iPad

[Prospero]

Osmos HD is good stuff.

[Raph]

Had mine for a week. Posted my apps list here:

http://www.raphkoster.com/2010/07/18/playing-with-the-ipad/

[Furiously]

Bump

Not the thread. The app.

[Tebonas]

So, tomorrow the iPad will be officially available here in Austria (I refused to go the fanboy way and order it from Germany with added costs). After playing around with it for a few weeks now whats the status. Worth buying if you already have a 3gs?

[Prospero]

I think so. It's much more pleasant to read books and web sites on the pad. Gaming is also much better. I'd personally hold off for the ineveitable refresh in September. They are launching the new iPad version of iOS 4 then, which inevitably means new hardware.

[Trippy]

I think so. It's much more pleasant to read books and web sites on the pad. Gaming is also much better. I'd personally hold off for the ineveitable refresh in September. They are launching the new iPad version of iOS 4 then, which inevitably means new hardware.

No it doesn't.

[Quinton]

I wouldn't be surprised to see a hardware refresh for the holidays (maybe front facing camera + more RAM), but I could easily see them continuing to ship the current version until next spring.

[Prospero]

The annual iPod refresh seems like a reasonable time to update the big iPod as well. I wouldn't be shocked if they want to get Facetime support in the iPod line, and if it is there it needs to be in the iPad. There's nothing that I've seen in iOS4 that warrants holding back a software update for the iPad unless they have something else planned. Unless they are just being giant douches, which is certainly possible.

[naum]

Flipboard

A "Social Magazine" app.

Not really sure how to describe it as "making a magazine out of your twitter / facebook / popular RSS feed" doesn't sound sexy, but this app is really cool — it plucks out links and photos and presents them in a "flip" page photo magazine style format… …you have to experience to appreciate.

And it's free.

[Trippy]

The annual iPod refresh seems like a reasonable time to update the big iPod as well. I wouldn't be shocked if they want to get Facetime support in the iPod line, and if it is there it needs to be in the iPad. There's nothing that I've seen in iOS4 that warrants holding back a software update for the iPad unless they have something else planned. Unless they are just being giant douches, which is certainly possible.

It would except that the iPad came out 3 months ago and some countries are just starting to get it. Coming out with new hardware (as opposed to say just a memory bump) in 2 months would piss off a lot of people.

[Prospero]

Like that's ever stopped Apple. 

[Malakili]

I've got a question for anyone who has one of these things.

How do you think it would perform in an academic setting?  I'm going back to graduate school in the fall, and if this thing would be a viable replacement for paper/pen note taking, I'd seriously consider it.  I doubt the books I'd need are available in a format that works, but how do you find the thing as an eReader also?  Can you take notes in your books/write on the pages with a stylus?

I don't want to type up my notes though, in that case I can just bring a laptop, I'd like something that really feels like a....bad, without the problem of having to carry around a load of different note books, writing utensils and folders.

Generally everyone I know that has one of these is pretty happy with it, but I haven't heard much about its use for this particular application.  If not, does anyone know of another device which might be appropriate for what I'm looking for?

[Samwise]

Something like the "shapewriter" app on the iPod seems like a good bet, but it'd be very different from writing on a notebook.  I'm sure there are apps out there that do letter recognition, but I'd definitely borrow an iPad and try that out if that's one of your main uses.  I haven't used one yet, but if it's the same touchscreen tech as the iPhone/iPod then I'd be suspicious of being able to write on it "normally" and have it pick up the letters. 

And I definitely wouldn't trust an iPad owner's word on it.   

[Trippy]

I've got a question for anyone who has one of these things.

How do you think it would perform in an academic setting?  I'm going back to graduate school in the fall, and if this thing would be a viable replacement for paper/pen note taking, I'd seriously consider it.  I doubt the books I'd need are available in a format that works, but how do you find the thing as an eReader also?  Can you take notes in your books/write on the pages with a stylus?

You can't operate a capacitive touch screen with a regular stylus -- you would need a special capacitive stylus. Also the iPad doesn't have handwriting recognition built into it. There are iPhone/iPad apps, apparently, that can do that, though.

[Malakili]

Something like the "shapewriter" app on the iPod seems like a good bet, but it'd be very different from writing on a notebook.  I'm sure there are apps out there that do letter recognition, but I'd definitely borrow an iPad and try that out if that's one of your main uses.  I haven't used one yet, but if it's the same touchscreen tech as the iPhone/iPod then I'd be suspicious of being able to write on it "normally" and have it pick up the letters. 

And I definitely wouldn't trust an iPad owner's word on it.   

I don't care if it picks up letters to be honest, as long as I can save what I wrote, and as long as the touch screen is precise enough that when I write on it is doesn't look like I did it with an etch a sketch.

[Merusk]

I believe that's what Trippy just said; it won't do what you're looking for without more expenditure.   Why not just buy one of the 2nd gen versions of the handwriting capture pens instead?

[Samwise]

Something like the "shapewriter" app on the iPod seems like a good bet, but it'd be very different from writing on a notebook.  I'm sure there are apps out there that do letter recognition, but I'd definitely borrow an iPad and try that out if that's one of your main uses.  I haven't used one yet, but if it's the same touchscreen tech as the iPhone/iPod then I'd be suspicious of being able to write on it "normally" and have it pick up the letters. 

And I definitely wouldn't trust an iPad owner's word on it.   

I don't care if it picks up letters to be honest, as long as I can save what I wrote, and as long as the touch screen is precise enough that when I write on it is doesn't look like I did it with an etch a sketch.

I suspect it'll look etch-a-sketchy; I've got an iPad drawing app, which it sounds like is what you want, but I can't imagine using it for writing because the touchscreen just doesn't seem precise enough (either that or the app is laggy and that messes it up).  But again, I'd borrow one to try it out.

[naum]

I've got a question for anyone who has one of these things.

How do you think it would perform in an academic setting?  I'm going back to graduate school in the fall, and if this thing would be a viable replacement for paper/pen note taking, I'd seriously consider it.  I doubt the books I'd need are available in a format that works, but how do you find the thing as an eReader also?  Can you take notes in your books/write on the pages with a stylus?

I don't want to type up my notes though, in that case I can just bring a laptop, I'd like something that really feels like a....bad, without the problem of having to carry around a load of different note books, writing utensils and folders.

Generally everyone I know that has one of these is pretty happy with it, but I haven't heard much about its use for this particular application.  If not, does anyone know of another device which might be appropriate for what I'm looking for?

It is the best, by far, eReader in my experience. Whether running Kindle app (where you can highlight and add notes) or Stanza or GoodReader or iBooks or ?. Big advantage over a regular Kindle (besides reading in the dark) is ability to rapidly flip through pages, randomly advance to any spot in the book and most books now have hyperlinks that let you go back and forth between notes and even pop you into web browser for external links. I've read 30+ books on the thing in the last month…

As far as sketching goes, I have a Pogo Sketch stylus that lets me draw on the various drawing apps (i.e., Adobe Ideas, Paper Desk, etc.…). It's not pressure sensitive like other tablets, though Pogo is soon to hawk one that they claim will work as such even though physics would seem to repute such a silly notion. I don't use the stylus when highlighting / taking notes on the Kindle — just the onscreen keyboard.

There are some apps that do note taking and  handwriting recognition — see Dan Bricklin (old grizzled programmer who wrote VisiCalc) Note Taking app — http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/handheld/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225702272
As the review also mentions, there is Evernote. I use SimpleNote, which auto-syncs and propagates to the cloud and all my machines…

[naum]

And I definitely wouldn't trust an iPad owner's word on it.   

But you would trust a non-iPad-owner with scant experience with the device?

Wow, to blissfully wallow in ignorance…

[Prospero]

With a stylus sketching and note taking should be fine. Everything looks appropriately curvy and smooth. I use Penultimate for handwritten notes; it has an option to allow your wrist to rest on the screen.

See if you can try it out in an Apple store. I wouldn't be shocked if they would open a stylus package for you to try it.

[Malakili]

With a stylus sketching and note taking should be fine. Everything looks appropriately curvy and smooth. I use Penultimate for handwritten notes; it has an option to allow your wrist to rest on the screen.

See if you can try it out in an Apple store. I wouldn't be shocked if they would open a stylus package for you to try it.

Thanks for the advice.  I'll see if I can check it out this weekend.

[Samwise]

And I definitely wouldn't trust an iPad owner's word on it.  

But you would trust a non-iPad-owner with scant experience with the device?

I'd definitely borrow an iPad and try that out if that's one of your main uses.

But again, I'd borrow one to try it out.

Read different.  

[Raph]

That post I linked above has a couple of paragraphs on note-taking apps:

It’s a decent art platform, for example, except for the lack of a stylus and pressure sensitivity. The drawing tablet capabilities of my old Toshiba M400 destroy it. But there’s laptops out there now with screens that work as either capacitive finger multi-touch or stylus devices… so I can see that niche getting filled. In the meantime, Sketchbook Pro ($7.99) makes for a decent drawing app, though the fact that you have to adjust a slider constantly to affect opacity or line width is annoying. For more natural sketching, you can try out Wondershare iDraft (free!), which varies line width based on speed, but lacks most everything else. Both go better when paired with a Ten One Design Pogo Sketch Stylus. Still a long way from a proper Wacom pen, but better than nothing. I had real trouble fingerpainting…

A stylus is also pretty much a must if you plan to write anything in handwriting. They asked me to sign the credit card on an iPhone when I bought the iPad, and I laughed at how bad the signature was… you just don’t write with fingers with that sort of precision, sorry! The iPad also lacks handwriting recognition support, and the selection of apps for note-taking are very keyboard-centric. What I was looking for was something that felt like a pad of paper, and instead, I mostly found text editors. I mix diagrams and text liberally in notes, so the fact that most notes apps don’t let you do this seems like an obvious oversight.

Among those that do, I preferred Notes Plus ($4.99), which translates all your strokes into vectors, for the simple reason that you can write in a zoom window, so your text is actually handwriting-sized instead of poster-sized like in most apps; smartNote ($0.99) offered similar features, but the zoom window wasn’t there. I do miss having an erase tool that isn’t based on shape selection, though. Both apps let you type or sketch, and neither offer handwriting recognition — for that you would have to go with WritePad, which is again, just a text editor so I didn’t try it. The industry leader in notetaking, Evernote, doesn’t do ink yet in its iPad version, and I haven’t tried Penultimate because you can’t type into it.

[Jeff Kelly]

Yeah exactly my sentiment.

The iPad would be great if I could use it like an actual notepad. Taking notes during meetings, scribbling sketches etc. I write a lot faster with a pen than on the iPad Keyboard and the ability to capture handwritten notes or small doodles would be awesome.

I don't like Penultimate because everything looks like written by a five year old.

[Soulflame]

Someday, Apple will catch back up to the Newton.   

[Trippy]

Siam fighting atomic sentry

[Malakili]

Yeah exactly my sentiment.

The iPad would be great if I could use it like an actual notepad. Taking notes during meetings, scribbling sketches etc. I write a lot faster with a pen than on the iPad Keyboard and the ability to capture handwritten notes or small doodles would be awesome.

I don't like Penultimate because everything looks like written by a five year old.

This is pretty much what is stopping me from buying one of these at this point.  The iPad lacks almost any functionality that makes it...pad like...

I mean sure the thing looks sleek, and I'm sure if I was gifted one I'd use it all the time for random stuff like internet browsing and e-mail and whatever, but there no feature that screams "This will transform how you do stuff."  Its just a lighter/slimmer laptop with less functionality, woohoo.

I'm not going to type my notes on a damned iPad, I'm going to bring the laptop I already have and spend 500 bucks on booze and hookers, and by booze and hookers I of course mean new armor for my Imperial Guard army

[naum]

My finger painting skills are definitely inferior to this guy -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OLP4nbAVA4

Sure, not a necessity device, but I do find it quite handy, and actually prefer punching in simple searches (like looking up movies and theater times in IMDB app) on it, browsing FB and Twitter (Flipboard delivers a better "browse" experience than the laptop/desktop) than in a full fledged browser.

I think touch UI is still virgin territory and not exploited proficiently enough by developers, at least until some across-the-board standards are ironed out (which is happening). There is a class of apps that are more suited to touch UI -- problem is just quickly grafting existing desktop/web apps onto a touch interface makes for a clunky experience.

I use it for notetaking -- via SimpleNote but really would like to use a mind mapping app for it, which I thought would be more intuitive -- big problem is apps I tried thus far do not work like my brain wants them to work (i.e., again the desktop model is flawed -- let me tap empty space, create a node, swipe to it's parent, drag to move, tap + hold to edit, etc.…).

It's a versatile device -- other times, it plays as last.fm / pandora radio player streaming into or hook into TV monitor to play Netflix / youTube.

[Samwise]

My finger painting skills are definitely inferior to this guy -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OLP4nbAVA4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcRfMGr0pRk   

[Jobu]

Both go better when paired with a Ten One Design Pogo Sketch Stylus. Still a long way from a proper Wacom pen, but better than nothing. I had real trouble fingerpainting…

I found I enjoyed using this stylus by Boxwave better. The nub on the stylus isn't as squishy, nor does it have that spongy scratchy texture to it. Makes it easier to draw with... though I'm still looking for the perfect small, firm capacative stylus.

[ghost]

So, after having used my iPad for a couple of months now, I've come to the conclusion that it is pretty much only truly useful for toilet computing, i.e. surfing the internet while taking a dump.  Or whatever else you want to do on the pot. 

[Lantyssa]

[Engels]

Wait, you're playing an iPad app under NDA? Or you're doing stuff on the pot that's under NDA? Both?

[ghost]

Wait, you're playing an iPad app under NDA? Or you're doing stuff on the pot that's under NDA? Both?

Stuff on the pot should always be NDA.  I wonder how many iPads have been despoiled worldwide.  It has to be in the millions. 

[Lantyssa]

Wait, you're playing an iPad app under NDA? Or you're doing stuff on the pot that's under NDA? Both?

That's the I'm being nice instead of saying "I told you so" to wasting half a grand smiley.