The Ped Gets an iPhone and and iPad

It's too boring to get into, but I decided a few (like 8) weeks ago that I really needed to start catching up to technology before I was left irretrieveably (is that word even spelled right?--too lazy to check) behind. So I ordered an iPhone 3 (previous generation) and the iPad2. Herewith my observations.

Service Providers
I had a choice to go with Verizon or AT&T. Having seen all the abuse AT&T took for its poor service, and knowing that Verizon sucks just as hard, I decided to get AT&T on my phone and Verizon on my iPad.

AT&T has better coverage and service for where I live (Washington, DC). I am locked in to AT&T for my iPhone for 2 years--don't get me started: stupid, too expensive, etc. But the service is stellar. Verizon's coverage is just so-so. I am not locked in for them, so I will switch over to AT&T.


iPhone
The iPhone arrived first. It comes with no directions because it needs none. I couldn't believe how easy it was to figure out and set up. The AT&T people were perfectly wonderful and helpful. This phone changed my life in a space of a few days. The texting is easy. The calendar is awesome! Reading email is easy--for both work and personal. Having all my iPod stuff on there is nice, too, but I've found it's a little buggy when trying to play music. The notes feature is awesome, especially for a list-maker like me. Apps are cool. So, I loved it. In fact, I had a moment of panic, thinking, "why oh why did I buy the iPad too?" Then my iPad came in.

<Sound of iPhone clattering to the floor.>

iPad
Okay, this thing is C-O-O-O-O-O-L. But I've had stutter steps. It is very intuitive, but (possibly because) I've been out of the technology thing for a long time, and I hit walls. Books? Check. Magazines? Check. Photos? Check. Angry Birds? Check. Video streaming? Check. But then what? Hmmmmm, not sure. And everything was taking much longer when I was out of the office due to our wireless at home not recognizing my devices (but that's another story--once we got that sorted, it was ZOOM ZOOM fast).

Luckily, I have a colleague who has an iPad2. He mentioned several apps I might like, which helped because then I went exponentially farther with my iPad than I could have figured out myself (some of those most helpful I list below, for other newbies). And I have to give it up AGAIN for the notes feature. You can make as many lists as you want! The keyboard interface is very friendly (but I also bought the wireless keyboard). Quibble? The camera. This goes for the iPhone, too, but less so. If you're going to put a camera in, make it at least passable in quality. It's irritating, especially since the camera is one of the primary reasons for the differentiation between iPad1 and iPad2 (not to mention the price!).

I am also irritated that I can't update this blog from my iPad. I am certain this is USER ERROR, but I can't figure it out. I just keep getting kicked out.

One unexpected drawback?  Everything is at my fingertips--music, podcasts, videos, books, magazines. Sometimes I feel anxious when I'm reading/listening/watching at the enormous load of content that's going unviewed/unheard/unread. I don't feel that way with a book, or when I'm watching a video at home. It better fucking pass, because it can be really irritating.

I also feel a little self-concious with my iPad to/from work. I feel a little, "oooo, look at you, fancy girl with the iPad 2."

Bottom line: if you have an iPad in a box that you haven't taken out, take it out. It's easy. You will really love it and you will use it much more than you think.

Some apps I like (these are apps you need to download/don't come with the iPad automatically):
NextBusDC
NextMetroDC
Netflix
TheNewYorker
Peapod (grocery delivery)
Flipboard (awesome!!!)
Zite (also awesome!)
TunInRadio
Kindle (but wonder if I'll ultimately prefer iBooks, which is what iPad comes with)

One word on the apps: I thought the apps would be the same as the website, just "iPad-sized." Not true. So apps that "live" on the Internet (e.g., Peapod, Facebook, Netflix) are not as "easy" to use as going direct to the website.


Apps I don't like:
Epicurious--very unwieldy (in my view)--just hop on the internet and go to http://www.allrecipes.com/.
Hangman (stupid and sucks)
Angry Birds (I don't get the mania, but kids love it and I have used it as bribery for love)

Apps I have but haven't messed with enough yet:
Friendly (shows "iPad friendly" version of Facebook. I think.)
Facebook (I just check it out through Flipboard, though Flipboard doesn't show you comments, etc.)
Zinio

Apps that came with iPad I don't really get:
Game Center

So that's that.

iPad1 vs iPad2: What I Know

Background

I am not tech savvy! I imagine that for most of you, this post is useless because you know a lot more than me. I didn't read any reviews of the iPad2, either. But I imagine they are a lot more sophisticated (I'm laughing as I type this, since it's such an understatement) what you're about to waste your time reading!

At the moment, I only have a very basic cellphone that I frequently forget to charge, bring with me, turn on, or check—it's very annoying for my family and friends. So, to say I'm not technology-laden is putting it mildly. For his birthday, my fiancée received a kindle. After he tried it out, I tried it out. I was surprised at how much the kindle didn't irritate me. And I was already thinking I really needed to keep up with technology a bit more…so I've been thinking about getting a new handheld device.

Over the past few months, I've made a list of what I want my handheld device to do:

·        Take pictures

·        Email

·        Internet surfing

·        Stream movies and TV shows

·        Lists

·        Read magazines

·        Phone (but not absolutely necessary)

Going to Apple Store

Yesterday, I had the day off, so I made an appointment with the Apple store to talk about what device I want to buy from them. I showed up for my appointment and it took awhile for the Specialist Vicky to find me. While I was waiting for her, I played around with the iPad1 on display and fell in love. I told Vicky what I wanted and asked her what the difference was between the iPad1 and 2, besides the iPad2 being faster, lighter, and thinner.

New iPad2 Features

She said she wasn't even sure of all the new features, because she hadn't seen one yet, and she wasn't sure when she would. She said that a major new thing was that there were two cameras—one in the front of the iPad so people could see you, and one in the back for taking photos. iPad1 doesn't have the capability to take photos. But it isn't a phone, which confuses me (I mean, I wouldn't put the iPad up to my ear, but if there's a camera on the front so someone can see you, can't they also hear you? So isn't that sort of like a phone? But I didn't think to ask that at the time.)

The new iPad also comes with a magnetic cover, which sounded hella cool. It also flips around to become a stand. Even better! I asked her what you do with the cover if you're using the iPad and don't want the stand (if you're using it on the Metro, for example). It took awhile for me to explain what I meant because she was really focused on, "you just put it in the back as a stand." Finally, she said she thought it just comes right off and you carry it or put it in your bag. Hmmmm, that sounds like a design flaw. Why wouldn't you be able to just flip it around to the back?

Pricing

I asked her what the difference was in the basic model (for $499) to the more advanced models (that are $600 or more). She said that first of all, the iPad1 versions would be reduced by $100 immediately, so the basic iPad1 would now be $399. What you're paying more for is if you want coverage outside of wherever wi-fi is available and if you want additional memory. It took me awhile to figure out what the heck she meant about the wi-fi stuff, but I eventually "got it:"

What She Meant by Wi-Fi Coverage

So, if you have the basic model and you're in a Starbucks (which supplies wi-fi), the basic model will do for you. But if you move to an area where there is no wi-fi supplied, you will not have access to the internet.  If you get the more advanced model with the wireless capability (and by the way, is wireless and wi-fi different?), you will also need to buy a "package" from AT&T or Verizon—the carriers who supply these services for iPads/apple devices.

What I'm Going to Do (I think)

I really want the camera, and I really want the ability to get on the internet if there's no wi-fi available (when our power went out last week, it took the wireless router with it, of course, which left us feeling rather peculiarly out of touch with the world [my cellphone was, of course, dead]). But I don't want to pay a lot for this muffler. So, what I think I will do is follow a suggestion one of my friends posted on Facebook: wait until iPad3 comes out and get the bargain on the iPad2.

Unless

Unless the iPad3 incorporates the next bit of technology that I think would rock the house: a folding screen.

Star Trek

And a final note: one of the elements that I adore about the iPad is how completely Star Trek the thing is. I can walk around all day, poking my iPad and pretending I'm Captain Picard. Imagine!

Which begs another question I was pondering the other night as I was falling asleep—wait, it's too far afield and this post is too long already. I'll save it for another post.

Comments/education on this post very welcome.