I had been investigating getting a tablet device of some sort. I had finally decided on the iPad and yet I felt like it could wait a little while, maybe closer to the holidays. However, the prospect of so much to get done made the potential boost to productivity and organization very appealing.
I got to thinking about how I could write blog articles on my lunch break, or watch computer programming and university lectures a lunch or even at the gym. I could switch to eBooks and save my back and my wallet and not have to carry as much stuff. I could put my contacts and such on it. I, of course, can have music on it. Even better, I can get GarageBand for it. I started really formulating a plan for how I could and would use this thing in a manner that would really justify getting it now.
So with this all in mind I went and got my iPad. It’s a 16GB iPad2 with wi-fi only, so no 3g cellular service. Yes this is the little one. I chose to start small because while I believe I will use it like crazy and get to a point where I think life without it is tragic, I want to be sure of that. I also want to see how I really do end up using it. What do I do with it? Do I watch more podcasts and lectures or more streaming content? Do I listen to music more? Do I, maybe, use a bunch of appps that are for productivity or utilities or education or do I default to just games? Do I actually get around to using it as an eReader and what sort of difference does that make? Time will tell.
I can tell you what I’ve done so far and what some of my plans are. So far I’ve written two blog articles on it, one during my lunch break and the other at 6:00am from my cozy bed. I’ve also watched a TED lecture, in podcast form, on my lunch break. I watched another podcast while on the elliptical machine at the gym. I didn’t even notice the effort I was putting out and ended up working harder that usual. I’ve watched several lectures for an MIT Open Course Ware class. I’ve watched these while making and eating dinner, and even while working on a piece of art. I’m also using the calender for appointments and I’ve got an app to use as a ‘To Do’ list that even has reminders. I’ve also got the WordPress app for posting to my blog and it allows for managing/approving comments. And I’ve watched some streaming content from a couple of news sites and NASA. That’s so far, and I’ve only had it a week and a half.
My current plans for using my iPad include more of the MIT lectures, I want to actually complete the course. Well, at least the lectures. I’m also planning on using it to view the course lectures for the AI class at Stanford that I have signed up to take, with 115,000 other people. I’m planning on getting GarageBand and an iRig so I can record some rhythm guitar parts and begin to learn to play lead guitar over that. Switching to eBooks is also on the agenda. Given some of the cool apps I’ve come across, I’m certain I will find much more that I can and will do with my iPad.