iPad, I haz one

I got an iPad. When I first saw them introduced, I was intrigued but didn't think I would be getting one anytime soon. It was a luxury I could not afford. Then I started helping Bonnie out with her photo processing. She offered money or a computer or a camera. The computer and camera I hoped to get could be "justified" expenditures. But an iPad...

When Apple allowed pre-ordering on the iPad, I ordered mine on the first day. And I tried to forget about for the next few weeks. That wasn't easy since it was all over the web. But soon the final week was here.

I watched all week as people began to report the tracking of UPS deliveries of their iPads. I got my notice but there wasn't much progress. Hell, there was no progress untill April 2 when it finally left China. I was beginning to think it wouldn't be here on Saturday.

Next update showed the iPad arriving in Clearwater on Saturday morning. An hour later it had arrived in Tampa. By 11:00 am, I figured it would not be here and resolved to waiting until Monday. The hardest part would be reading all the reports of happy iPad owners and what it could do.

After 2pm, I hear a vehicle outside and looked up. Could that be UPS? Yes!

I love that it came charged but I still needed to sync up the apps and my settings. Perhaps I should have had it set up according to my iPhone. I didn't think about it at the time. I set it up a new device. Synching was slow. Bit eventually got it set up the way I want it for now. Ryan was eager to play with it. But Andy got in our way and I was able to play with it for about an hour before Ryan came back. He took it over for an hour before I demanded it back.

So far, it's pretty darn cool. I wish more of my iPhone apps were optimized for the bigger screen. I was disappointed that Reeder is not universal but Google Reader for mobile I'd OK on the iPad. As is Tumbler. I do not like the mobile version of GoodReads and prefer their iPhone app.

I do like USA Today and NPR for the iPad. Instapaper is another app that works better on the iPad.

I prefer typing on the iPhone. I guess it's good to be all thumbs in that case.

I don't like that I cannot charge using my iMac. And that I should not use the iPad charger to charge my iPhone. Huh? No reason has been given. Will it damage the iPhone?

I learned later that it requires twice the amperage than the iPhone. And charging hasn't been a problem. I can get through the weekdays with a single charge. Sometimes I need to plug it in on a Saturday or Sunday. Playing games takes more energy than reading.

I really like reading on the iPad. So far I prefer the Kindle for iPad app over iBooks. I love that Kindle with sync effortlessly with my iPhone so I always know where I left off. Amazon has more books available as well. I am looking forward to Barnes & Noble eReader to be optimized for the iPad. Though it would be really nice it one app could read all these different formats the way iTunes can with music.

So far, Ryan really enjoys Labyrinth and Cash Cow. and enjoys the Toys Story books as well as the Dr. Seuss books.

I find myself consuming more info from the web and my blog is suffering because of it. Oh well, I never claimed to be a writer.