A month with an iPad

July 5 2010

Yes, I have heard that some find this meme of professing love and adoration for the iPad displeasing, but given my role and my work it seems to me worth stepping back for a few minutes to reflect on my first month as an iPad user.  Perhaps my angle is a little different, because I am not also an iPhone user, so this was my first exposure to the Apple mobile environment, app store, etc.

My colleague Chris Crummey likes to call the iPad a "game changer".  The impact for me was immediate -- all of a sudden, I've gone from schlepping a laptop briefcase everywhere to traveling with a small portfolio.  Sure, on longer travels, the MacBook will remain a constant companion, but otherwise, it's the iPad that is now a must-bring.  Why?  Because, what I like to say is:

"my life is in there".

Why?  

My work is in there.  My email/calendar/Intranet are there.  They're available anywhere I can get on a wifi signal, and as I got the 3G model, even if I'm sitting on an airplane parked on the tarmac waiting for a gate.  The only time I've been frustrated is when I've been in Germany/Chile and can't use the 3G roaming -- I found the two Sheraton hotels in the world that don't have in-room wifi yet.

Yes, I still love my Blackberry, and it fits in my pocket.  The Blackberry seems more bulletproof (and has a longer time window) for these features, too.  So for reading email and managing my calendar, the Blackberry is still the first device I go to.  But for replying to email I'm indifferent as to whether I like the Berry or the iPad better; I suppose if I got an external keyboard for the iPad, that would settle the score.  The Lotus Notes Traveler implementation is obviously very good, and I've gotten quite used to having this ready access on the iPad.

The iPad can also read PDF documents and, with an app, FileApp Pro, ODF documents from Lotus Symphony.  I have a VGA out cable for the iPad, though I haven't used it yet; I understand there's an app where I would even be able to project PDFs.  Thus, it does everything I need in the typical customer meeting or conference, and has far longer battery life than my MacBook.

My world is in there.  The iPad has great apps to help me with my daily activities, from the obvious social networking (Twitter/Facebook) to the mundane (weather and travel).  Of course, for what it doesn't have, there is browser access to the Internet.  In a month, I have rarely found that I "needed" something on a desktop/laptop computer that I couldn't do on the iPad.  Yes, the interaction on my MacBook is faster, and sometimes that is most definitely needed.  I still would really love a full airline timetable app for iPad; Kayak is OK but isn't as simple as the ITASoftware "Matrix" (which is what Google acquired last week).

And my life is in there.  Because of the synchronization with our home iMac and my work MacBook, all my digital photos going back ten years are on there, music I love is on there, games I play (anyone for Words With Friends?) are on there.  I loved showing pictures of my honeymoon to my admin assistant when I was in IBM's Mass Labs last month, pictures which I don't think I've shared online anywhere.  It was a ten-second process to go from having a conversation about Bali to showing her Bali.  Fantastic.  I've also got some apps on there for the family; the 8-month-old loves to play with Sound Touch...I'm sure I will be adding more for her.  The wife steals the iPad from time to time, and the Kindle for iPad app is her favorite since it is backlit vs. the Kindle device itself.

I love the app store model; I was surprised by it, because without having been an iPhone user, I had incorrectly assumed that you had to buy apps through iTunes and sync them, versus having an app on the device itself.  I love how the apps update themselves when there are new versions.  I love the ease of finding new apps.  Yes, yes, I know, I can hear the robots telling me to pay attention here. [If you don't get the reference, nevermind.]

So I love it, it is a game changer, and my only struggle now is why I am often still carrying three devices (laptop, Blackberry, iPad) at times.  In the future, I suspect we'll get back to one.

Now, what don't I like about the iPad?  App switching/multitasking, which obviously Apple is starting to work on with the 4.0 OS.  I just want to be able to switch context without having to pass through the desktop and startup screens.  I also don't like the fact that my iPhoto is only sync'd via desktop; I haven't plugged the iPad into my laptop in a week or two so I am missing some pictures.  Last, I don't like how many apps are basically skins for web sites.  I get cloud computing and all, but it would be really nice to have more of the functionality resident on the device itself and not always dependent on being able to connect/update from back-ends.  Seems like more than half the apps I've installed so far fall into this category.  Some are quite good -- love the NY Times Editor's Choice app for iPad, for example, and that one "works" offline with the last cached data.  But I'd like to see more of a model that really leverages the iPad for more than just UI and input.

So, that's the first month.  Am I missing something big?  Are you finding the experience different?

Ed Brill | Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Machead  Add/View Comments [23]

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  1. 1  Peter Wilson  | 7/5/2010 10:31:47 PM

    Yes, it's amazing what a company can create when it focuses so so very much on the end user experience. It's very hard work and must take an increadible amount of time, money and talented people to do.

    Pete

  1. 2  Kurt Binnie  | 7/5/2010 11:06:38 PM

    Ed,

    How are you dealing with documents when you have only the iPad? Documents to Go?

  1. 3  Anthony Holmes http://www.workingcollaboration.com | 7/6/2010 1:44:49 AM

    My experience is very similar to yours, Ed. I still use my Blackberry to read emails and do short email responses on the run and Sametime. The iPad is used for long emails, documents, apps, reading, showing presentations to people, music and anything requiring the web.

    In addition, I use the Domino Administrator on my iPad. (Yes!)

    I use LogMeIn to connect back to my Macintosh which is running VMware Fusion with my home Domino Server and Administrator client, (which is what I use for testing out Notes/Domino features at home or on the road). I'm surprised that it works so well.

    I still tend take my laptop (Thinkpad) to customer visits of a day, but for visits of half a day or less I travel light with my iPad (and sometimes a wireless keyboard).

    As a good IBMer I'm hanging out for an application that EDITS Open Document Format files. Dataviz, DigiDNA (or anybody else), can you hear me?

  1. 4  Philippe http://www.philippeabadie.com | 7/6/2010 1:53:56 AM

    Gracias Ed, me encanto que hayas expresado tu experiencia con el iPad, yo solo la tengo con el iTouch y el iPhone y por lo que veo es bastante parecida a la que yo he tenido...

  1. 5  Henning Heinz  | 7/6/2010 4:27:35 AM

    So there it goes the beloved rich Notes client.

    I am still waiting for the iPad with 512MB RAM but with the current demand this will probably take a while. As much as I do like Apple products. They finally need real competition.

  1. 6  Alan  | 7/6/2010 4:55:28 AM

    My Macbook is gathering dust, the only reason it gets used now is for watching streaming video and my photography workflow. For everything else personal its iPad or my mobile phone. I'm regretting not getting the 3G version although that will go away once wireless tethering turns up for Android. Its a fantastic consumption and action device for corporate mail using Commontime's mSuite (Traveler not feature-rich enough yet for corporate use here) and its the device I prefer to read my email on given the choice.

    Where it really wins is the user interface - my techno-luddite circle of friends will pick it up and use it for hours if given the opportunity, it seems that things you can touch break down what previously seemed to be insurmountable barriers. For this reason it is a game-changer for all of us working with technology. Its as if not more significant as the mouse/GUI revolution.

  1. 7  Felix Binsack http://TIMETOACT.DE | 7/6/2010 5:26:29 AM

    iPAD is really very limited - somewhat like Windows 3.0 - You need an app for downloading a ZIP file and another app for extracting a ZIP file. And if you want listen to the MP3s contained in the ZIP files you still need your PC/MAC. Selection of text, copy+paste are not supported everywhere in the iOS. Just like the VGA Adapter is not supported by the iOS in general. It displays pictures nicely but does not (yet) support to add a star to the best pictures. With all that multitouch I would love to be able to open a URL in a new browser tab - again - not supported (but maybe there is an app for that too).

    And I wonder how Apple gets around the German law to get a refund for anything you return within 14 days after purchase over the internet. Some of apps are complete crap and even 1$ are far too much. The iPAD is nice for surfing and doing mails. Beyond that, I am very curious to see tablets with Android and especially with Chrome OS.

  1. 8  Alan  | 7/6/2010 6:10:57 AM

    @7

    Yes it is limited and restricted for us geeks, but we're not the target market. I'm also looking forward to Android or Chrome tablets (had a quick play with a Dell Streak today, which will be a good device once its on a more recent firmware). From a support perspective Apple wins hands-down over Android or Windows Mobile - simple to configure, lock-downable and unbreakable by the average end-user.

    Without iPad we wouldn't be seeing the headlong rush into the tablet market by everyone else, in the same way as we would not have Android without iOS.

  1. 9  Arne S Nielsen http://www.mynotesblog.com | 7/6/2010 6:31:24 AM

    I agree on mostly everything here, Ed. iPad is my new super light laptop. I have used the VGA cable and it works perfect. No setup needed. Only problem has been ODP files, until now. Yhanx to your tip I have downloaded FileApp Pro and now I can move all my presentations over to the iPad for easy access in customer meetings.

    I even use Skype (the iPhone app) on my iPad and it works perfect!

    Off course I set it up to job mail with Traveler and Companion. Have not sorted out the IBM VPN set up yet, but it´ll come.

    iPad is my new meeting book! And now I travel light - my chiropractic will love it! :-)

  1. 10  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/6/2010 7:25:27 AM

    @5 makes a very good point that I feel I will sound like I am backtracking on. I depend on a number of Notes rich client applications to run my business, not the least of which is this blog, IBM's software price list, and several customer tracking applications. I just don't always need them, and I am willing to make the same sacrifices in terms of constant access that I make at times when I am solely using the Blackberry.

    @1 indeed, and when the motivation is the entire consumer marketplace there must be quite a justifiable reason for focusing so much on the stand-alone client experience.

    @2 Dropbox. It took me a while to figure out there was a way to make the download persistent (you have to make a document a favorite first) but it's a great tool. If you are not using DropBox, feel free to sign up here: https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTc3NjU0MDY5 (That link will get me some extra space)

    @4 Ojala que en unos meses, el iPad vendará en Chile....

    @9 one caution on FileApp Pro is that the working set memory on the Mac may not always be able to contain full Symphony Presentations (or PPTs or others for that matter). Remember that a Symphony file (or a PPTX) are really compressed ZIP files and may be much bigger than they look.

  1. 11  Christian  | 7/6/2010 8:09:41 AM

    I’m glad to hear that you’ve been enjoying the iPad, and that somebody high up at IBM is dogfooding the Lotus-to-iOS experience. As both an iPhone and iPad user, I’m very impressed with how well Traveler integrates into iOS; it’s great. Using the native apps, rather than rolling your own, was the exact right move to make.

    I’m not a Lotus administrator but have to play one sometimes at work, especially with the iOS integration. One comment I have is that, although there’s good documentation on IBM’s site, it’s hard to find, especially from a search engine. I haven’t yet come across one single site that has a great guide for, “Okay, you’re a Lotus shop and you’ve got an iPhone. How do you make everything work?” I’ve discovered a lot of things by trial and error. A really great, well-design portal would be invaluable.

    There are two apps I’ve found to be invaluable on the iPad: Reeder, for keeping up with Google Reader, and ReadItLater, for bookmarking and then offline reading websites (Instapaper is another alternative, but RIL with its Digest mode, an addition $5 upgrade, beats it hands-down).

  1. 12  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 7/6/2010 8:20:48 AM

    "Last, I don't like how many apps are basically skins for web sites."

    This is often because the real site depends upon flash. How do you make a flash based website work on an iPhone or iPad? You write an app. Apps are, in my opinion, the big reason why Apple won't support flash. If flash worked, many sites wouldn't need them.

    For me, your post is interesting and confirms just how antiquated the Blackberry devices are. They may look much better than they used to but, underneath, Blackberries are still pretty much text based devices. A trip to the settings menu shows that nothing much has changed underneath.

    Maybe in a few years you'll catch up with Android and the game will change once more. I can browse all my photos on Android too, but also YOUR travel photos due to the wonderful Flickr integration. In fact, the moment you upload a new photo in Flickr, my phone can ping to tell me. Now THAT is game changing.

    I'd like to travel to the parallel universe where you already owned and used an iPhone full time prior to iPad. You'd realise that most of the highlights above are just, well...2006 really.

  1. 13  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/6/2010 8:37:40 AM

    @12 yes I get that many of these are not new innovations with the iPad. It's the form factor that makes the iPad different and innovative. When I watch my wife use her iPhone now, I wonder why she would squint that much. On the other hand, the phone fits in a pocket. I'm not sure which device profile will be the winner, but I like having the option for both.

  1. 14  Nathan T. Freeman http://nathan.lotus911.com | 7/6/2010 9:20:25 AM

    "I love the app store model... I love how the apps update themselves when there are new versions. I love the ease of finding new apps."

    It's made the device far more useful than you ever expected, hasn't it? The real question, though, is how much money have you spent there?

  1. 15  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/6/2010 9:47:37 AM

    So far? Maybe $20. I would pay for some additional apps that really helped me in a few areas.

  1. 16  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 7/6/2010 10:12:48 AM

    Forgot to mention - I find it disappointing that you had to pay money for an app to support an "open" file format.

  1. 17  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/6/2010 10:19:49 AM

    @16 there is a lite version for free but it doesn't support all the same formats.

  1. 18  Jim Russell http://matrix2.itasoftware.com | 7/12/2010 10:33:05 AM

    Hi Ed,

    Thanks for the shout-out for Matrix! I wondered how many IBMers knew about it. I wish I had found it when I was at IBM.

    Glad to see Notes is still going strong.

  1. 19  M. de Jong http://www.socialsoftwareblog.nl | 7/13/2010 10:51:03 AM

    I'm surprised your wife likes the iPad over the Kindle because it's backlit. I always assumed that backlit devices would loose to none backlit devices for ebooks because it's more tiring to read from a backlit device. Does your wife feel this is not the case?

  1. 20  Simon Barratt  | 7/13/2010 3:46:03 PM

    @7 you can open URLs into new windows by tapping and holding down on the link then releasing. You will then get an option to open link in new window, instead on in place.

  1. 21  Wayne MacKirdy  | 10/5/2010 5:28:43 PM

    Ed - is anyone looking at the Cisco Cius?

  1. 22  Marten Vosmer http://www.lialis.com | 12/21/2011 4:02:42 AM

    Dear Ed,

    Yesterday I talked to Chris Crummey, he visited a very big Notes/Quickr user in the Netherlands who wishes to be unnamed. This client is using D-Business WebDAV to download files stored in Quickr directly to the iPad over WebDAV (so no dropbox). D-Business WebDAV is a servlet running on Domino which can convert Quickr HTTP to WebDAV HTTP(s) that can be understood by the Goodreader. Chris his team is testing this solution currently. So I expect/hope you will see more about this solution on LS12. We also can connect Notes databases and are now working on a WebDAV connection with IBM Connections.

    { Link }

  1. 23  Sjaak Ursinus http://www.socialsoftwareblog.nl | 12/21/2011 5:19:01 AM

    Marten,

    For connections there is already a supported standard for this isn't it ? It's called CMIS and there are already clienst available for iPad/iPhone !