Ask HN: Four months since launch: how are you finding the iPad? • Hacker News Board

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

#31

Post by jackowayed » Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 6:42 PM UTC

ghshephard wrote: post #26

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 K…

> 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.

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

#32

Post by aresant » Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 6:44 PM UTC

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.

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

#33

Post by d_r » Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 6:46 PM UTC

AlexMuir wrote: post #18

staunch wrote: post #11

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.

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

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.)

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

#34

Post by tptacek » Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 6:55 PM UTC

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.

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

#35

Post by fleitz » Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 7:01 PM UTC

ghshephard wrote: post #26

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 K…

What are you bringing for device protection out in BRC?

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

#36

Post by fierarul » Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 7:04 PM UTC

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.

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

#37

Post by ghshephard » Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 7:07 PM UTC

fleitz wrote: post #35

ghshephard wrote: post #26

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 K…

What are you bringing for device protection out in BRC?

I've brought my K1 out two years in a row, and my K2 one year - 60+ hours in full Playa environment - I actually had to use my recharger _twice_ in one week on the K1, it got so much use - (Sun+Dust+Hot/Cold) - banged all over the place with no issues - just the Amazon Kindle cover for protection. Nothing else.

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

#38

Post by nlh » Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 7:09 PM UTC

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.

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

#39

Post by muhfuhkuh » Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 7:12 PM UTC

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).

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

#40

Post by mrkurt » Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 7:15 PM UTC

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.