The iPad
John Armstrong reports:
The President of Russia carries an iPad, and pretty nifty he is at using it – as John Key found out during the Apec leaders’ dinner on Saturday night.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister was seated next to Dmitry Medvedev and spotted the iPad, so Mr Medvedev pulled up the Kremlin’s website.
Up came a photo of Mr Key and Mr Medvedev shaking hands just hours earlier after the pair announced New Zealand and Russia would start negotiating a free trade agreement.
Apple will be pleased. You can’t buy better marketing than the President of Russia showing off an iPad.
I’ve had an iPad for around three months now and I have to say I find it absolutely invaluable. Cunningly, they have invented a device which will not replace either your phone or your laptop, but complements them both.
What do I find so great about the iPad? In no particular order:
- Web browsing. A phone screen is uncomfortable size and a laptop can take ages to boot up, login, open the browser etc. On the iPad you can have the web browser open and working within three seconds. It’s great for web browsing.
- Portability. Can travel and use it anywhere – on buses, in taxis, on planes. Great for filling in the moments.
- Business meetings. Can use it as your note pad. Easy to take notes on, and you can keep them on the iPad or e-mail them to your laptop.
- Applications Store. This is the best marketing channel in the world. You can buy almost anything, and lots of free stuff also. The future of newspapers is likely to be through special premium versions for the iPad.
- Battery. 10 hours. Yes.
- Books. I would never read a book on my laptop. But am reading several on the iPad. The flicking movement to turn a page makes it very close to the real thing, and the ability to set font size is great. What is especially great is all the free books which are out of copyright.
- Movies. HD movies look awesome. Also does You Tube etc
- Games. Far far too addictive. The average price is around $2 so how can one resist.
- E-mail. While one can access it on the phone, it’s great for read.ing attachments, and doing responses.
- Education. I’d seriously recommend parents consider getting the kid an iPad when they turn around three. There are great interactive learning tools which will make reading and maths lots of fun.
I’ve yet to meet an iPad owner who isn’t a big fan of it.