World Macro News: The Truth About The iPad, Day 300: I Barely Use It Anymore (AAPL)

Friday, February 25, 2011

The Truth About The iPad, Day 300: I Barely Use It Anymore (AAPL)

The main thing you need to know about my iPad right now is that I'm not sure where it is.

It's definitely at home, because I've stopped bringing it to work most days. I think it's next to the bed, because that's where I've been using it the most lately, to read for a couple of minutes until I get sleepy.

But I'm not positive. Because I haven't been using it that much.

The truth is, my iPad -- once the star gadget in my life -- now mostly fills in off the bench.

I used to make time just to use the iPad, because it was so fun and so new. I don't really do that anymore.

The novelty has worn off. Baseball has been in the offseason, so I haven't been streaming Cubs games to the iPad at my desk every day. And, you see, there's a new toy in my life -- a MacBook Air -- that I've been getting a lot more utility out of.

I still think the tablet is the future of the personal computer, especially for non-technical, mainstream users. (The iPad has certainly been a huge commercial hit already.) And I fully expect the iPad to get better, cheaper, more powerful, more useful, and more popular over time.

But for now, I haven't really been using it much.

The first 100 days with my iPad were an amazing honeymoon

Last August, after owning my iPad 3G for 100 days, I wrote that it was my "favorite computer." "It's the one I enjoy using the most. And I wouldn't want to be without it."

I still think the touch-based user interface is amazing, and there are some things I only want to do on an iPad, like reading in bed, watching movies on plane trips, and playing some games that are better on the iPad than my iPhone.

But things have changed as the iPad's novelty has gradually worn off.

The new MacBook Air has taken over as my portable computer of choice

Most people don't need to run five apps at a time, keep ten browser tabs open, do work at nighttime in a content management system that doesn't work very well with a touch UI.

And most people aren't going to buy two new computers in a year.

But I did, and the new MacBook Air has mostly replaced the iPad as my go-to portable computer. It's better for taking notes during meetings, it's better for multitasking, and it's better for goofing around on the Internet/doing more work while I'm watching TV at home.

So, what do I still use the iPad for? Mostly reading the web

When I'm not doing work or using 30 browser tabs, and just want to read the web, the iPad is still my favorite device to use.

Browsing with a touch interface is still more fun than using a mouse or trackpad pointer -- except when I accidentally graze the wrong part of the screen and end up clicking links I didn't mean to click, or auto-scroll up to the top of a long page.

And I rarely run into problems about the iPad not supporting Flash. Occasionally there's a video I can't watch, but almost all of the time, I'm able to read whatever I want.

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