First Thoughts on the iPad 2

So, I did get an iPad 2. I woke up at 3am to place my order and received it less than a week later. In fact, I’m blogging from it now. Here are my first thoughts on the machine.

First off, let me say I do not regret my purchase. The iPad is every bit as awesome as I thought it would be. I’ve used it browsing the web, reading my RSS feeds, reading books, and playing games. I use Reeder for feed reading. The app is great on the iPhone but the iPad reader is extraordinary. I thought it would take some time to get used to reading books in iBooks, but it hasn’t. I actually enjoy it. The app that I use, and love, the most is Zite. It’s a news app that creates a personalized newspaper for the user. The interface is great and it incorporates so many different news sources you will always finde something interesting to read.

The keyboard will take some getting used to. I try to type without looking at the keyboard, but because the keyboard is smaller than a physical keyboard it does make it difficult to do at times. Once you get in the rhythm of the layout, it becomes easier and easier. The web browsing is surprisingly fast, thanks to the changes in iOS 4.3 and the dual core processor. I’ve not played any graphics heavy games, but I’m sure that will change with time.

The smart cover is also an ingenious product from Apple. The stands it creates are perfect for typing and watching video and it does protect screen. I do have to minor issues with it. It tends to leave bars down te screen where the creases meet the glass. This can be solved by wiping it with a soft cloth, but it is still kind of annoying. The other issue is that it does not protect the back. I’m not interested in protecting the back from damage, a smart cover would not do that. It would be nice if it protected it from dirt though.

Anyway, I love my new iPad and am so glad I finally got one. I can’t wait to see what other apps and uses I can find.

iPad 2

Tomorrow, or more accurately at 3am this morning, I will be ordering the iPad 2. I’ve been wanting an iPad for a long time. I love my iPhone and would love to have an iPad to blog, browse the net, read books, etc on. Basically, I’ll be using my iPad as a replacement for my MacBook. I rarely do anything besides simple tasks on my MacBook, so I think it will be a great replacement.

My mom has an iPad. I know, how in the world did my mom leap over me in the tech world? I can’t answer that. I do know that she loves her iPad and is almost constantly on it. Whether she’s using it for work or playing her kids in Words With Friends, she never seems to be without it.

One of the biggest things I’ll use the iPad for is reading books. I’ve wanted an e-reader for quite a long time. I love to read books and am one of those odd people that prefer to purchase all my books. I’ve never been a huge fan of utilizing the library. I have no idea why. Anyway, because I love to read and love purchasing the books I want to read, my bookshelves have gotten quite crowded. Having an iPad will help reduce the clutter. They will all be stored on my virtual bookshelf. History books I will still probably purchase physical copies of but novels will be ebooks, I’m sure.

So, in a few short hours I hope to be ordering a 32 GB white iPad 2 and Smart Cover. The hard part will be waiting for it to arrive.