After a month searching the length & breadth of Britain for a 3G iPad 2 I finally got hold of one in the Exeter apple store. It was a 150 mile round trip with no guarantees of bagging one but I did it. I’m now the proud owner of an iPad 2 64gb 3G model with an O2 microsim.
I’m really impressed so far. My only criticism of the iPad 2 is the quality of the cameras. They are adequate, but feel like an afterthought. The resolution is rubbish on both front & rear cameras and my ageing iPhone 3G takes much better stills.
With that in mind let’s look at the iPad 2 itself as a functional mobile device. I’m not entering into the post pc era nonsense. This device will never replace my iMac, but it will complement both the iMac & iPhone. Right now I’m writing this blog entry from my seat on the train somewhere between cornwall & london. my power adapter is buried deep inside my luggage, I won’t be needing it. I’ve got my headphones in, and my music library on shuffle & I’m multitasking between my business email, website backends and my twitter feed. It really is an amazing device and already has changed the way I can work.
I will put a full review up shortly. Now back to my work and onwards to london to support Gary @the marathon.
So what changed your mind from your June post that said you were not impressed? I am also a iPhone 4 user that teeters back and forth on the usefulness vs. price point of an iPad when I already carry essentially the same device that fits in my pocket.
Well, iBooks was a big motivator. I thought about buying a Kindle, then decided iBooks was more up my street, especially for Magazines in PDF format. Also, I’m trying to use the iMac less so the iPad allows me to work from almost anywhere managing my websites, replying to emails etc. I can even blog from it. Finally the 3G version allows me to work from anywhere. I’m still holding off on the new iPhone until the iPhone 5. The iPhone 4 doesn’t do enough to warrant upgrading from the 3G apart from the camera, retina display & speed.
I was skeptical for a long time about the iPad, but now I’ve been using it for 5 weeks I’m not sure how I did so long without one.