There seems to be a interesting polarization of opinion regarding the new iPad. The somewhat blind Bacchanalian frenzy which will inevitably wear off and the muted response of those who are not blind to the lack of key features such as multi-tasking and and flash support. Things that one hopes will make it in to version 4 of the OS.
-
- Amelia at the Apple Store
Before I start blathering on about the iPad, a name that I do find jarring, I should come clean about my personal personal computing history.
I’ve been using an Apple computer since the age of 8, 22 years if you want to be clever and work out how old I am, when my dad who worked for a computer company that wasn’t Apple (he has worked for the likes of ICL, CACI and Prime computers and now SUN) decided that my mother really had to stop writing her thesis out long hand. We didn’t have a type writer anymore - I think that really never did survive the night it was stored in the fridge (I think she’d had a bad day with a toddler - me) And the cats had a habit of using her paper work for a bed, or worse. I have used various versions of Windows (and *nix) while at university, my degree is in Computer Engineering, and for work. I was lucky enough that my second job out of university was for a non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge in an education research unit where we all used Macs. Oh and I’m also very dubious about the place/role of computers in schools but my opinions on that matter could take up a whole other, long, blog post.
Despite this I would place myself somewhere towards the muted response end of the spectrum; my initial reaction to the iPad when it finally has launched was a bit meh, even allowing for the fact that I’ve got a fluey cold and my reaction to everything this week is pretty much Meh. I’ve mentioned the downside of lack of proper multi-tasking, and in terms of hardware, The keyboard dock was a plus, the lack of front facing camera, and the inability to do video chat, a minus.
However as a parent, and I really don’t want to sound trite here, I can see it as, not least, a potentialy valuable tool for keeping my toddler amused while travelling or at home. I can see myself using it as well round the house for web, email, twitter etc. but I’m assuming that that is all a given after the presentation.
Now $499 or say, £400 for the entry-level model is rather a steep amount to pay for something for a child, and I’m by no means suggesting that it should be purchased soley for that purpose, but consider how much you might pay for a Nintendo DS, portable dvd player, Leap Frog style learning systems, rubbishy “laptops” with highly dubious educational value, which often are bought for children around the age of 3 and it soon adds up to a figure closing approaching that of the iPad.
And there are a large number of great apps out there for the iPhone which means that for many people in my position, i.e. with an active small child, it doubles as a tool for keeping them amused on long train and plane trips and to keep them still while changing them.
So on one level it can be a movie player, magnadoodle, crayons and paper, picture books, flash cards, jigsaw, board game, word games, plinky plonk piano all rolled into one, without the hassle of having to pack all of them and with no small pieces to loose on a plane or train, no dvds to pack. I know that it would have been a live saver while we were stuck on the Ferry for 9 hours coming back from Dublin after Christmas.
The size also works in its favour - you could see yourself sitting as a family around the iPad to play a game while traveling rather than squinting at the iPhone screen. I’m waiting for some one to design a Lazy Susan attachment for it!
Also a plus is the fact that until the little ones figure out how to hack into your iTunes account you have pretty much total control over the apps/movies that are on there. And as they get older you can just add or remove apps as needed. The context they use it in can very easily adapt to what they need to do - taken notes in the library, work on homework.
The key thing to note however when considering the iPad, for whatever purpose, is that it is being marketed as a device not as a computer, and it isn’t intended to replace a laptop or desktop machine for doing rigorous computing work such as as coding. But if you find yourself using your machine less and less for coding and more for watching videos and keeping an eye on twitter or facebook then the iPad might be more appropriate.
It is a given that we will toddle out to Cambridge to visit the Apple store and have a proper look at the new “toy” and who knows, maybe we will consider a 2nd gen one.
Another post to read on this topic is from @jaggeree http://blog.jaggeree.com/post/357787918/why-the-ipad-may-be-just-what-we-need-for-digital
