My iPad 2

As you know from my blog entry the other day, "iPad," I am now the proud owner of an iPad 2. You may be wondering yourself if the device is worth an investment and what kinds of features drew me to it in the first place. Well, you're in luck, as answering those questions (and more) is what I fully intend to do in this post.

My laptop is about six years old. I don't know how much longer Apple is going to keep my architecture compatible with their updates, software and even devices. The iPhone was still a dream when my PowerBook G4 was being put together somewhere in China. I almost can't watch YouTube on it anymore and opening multiple tabs in Safari will slow it to a grind. I see the colorful spinny wheel more often than I see the cursor when I'm doing things in programs with heavier loads, like iTunes or Photoshop. It's become like an old friend found on facebook: welcomingly familiar but seeing too much of him becomes awkward. It's time to upgrade, but how?

Laptops are expensive, and say what you will, I love Apple products. I love the software, the user-friendliness, the security and the stability of Mac OS in all it's forms. I love that my iPhone doesn't shut off by itself for no reason, a "feature" of every other phone I've had. I love that my wordy essays or papers for school don't disappear behind a foredooming blue wall after hours of work. I love that people online list their "free" anti-virus programs like AVG and regularly update how many trojans they found this week while I smirk and think, "Why, I don't have any such virus protection: I have a Mac." With not a lot of money to spare, however, the security and comfort of a new laptop from the brand I like seemed to be out of reach unless I wanted to go used, which is still fine, but still pricey. Damn things keep their value longer than a PC.

Chris and I decided it was time to invest in iPads. We had help. The details of the deal are confidential and strictly secret, but basically, it wasn't going to cost us an arm and a leg to get them, so we figured it was time. Despite it's horrible name, I picked out an iPad and brought it home. I turned it on and four hours later I was still messing with it.

It's faster than the iPhone 4. It makes my phone screen look so small now. The pictures it takes aren't as good as those of the iPhone and the iPhone screen is a tiny bit (almost not noticeably) higher resolution with it's Retina dispaly, but it is still worthy of awe. I realized quickly that it's best use it that of e-reader. I downloaded an app called Flipboard and it's easy-to-use, quick display is just incredible. Other apps that the iPad does better than the iPhone are Zen Brush, Kindle and BlogPress. It might just be the bigger screen, but I think it also deserves credit for being slightly more responsive than the iPhone. I'm sold on it, despite it's stupid name, (iPad. Who the f*ck names their product after a feminine hygiene product)?

My favorite apps so far have already been listed, but I need to make a shout-out to the Better Homes and Garden App that lets me download digital copies of my magazines using my subscription number. There are links to articles and things that I can just click on. Can't do that with the hardcopy, obviously. Betty Crocker Cookbook is absolutely beautiful and any online shopping app, such as eBay or Amazon, are incredibly more useful on the iPad than on the iPhone. I'm really enjoying this product.

So, if you're thinking about getting a tablet and you're wondering if you shouldn't get a Samsung or some other product instead (because we all know how uncool it is to like Apple now that it's cool to like Apple, you fuckin' technohipsters), I highly suggest looking into an iPad 2. Go to the Apple store, play around with it. Note the smooth scrolling, the responsiveness, the display, the usefulness. And if you still go with another brand for whatever reason, fine, but every time your display chokes, every time your scrolling is choppy, every time an app or a webpage loads halfway and stops, think of this blog post. I promise, you will think of me and my fanboyism and think, "Damn, I should've been a fanboy, too."