!!!!!!!!!!!!
Umm, so, first impressions? This thing is pretty amazing. >_>;
I’ve never used any eInk devices previous to this, so the biggest thing that is weirding me out IS the eInk itself. There’s a slightly frightening flashing that happens whenever it loads or refreshes which I usually associate with “uh-oh, graphics card is crapping out”… but is totally normal, I guess, on an eInk device. Sometimes there are also trails or residue left from a previous screen, like a recently erased etch-a-sketch which makes me uneasy. And when the device is in sleep mode, it doesn’t clear the screen at all but instead prints a stock photo (which you can’t change; WTH, Amazon? personalization much?) onto the screen and LEAVES IT THERE with a friendly reminder of how to get it out of sleep mode.
Yeah, this thing is really throwing me for a loop as far as screen expectations are concerned. >_>;
I’m kind of getting used to it, though, this sort-of monochrome demo iPad unit with a sticker over its face. It’s incredibly lightweight, but doesn’t feel overly fragile (though I certainly won’t be dropping or ‘tossing’ it into my bags). I admit that the large screen makes my fingers itch to interact with it, but the cursor buttons are serviceable and I do like the tactile feedback of using a physical keyboard, tiny as it is.
I picked up the mid price-point model, which has the wi-fi and 3G. And this was something I grappled with for a short while, partially because I certainly had not been aware… Amazon is providing free 3G access to all Kindle owners? And the Kindle 3 has a new WebKit based browser on it? What? Are you %#$&ing kidding me?
Apparently text and images are cheap, because it’s freaking true. So I obviously spent maybe the first couple of hours futzing with, of course, the experimental web browser and seeing how far I could push it. It definitely doesn’t like Facebook much and crashed a ton, despite my ability to update my status with it. But I did a little looking around and figured out the address for the mobile version of FB, which works very well. I can also access the mobile Gmail client and send e-mail and read it. And it loaded Tumblr all right, though Tumblr does NOT have a mobile web version of the Dashboard available to post from (though apparently every Tumblr log has a mobile version to view).
So now I basically have free e-mail and Facebook and Wikipedia, worldwide, without a laptop. What the hell. >_>;;
I did buy a book (see above!) and all the book reading stuff is pretty self-explanatory. I also checked out the mp3 player and was totally shocked by the quality of the speakers on this thing, though it’s unlikely that I will use it much for this, since it probably kills the battery life.
Anyway. First impressions are fairly good! … though we have yet to see how it performs in the long run. I kind of need more books for that. ;_;
I kind of want one. I’ve glanced at it every now and again, but the urge is particularly strong at the moment, since I’m soon going to embark on a long trip with a long plane ride and I’d love to waste hours by reading some 800-page book for the entire duration… but feeling reluctant about the actual lugging around of an 800-page book part.
A few things are holding me back. One is obviously price, though it’s significantly cheaper than (say) the iPad, which I’m not interested in either for the record. I could actually see myself using an ebook reader device (I bought a couple ebooks when I was still using a PDA), whereas the iPad is either too much or too little for my purposes.
Another thing is that I don’t actually read that often, because books are expensive and I feel guilty about purchasing and only reading them once. There are certainly exceptions… I seem to return to Sharon Shinn books on a regular basis. And I think I actually spent a number of nights and mornings this summer revisiting novels in my library.
The last thing… if I bought one, I’d want to get my entire library (or at least the pieces that I was sure I would read again) onto it…… but I’d have to purchase it all again. /cry
Guess I’ll keep thinking about it…
What I’m saying is that the iPad appeals to a very deep and longlived fantasy in the consumer electronics world: A device that does it all. At least, if all you want to do is consume media.
And there’s the problem.
Apple is marketing the iPad as a computer, when really it’s nothing more than a media-consumption device - a convergence television, if you will. Think of it this way: One of the fundamental attributes of computers is that they are interactive and reconfigurable. You can change the way a computer behaves at a very deep level. Interactivity on the iPad consists of touching icons on the screen to change which application you’re using. Hardly more interactive than changing channels on a TV. Sure, you can compose a short email or text message; you can use the Brushes app to draw a sketch. But those activities are not the same thing as programming the device to do something new. Unlike a computer, the iPad is simply not reconfigurable.
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I’m very divided on what to think about the iPad. I’ll admit to being more or less completely disappointed (by everything except the price point…) … I had really expected / hoped for something entirely different.
So I’ve been reading whatever iPad reactions I come upon, hoping to elucidate and figure out what I’m feeling. I think this article may be too harsh, but there are some interesting points… the point about it being a “consumer” device and not a producer’s one, mainly.
Plus, the article above has a shot from Videodrome, which instinctively made me want to vomit when I saw it. XP Curse you, Cronenberg… cuuuuurse youuuuuu…
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