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iSee, therefore iAm

April 12, 2010 OK. I admit it, I have not invested into the purchase of Apple's revolutionary new product, the iPad. My motivation in writing this short and sweet little note has been in response to looking over friends' shoulders and having them lend me (reluctantly) their newly purchased iPad so I can see what it can do. And it does really cool things..... when those things need only be consumed by myself.

The interface is sweet. No mouse is needed. (and who would want one to read books and articles?). Graphics are illuminous. Specifics on using the iPad's interface I am sure you can find in the hundreds of reviews out there on the internet. Paging through publications is very easy to do, and let's all hope with the potential of these gorgeous graphic design interfaces, there will be worthy writing and content to page through. The internet pops up quick and navigating is incredibly fluid. Watching a movie is wonderful, and you would be able to watch a few movies in a row without having to recharge the battery. This would even be better when a DVD player is added. To be honest, I am not a big fan of playing video games, so I did not bother to see how the iPad interfaced with any of them (...and then there's the Flash issue). And from what I am hearing of the precendent that is being set by AT&T, letting the customer being able to customize the when and how much of a service one can choose is an absolutely wonderful and consumer sensitive idea (maybe the TV cable companies can charge us based on the actual programs we watch and how much we really watch each one?).

I am not sure if I can picture hundreds of people in Boston Commons milling around and laying on the grass reading their iPads this summer. And after seeing what happens to the imagery on the screen in sunlight, I have a better picture of everyone crowding around the shady spots in order to see their screens on bright days.

As a graphic designer, I have made mention of the quality of graphic imagery and the receptiveness of information of the iPads' applications. I would be incredibly intrigued if ever a version came up with at least light versions of Photoshop, coding editors, Illustrator, or maybe even Word or InDesign. News sites make use of Flash video and the iPad does not support Flash. However, I think news organizations will more readily accommodate what their most popular audiences are using and what is accessible to them, rather than make the Flash peg fit into the iPad hole. Who knows what accommodation may happen between Flash and Apple in the near future. Flash, Steve Jobs, gamesmanship, and the state of the universe is for further discussion.

For now, the question I ask myself is, “Do I really need this?”. I have an iPhone, I have a laptop, I have the latest Mac with the latest software. Today, I really do not have $500. All my money went into buying the former and updating its software, which I will need to do again very soon. So if I was on a liferaft with my phone, labtop, iPad, and computer, and was told I needed to dump one of them so I can drift to a deserted island with an electrical outlet, guess which one is getting dinked?

However, for what it is now, the iPad truly is a wonderful device. Receiving information in such a portable way has never been better. (are all you iPad purchasers tired of your small iPhone screens, yet?) For myself, wanting to invest in receiving information with the iPad will eventually come down to (besides cost) the amount of quality information out there. I think there are more impressive iPads to come down the pike soon. So, is it a revolutionary product? It's more like an evolutionary product.