook and
Flickr happenings as well as managing twitter accounts... The list never ends,
really. If it broke I would absolutely go right out and buy another one
immediately.

------
mrkurt
I use mine to read books, mostly, though I'll sometimes play games on it when
I finish a book and don't have another lined up.

There was a week or so where I used Instapaper a ton, and I also read a series
of comic books on it.

I'm decidedly meh. You could steal my iPad and it would likely take me several
days to notice.

Reading on it is not my favorite, I much prefer the Kindle. My wife has the
same problem. :) When I get a new Kindle the iPad will likely be relegated to
its dock for reference PDFs.

------
josefresco
Have had mine for a month or so. Love my 3G iPad for mobile use as I don't
have a modern smartphone.

Haven't synced any photos, music or videos as iTunes is atrocious and I really
don't care to deal with it at all (except for OS updates)

App store organization and usability is also atrocious. I I have yet to be
able to find games applicable to my pre-school aged kids. The process is
completely random now, trial and error which is great when you have an
impatient 4 year old and a crying 2 year old.

I've bought 1 app for $0.99. A Craigslist app which I like but it feels silly
considering I can browse the same data via the web.

I'm now traveling so I wish I did have some photos and video that I could use
to entertain the kids (since I can't find good games!) and also myself as I
have no TV late at night.

I expected some dual use for business/sales meetings (I'm a web developer) but
have yet to pull it out for that reason.

Also feel kinda douchey telling/showing people about it so that has me
concerned as most see it as a very expensive toy (which it is).

Have to say not having Flash has been somewhat of an issue. Also some web apps
like Google Analytics don't seem to work at all.

------
muhfuhkuh
My wife and I fight over it. She for games (Plants v. zombies, Super 7, etc.)
youtube, and magazine reading; I for ebooks/pdfs, surfing, and listening to
Podcasts (thanks to the HNer who recommended "A Life Well Wasted" podcast,
friggin' brilliant) and NPR before bed. We both use it to stream our episodes
with Air Video during mealtimes.

When I was on vacation back in June, I was floored that I needn't even take my
laptop with me. An iPhone and iPad was all that was required (the iPhone was
the GPS, too), and we could plot out stuff to do, read restaurant reviews, and
check with work stuff all without feeling like "work", if you can understand
that.

It's like the mythical "third place" of computing technology. That thing
between the little smartphone and the big smart computer: A "smart" thick
client, a mainline into exactly what you need. Even the fact that it doesn't
do multitasking (yet, but even when it does, not really) makes you focus on
what it is you're doing at the time, stopping "wikidiction" and other time
sinks that persist when using a computer and all its multitasking splendor
(and horror).

------
dlsspy
My macbook is my new desktop machine and my iPad is my new laptop.

Dropbox + omnigraffle + numbers + keynote + safari + mail means I basically
have all the information I need when I'm out in usable form.

I do have a ridiculously large case, though. I've been wondering if I should
go for the apple case as opposed to this incase thing that makes the footprint
larger than my Dell mini 9.

------
nlh
I find it to be a spectacular device. The best part about it is that I don't
feel it to be "forced" in any way -- sometimes with new gadgets you'll use
them even if you don't necessarily need to. The iPad just fits at certain
times.

For example, I was sitting and waiting for a friend outside of JFK yesterday,
parked in a long line of cars. I wanted to go through some emails and resumes
that had come in. Sitting in the driver's seat of the car, I found the iPad to
be absolutely perfect for this task -- it was too cramped to pull out my MBP,
and no reason to squint on my iPhone.

I hate to sound compromising, but the iPad really is the ideal "in between"
machine. There are times when you only need the phone (on the go), and there
are times when you need a full-sized machine (MBP or a desktop). The iPad is
letting me discover those random times when an in-between device just fits.

------
jsolson
I'm loving mine. I mostly use it as a reader and a convenient way to get
around the web without pulling out my notebook.

Shameless plug: since you mention GoodReader, I'd like to point out that we've
written a PDF reader called Folio ~ The PDF Reader, more details about which
can be found at <http://ballisticpigeon.com/folio>, which does an excellent
job with technical PDFs. In particular, we do up-front fulltexting of your
whole library and let you search across it as well as providing very fast
results (with context, highlighting, etc.) inside documents. We do the usual
family of things you'd expect (Dropbox and MobileMe integration, integration
with iTunes and Mail, etc.), but you can find out more about that on our
website.

Bonus: iPhone version (as a universal binary, free upgrade) coming soon.

~~~
olifante
Folio is nice, but it's missing what for me is the killer feature of
GoodReader: the ability to crop the white margins for all pages of a PDF. This
immensely improves PDF readability in portrait format.

The Folio Fit-to-width functionality (only available in landscape mode) is
already able to detect and automatically crop white margins at the top and at
the bottom of pages, so why not create a mode that automatically crops all 4
margins in portrait mode?

Another much needed feature is text highlights and text notes. Since Folio
already has the ability to select text, it should be no big deal to add this
to the app. Make the highlights and notes syncable a-la Kindle, and I'm sold.

One minor nitpick: Most apps seem to place their Back/Up button in the upper
left corner. The Folio "Library" button should be on the left and the search
button on the right.

~~~
jsolson
Thanks for the feedback. I agree with almost everything you said, and most of
it is coming. You can probably stop here unless you care about details, I
rambled on a bit :).

Your killer feature for GoodReader is an important one, we're agreed on that,
but I _hate_ GoodReader's implementation. I don't like the idea of making the
user do something manually that can be done well heuristically. We're hoping
to ship a smart crop feature that does good margin detection on most PDFs in
one of the next couple point releases. With the iPhone/iPod Touch version
coming soon this feature goes from "really nice to have" to "necessary".

Highlights and notes with syncing between Folio instances is coming soon
(which will make more sense when we introduce the iPhone/iPod touch version).
We've also got plans for syncing with things like SkimPDF and exporting plain
old annotated PDFs, but syncing between Folio instances will come first.

> One minor nitpick: Most apps seem to place their Back/Up button in the upper
> left corner. The Folio "Library" button should be on the left and the search
> button on the right.

Done in 1.0.2, showing up in the App Store when Apple feels like getting
around to it. I had reasons* for putting it where I did that, at the time, I
thought were good ones, but you're right that it really is a back button and
we should just treat it as such.

Again, thanks for the feedback. It's always nice to hear ideas from people
actually using the app, especially when they confirm that we seem to be on the
right track for future direction of the app.

* In case you're curious as to how it ended up where it is: I wanted the "Import" button in the library to be in the same place as it was in the iWork apps, and I wanted the search button to be in a consistent location between the two views. Also, I saw the "Library" button as more of a "Done" than a back button (in fact, it sends the doneReading: selector to our reading view controller), and Apple is somewhat inconsistent about where those go.

------
tsycho
I own my iPad for almost 2 months now, and I still love it.

I use it primarily for email (default app) and reading (Kindle + GoodReader)
during my commute to work. I watched a couple of movies on it during some
recent long flights, it was a much better experience than watching on my
laptop mainly due to the amazing battery life. I also play some games on it -
FlightControl, RealSoccer, some Chess app.....but not a lot.

I do not use it at all for photos (due to the pain of copying pics over, and
no real use case) or music (my iPhone is much more useful for that).

Strong positives: Great reading device, amazing battery life, very good
screen, much lighter than my laptop.

Complaints: Can't do any real work on it (the touch keyboard is a pain), and
it could have been a bit more lighter (~0.5 kg ideally)

------
tptacek
I read the middle third of _Infinite Jest_ on it while I was on vacation. It
was outstanding. The footnotes were hyperlinked, it was trivial to refer back
to the bookmarked page that lists what all the years are, and every time I
came across a word I didn't know, I could just touch it on the screen and get
a definition.

I've also found (and this is goofy I know) that because an iPad page is
shorter than a book page, I have an increased sense of momentum reading long-
form books; pages are flying by faster than they did in the actual book, and I
always know how far I am from the end of a chapter.

This probably would have been true for the Kindle as well (I don't own one),
but the Kindle didn't come with an excellent web browser or a zillion games my
kids like, so I was disinclined to buy one.

------
smiler
Anyone bought the WiFi only version and regretted not getting the 3G?

~~~
AlexMuir
Opposite for me, bought the 3G and have used it twice out of the house. Maybe
just that I'm not travelling much - I'd be getting a mywi though I think as
then I could use the dataplan across multiple devices.

~~~
smiler
That's my fear over getting the 3G - thinking I need it but then never
actually needing it. Good point about a mywi device.

I now have to decide whether to get one or not _now_ or wait for v2

------
c1sc0
I love it for reading, I never expected to spend more money on books than on
apps. And I'm using the Kindle app, not the iBooks one (not enough selection
in Germany). I'm swapping my WiFi one for a 3G version in 2 weeks. Love it
love it love IT!

------
PStamatiou
I've become rather accustomed to my netbook setup actually:
[http://paulstamatiou.com/thoughts-on-netbooks-part-2-asus-
ee...](http://paulstamatiou.com/thoughts-on-netbooks-part-2-asus-eee-pc-
edition)

------
aaroneous
Like others have said, I too use it in the morning and evenings, either in bed
or at the couch. It's not a device for the office, but it excels at casual web
& email (which is probably what 90% of the Internet population uses their
computer for anyway).

Non-techie adults seem to be proficient after <5 min of explaining basic
operations and I liken the intuitiveness of its interface to that of an
elevator - once you've got the basic concept you're good to go.

I don't think the current iPad is itself a revolution, but I do think it's the
first step.

------
Dav3xor
Pilots love using them for mapping. There are a couple of very nice apps for
it too. I'd bet you could make really good money if you can ferret out more
niche markets that it's perfect for.

~~~
aaroneous
Lots of great aviation possibilities, but overheating has been an issue for
several I've talked to.

------
SmokenJoe
It is brilliant. It is better than a laptop at just about every thing I use it
for and has incredible battery life Serious video editing writing and storage
are not so easy which will mean I won't get rid of the tower anytime soon but
it is well worth the price. The size is a little troublesome though. A smaller
benzle would do a world of good. Even with my xxxl hands I type faster on the
4G. Websurfing could be smoother on picture lad end sites but if for reading
content it can't be beat.

------
jawngee
Honestly, I don't think the iPad becomes truly useful for a couch surfing
thing until iOS 4 is released for it.

I started out using it with a bang, but the flow of iOS 3.x was no where as
smooth as just using my laptop. Reading in Safari, switching to email,
switching to the iPod, etc. it's still clunky and mildly frustrating.

Also, my fingers are getting fatter as I get older, so I'm constantly tapping
the wrong fricking thing which is uber frustrating.

~~~
AlexMuir
Even with iOS 4 I think multi-tasking will be crap. Copying and pasting from a
web-page to an email is a real slog. The power of multi-tasking comes from
having multiple windows visible at the same time and this will never happen.

~~~
danudey
After using the multitasking implementation on my iPhone in iOS4, I can
heartily disagree here. Copy/pasting back and forth wasn't too much of a chore
before, but it's lightening quick on iOS4.

The reason for no 'multi-tasking' is that people generally do one task at
once. You read twitter, you click on a link, you post it to Facebook, you play
a game, etc. Most people I know fullscreen their apps on computers anyway, so
switching back-and-forth to copy/paste something is already the normal use-
case. It's really not that big of a deal.

------
scott_s
My parents loved theirs so much they bought two. I used it for a few days when
I was at their house - I thought it was unparalleled for browsing the web.
Swipe, swipe, touch, swipe. And I could hold it in positions that were far
more natural. More like holding a book than holding a laptop.

My parents bought one because they are both recently retired, and wanted a
computer they could bring on the many trips they take.

------
commieneko
I don't love it anymore. I don't thrill every time I pick it up. It is no
longer an idee fixe. It's ... simply there. I use the hell out of it; like my
laptop and cel phone (and my bathtub and car.) A part of life.

And no, you can't have mine.

I'm sure Steve will be along in another few months to sprinkle a little magic
dust on the product and start up the waka waka machine...

------
gaius
I love it. So much so that I think the next time I upgrade, I'll get a desktop
not a laptop as my main machine; the iPad meets all my on-the-move needs.

I use it for media access (movies/tv shows), documents (books/PDFs) and a
little web browsing. Email stays on the BlackBerry tho'. Actually even at work
I'm using it, as a third screen for reading documentation on.

------
iksis
Bought it for reading papers in pdf, does that reasonably well, though there
is no good annotation software yet (with smooth ink). Not bad for movies. Cool
feel of "100% interface." Completely lacks a viable input method (keyboard too
small for touchtyping, too big for thumbs, and the pen apps just aren't there
yet); input on the iPhone is far more comfortable.

~~~
AlexMuir
I've found the complete opposite - I can hardly work an iPhone keyboard now.
I'm amazed at how fast typing on the iPad is - although I've still not worked
out where I should be looking keyboard (for finger placement), or text (for
typos)

------
tyweir
I use my iPad every day for email and browsing. My wife and I pass it back and
forth to play Small World and "still-iphone-only" Carcassone. My daughter
swipes through photos and mashes on the piano app Virtuoso.

It's a purchase that I feel no regrets for making, even though it's a first
version and the next iteration will be better.

------
frankus
Mine's a WiFi-only 16GB model that I've had since day one. It's a pleasure to
use but it hasn't really become indispensable to me.

The things it does really well are:

\- Cooking using recipes from the Web \- Instapaper \- Tumblr (reading, that
is) \- Watching ABC TV programs \- Reading eBooks (I've only done Kindle stuff
so far) \- Catching up on missed TV shows via iTunes \- Reading
instruction/repair manuals from the Web while using/repairing stuff \-
WeatherBug \- Reading Apple's developer documentation

The things it doesn't do:

\- Flash video, audio, and games \- Objective-C/Cocoa Development \-
Multitasking (but soon, probably iOS 4.2)

If I weren't occasionally developing iPad apps I would consider selling it,
simply because I probably have more useful things to be doing with $500.

------
dgallagher
Still love it (had one since release day). I use mine several times a day.
Common usage:

\- playing simple games

\- watching video's on YouTube

\- reading websites or magazines

\- listening to NPR or Pandora radio

\- weather reports

\- calendar

\- email

Stuff I thought I'd use it for but really haven't that much:

\- reading PDF programming books (still prefer hard copies)

\- reading eBooks

My brother and parents got one each too. The other week my Mom told me she was
Googling all over the internet. She's semi-computer novice and really hasn't
been online much since getting the iPad. Its opened up her eyes. All of my
friends who have one love them too.

------
kilian
The iPad has been out for two weeks here in the Netherlands, I bought it on
release-date.

I now read all my feeds on my iPad or iPhone. Reeder makes this _awesome_ and
syncs between the two. This frees up a lot of "check for new feeds" time on my
main pc, a.k.a. procrastinating.

Reading, using stanza or Kindle is great.

What I'm disappointed about is the app offerings. No facebook app? No spotify
app? No skype app?! As you said it's been four months since it's out. The lack
of apps is just...wtf. (That being said, the available apps are top notch:
Flipboard, Reeder, IMDb, Eyewitness etc.)

------
Flemlord
Love it. We use it as the primary entertainment (education?) device for our
6-month-old daughter. She'll pay attention to the flash card app whereas she's
quickly distracted with paper flash cards. We also have a few sing-along book
apps that highlight the words as they are sung. She's just starting to figure
out that she can touch it but her fine motor skills aren't quite there yet.

My favorite app is a purple dinosaur that repeats anything you say in a
higher-pitched voice. She'll spend ten minutes alternating between making baby
sounds then pausing for the dinosaur to repeat them.

~~~
josefresco
I'm glad you found apps for your kids because I haven't had luck. How did you
find these apps? Research via the web, random searching via the app store or
what?

------
AlexMuir
Is there a market for a screen darkening overlay? Even with brightness right
down it's too bright for me at night, and I think it disrupts my sleeping
slightly.

------
ugh
There was a lot of talk about how you couldn’t use the device for ergonomic
reasons prior to the launch. Anyone care to share experiences about that? An
Gorilla Arm experiences? How/Where do you use it?

~~~
danudey
I use it:

    
    
      - Sitting on the couch
      - Lying in bed, on my side or back
      - Sitting at my desk, holding it or with it sitting flat on the table
      - Walking down the street (if I need to look up something)
      - At cafes, etc.
    

Perhaps I just have large hands (~9 inch handspan) and can get more leverage
to hold it properly, but I haven't had a problem. Your arm will get tired
eventually if you're not being ergonomic, but generally I haven't had a
problem.

------
Zev
I use it on the muni/bart ride every day. Games, occasional video, reading a
book or something saved on Instapaper. I think it suffices to say that it does
what I wanted it to do when I bought one.

------
staunch
Netflix streaming is awesome. It even works okay over 3G, which shocked me
(and my data usage).

I _really_ wish there was a VLC client that could stream all video/audio I
have on my LAN.

~~~
AlexMuir
You tried Air Video? It's good but you need to have Air Video Server running
on your PC (free and painless enough).

~~~
d_r
Second that. I use Air Video on a Mac. It was painless to set up and it
converts video on the fly while playing. There's a free version of the app,
too. (The "crippling" appears to be that it only shows up to N files per
folder.)

------
johnswamps
Can someone with both the iphone 4 and an ipad comment on how the screens
compare? The iphone 4 screen is so great that I'm worried the ipad screen will
seem disappointing by comparison.

~~~
jm4
The iPhone 4 screen is, without question, vastly superior to the iPad screen.
The difference is so plainly obvious that there is no comparing the two. That
said, the iPad screen is still beautiful and is perfectly suitable for
reading. My Kindle has been all but abandoned in favor of the iPad so I can
read in the dark.

------
thewileyone
For me, it's just an appliance. I read stuff off the web, e-books, comics, and
light gaming though I do watch movies and TV shows on it. For everything else,
I've got my XPS laptop.

------
coverband
"I would by an iPad if..."

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1579062>

------
sn
I don't have an ipad and it sounds to me like everyone uses it like I use my
cell phone. Is it just the screen that makes it better?

------
bobx11
Like it a lot... dislike braindead simps trying to make jokes about it which
they read online.

------
candeira
A question: how do you use delicious/ffffound on an iPad?

------
aresant
99% reading blogs, managing emails, quick checking calendar on couch, in
kitchen, in bed.

Killer app is the start-up speed / always-on state for those uses above.

