When I'm writing a book or composing a longer email or blog post, I want the convenience and power of a full-sized keyboard. Despite all the promise of voice-dictation technology, nothing beats the speed and accuracy of a keyboard for funneling text out of my head and into the machine.
A laptop, though, is overkill when casually (okay, okay — obsessively!) checking email in a restaurant, or when tweeting a 140-character movie review, or when checking on the status of my Facebook peeps, or when amusing myself during a boring sermon in church. For this, the iPhone — a device I didn't even know I needed three years ago — is absolutely perfect. For quick tasks and basic Internet access on the go, my iPhone is the perfect mobile device.
And now, there's the iPad — a third device — and since its introduction, everyone is asking the same question, ad nauseum: "Do we really need a third kind of device?"
So I've been thinking about that.
In the past, when on the road, I've enjoyed having my laptop with me. The laptop makes it easy to compose travel updates for MadeByMark.com — but it's also a repository for the photos I take, at least until I get them uploaded to flickr.com. That said: I've long been thinking about how nice it would be to travel with nothing more than my iPhone. After all, I *can* blog from the iPhone, and check email, and even take photos and post them to the web.
In the end, though, I've decided that the iPhone just isn't enough to be my complete on-the-road- solution for more than a day or so. My 40-something eyes like a bigger screen for long-term viewing, and, when composing longer texts, my big, fat fingers want more keyboard than the iPhone can provide.
After thinking about it, I've decided I want a thin, portable screen — something I can pair with an Apple wireless keyboard when doing serious writing … but something that, most of the time, I could slip into my carry-on without adding the weight and bulk of a full-fledged laptop.
Guess what? That's an iPad.
At home, more and more often, we find ourselves watching t.v. with laptops on our laps. The few times we actually watch live t.v., it's fun to see what people are tweeting about American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance … and when watching stored content on our faithful Tivo, it's handy to have a laptop around, just in case we want to check email, tweet an opinion, or have a side chat with the nephew in Ecuador. The iPhone can do those things … but, really, it's a bit too small to do them comfortably and easily.
After thinking about it, I've decided I want a thin, light screen — something I can rest on my lap or toss on the table without much effort … something that, most of the time, is intended for use when relaxing on the couch or kicking back in bed with a book without having to deal with power cords and the weight and heat of a laptop.
Guess what? That's an iPad.
So I guess I'll get one: to travel with, to read books on, to use when doing that couch potato thing, to share photos on, to watch pre-recorded content on. Given the applications I imagine using, I'm not even sure I'll need a 3G model at all, mostly because most of the places I'll be using the iPad will include easy access to a WiFi connection. (Though 3G wireless access to the 'net on demand — without a contract — would be a nice option!)
I've got a MacBook Pro. I've got an iPhone. And, yeah, still, there's space in my life for that third device.
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