Hater to Lover, An amusingly written article I just churned out on the iPad!

[Lordillingworth]

Hello, I was one of the may 10th Pre-orderers who got an iPad delivered yesterday and I have got to say that typing on this thing is not too bad at all! Like many others I was worried that it would cripple the device for productivity, personally I specialise in writing short page long stories so I was never in to much trouble or at risk of having to write 1000's of words at a time, yesterday I attempted to write a "thoughts about" the iPad post for my site, and found that 600 words later I had not had any real problems at all or taken any great deal of time longer to write than I would have on my good old iMac!

Anyway I don't get much discussion over at my site so I thought I would post my tale of Hate and Love here... remember that it was written for my site so it may seem a little bit out there, the original article is here: http://www.invertedhourglass.com/in...(Thoughts,_“Review”_and_unboxing_video!).html for anybody who cares!

so how many other haters like me turned into a day -1 owner?!

...
...

Hello there lads and lasses! I must start this random techie post by saying yes I know I was a massive iPad hater back in the day (all the way back in January!) Yet here we are and I am now writing this post sitting on the edge of my bed typing away on the onscreen keyboard of my very own iPad!

So how did we get to this situation? Well firstly I am sure a lot of people who know me will back up that I have almost no self control when it comes to this sort of thing and very few of them will be surprised that I ended up pre-ordering one at 6am on the day they were first available.... Although to be fair I was having my hernia operation done on that day so I didn't get up early specifically for that!

So why did I go from hating to loving? That is a question that will plague mankind for years I am sure, so I will ease the pressure by giving a quick overview now! Basically I have always said that tablet computers were the future and have been desperate to have one but none of the previous offerings were what I had hoped for... So when apple were poised to release one I got caught up in the chaos with all the other Internet tech enthusiasts and imagined up something that was to be the greatest thing ever... So when apple finally revealed the iPad and all it was was this "big iPhone" I was suitably disappointed.

Despite the fact that the iPhone is amazing and one of my favourite devices of all time I along with many others couldn't see how a big version of it would be different. So I set about my wild rantings and constant criticism of the device... Until it launched in America! As soon as I saw the iPad being used and seeing that the limitations (no flash, multitasking and the onscreen keyboard) were nowhere near as destructive to the device as I had imagined I got swept up in the exact opposite camp of the Internet.... The “WOW I NEED AN IPAD RIGHT NOW” side of things I like to refer to it as!

I have been using my iPad almost constantly for the last six hours and all I can say is that I am glad I changed my mind and jumped on board! This really is a fantastic device, typing on it is not to bad at all, I am making very few mistakes and hitting a good speed considering this is the first time I have ever tried to type anything proper on it. I am more than satisfied that I will be fetching the iPad out with me on walks to use to write my short stories etc on. This thing is very compact and weighs less than a third of the weight of my laptop so it is ideal for taking out into the hills for some proper peace and quiet for writing!

I almost hate myself for being so impressed by it after all that I said against it but I cannot deny that the iPad in these last few hours alone has proven to me that I am one crazy fool for not seeing how good it would be from day one! The core features are solid, there are already thousands of apps for it, including some fantastic games and it is relatively small and light. I can't wait to see where this ends up accompanying me... But now I will stop the ranting and raving about this little device and continue writing my humble short stories.

Here is my "No-Nonsense" Unboxing that you may have already seen! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx-R09xIIks

 

[Jaro65]

I hope you're not going to change your opinion again six hours after having written that post.

 

[eawmp1]

You should really question why you were a hater before laying hands on the device. Hopefully a life lesson for future personal growth.

 

[v66jack]

I don't understand why anybody would think that a big iPod touch or iphone was a bad idea?

A big Zune now that's a terrible idea but iPod - completely different

 

[btrav13]

I'm in the same boat, OP. I had said that Apple was finally going to drop the ball on this one. Lesson learned...do not bet against Apple...

 

[nicegoogly]

I wasn't a hater, per se, but I was telling everyone that the iPod Big was not all that necessary. I got it on a whim from Best Buy ($200.00 in gift certificates and luck they had just gotten a second shipment of 64GB WiFi iPads) and wanted to see if I could integrate into my practice of law as a very active litigator. It blew me away how much more useful it was than my iPhone that I swore by for the last three years (I upgrade to the new one very year so it was more than just the chipset that impressed me) It looked great at a larger size (still a little weirded out with the big space between apps, but I guess you need to see the wallpaper), super fast chip, and you can really do so much more with more screen real estate. The keyboard become roomier, but you can actually see what your are typing. As a trial attorney choosing adjourn dates is so much easier on the iPad than the iPhone. Pages is great. Numbers will be when they get excel exporting functionality. WiFi is a little choppy, hopefully a software upgrade can fix this. Two reasons why I passed on the 3G: 1. I am incredibly impatient. 2. I have hacked my Palm Pre (my office phone) to become a WiFi router. I hardly use the phones features since I have an iPhone that kicks that Palm Pre's ass and Sprint has the best data service in my area. Saves me an extra $150.00 with tax on the unit and the extra data service charge. The GPS functionality I don't need. My two phones and the fact that my car has it integrated, I don't need a 9 inch GPS. Sorry for the long post, but I couldn't be happier about being wrong about this product.

 

[Lordillingworth]

I don't understand why anybody would think that a big iPod touch or iphone was a bad idea?

I know looking back now I was so completely wrong it amazes me. How could I have been that stupid?!!!

 

[doctorxring]

.

Don't feel bad. Some people are STUCK on Stupid.

You did a reboot and all is well now.

Congrats on your iPad epiphany !

dxr

.

 

[wombat888]

So you were a hater who ordered it anyway, and a few hours later, you're a lover ... interesting but not necessarily self-flattering ...

 

[antiprotest]

.

Don't feel bad. Some people are STUCK on Stupid.

You did a reboot and all is well now.

Congrats on your iPad epiphany !

dxr

.

Yes, he admits he was wrong and changed his mind. That's good enough for me.

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Always more enjoyable to be an iPad lover than a fighter.

 

[GinoDotCom]

I don't understand why anybody would think that a big iPod touch or iphone was a bad idea?

A big Zune now that's a terrible idea but iPod - completely different

I thought the idea of a big ipod touch was a bad idea, boy i was wrong. I can't imagine being without my iPad. I guess i was expecting the tablet at the time to do something different that my iphone doesn't already do. Don't ask me what it is b/c even I don't know. Either way, I'm glad I have one.

Battery life, how zippy and responsive it is along with how awesome the screen res is all exceeded my expectations. The way the double pixilated native iphone apps appear on the iPad is my only minor complaint.

 

[Kobra]

Nice writing I have pretty much the same thoughts about the iPad myself

 

[jimboutilier]

I was an iPad skeptic. I was hoping for a tablet version of the Macbook Air and was pretty disappointed when Apple announced a hyperthyroid iPod Touch. I really thought I was going to wait for the second generation iPad until I happened to see one in a Best Buy and made the mistake of playing with it a bit.

It was smaller than I expected. It was very well designed and constructed. It's screen was brilliant. All of the flash heavy sites I frequented and was worried about turned out to recognize "no flash" and give me a great experience anyway. The landscape keyboard was terrific for touch typing. Battery life is fantastic. And while the initial apps have gaps and are a little unpolished, there is a lot of great functionality there.

Still want a user facing camera and a Skype app for video calls. Still want a filensystem. Still want printing. Still want a VGA adapter that presents full screen. Still want "office aps" that have a few more features for viewing, reviewing, and editing real world documents.

But all in all the iPad is terrific. It's relegated my laptop to a transportable desktop and I spend a lot more time on my iPad than my laptop now.

 

[mcdj]

Writer's Workshop 101

A. Never refer to your own writing as amusing. In fact, never to praise anything you do yourself. Let others do so as they see fit. OTOH, if you want to deprecate your own work, that's a different story. It's far more endearing than patting yourself on the back.
B. 11 exclamation points in 6 paragraphs is far too many exclamation points.
C. Welcome to iPad.

 

[Zazoh]

Writer's Workshop 101

A. Never refer to your own writing as amusing. In fact, never to praise anything you do yourself. Let others do so as they see fit. OTOH, if you want to deprecate your own work, that's a different story. It's far more endearing than patting yourself on the back.
B. 11 exclamation points in 6 paragraphs is far too many exclamation points.
C. Welcome to iPad.

D. Take out all the cliches and colloquialisms and there isn't even that much said.

My own experience. I knew I wanted one. Got two day one. Wife and I use every single day. == good purchase.

 

[lokerd]

Like others have said...don't feel bad. I was against getting one. Now I haven't used any of my laptops in weeks...and am at least selling my net book...if somebody will buy it. I was honest in the ad stating that the iPad was better than any laptop.

I have phrased two analogies.

1) size does matter...if it didn't, we would all be watching 25" TVs...not 42 to 60". Personally, I use a 28" hansg desktop monitor (with an extra 22" extended monitor also) when I really need to get work done. A laptop was always too small for real work...and two big to be really portable. The ipad is perfect.

2) the iPad is to the laptop as the laptop was to the desktop. Iow, my first laptop was freedom from being stuck in the computer room. But it was a new ball and chain. Never was happy working on it...and it wasn't portable enough. So, " Hello iPad" for a whole new sense of freedom.

Got two day one. Wife and I use every single day. == good purchase.

I got a 3G and gave my wife the wifi. She keeps going for her laptop.

 

[Lordillingworth]

So you were a hater who ordered it anyway, and a few hours later, you're a lover ... interesting but not necessarily self-flattering ...

Sorry I am from the UK and it was in the time between the US launch and the UK pre-orders that I was converted after hours of obsessive YouTube watching!

Writer's Workshop 101

A. Never refer to your own writing as amusing. In fact, never to praise anything you do yourself. Let others do so as they see fit. OTOH, if you want to deprecate your own work, that's a different story. It's far more endearing than patting yourself on the back.
B. 11 exclamation points in 6 paragraphs is far too many exclamation points.
C. Welcome to iPad.

Good points... I do have a serious problem when it comes to exclamation points.

I thought the idea of a big ipod touch was a bad idea, boy i was wrong. I can't imagine being without my iPad. I guess i was expecting the tablet at the time to do something different that my iphone doesn't already do. Don't ask me what it is b/c even I don't know. Either way, I'm glad I have one.

It is strange as like you say I really don't know what I was expecting or why on earth I didn't immediately think "a big iPod touch? that sounds great!"

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

So you typed out 6+ paragraphs to tell us you bought an iPad? I'm so proud of you.

 

[batman75]

I was a hater too. But I realized a few things which converted me:
1) the form factor and always on format is really useful. I realized this because I was using my iPhone so much inside my home and thought even if I had no more functionality, having a bigger screen would be good.
2) it is by far the best device of this kind currently on the market.
3) while the lack of flash bothered me, I realized that far fewer sites use flash than when I got the iPhone 3 years ago
4) multitasking is coming
5) I am still not happy about lack of webcam, difficulty printing, and lack of a file management function, but that's not a reason to pass on all the other benefits.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I'm in the same boat, OP. I had said that Apple was finally going to drop the ball on this one. Lesson learned...do not bet against Apple...

I was an iPad skeptic. I was hoping for a tablet version of the Macbook Air and was pretty disappointed when Apple announced a hyperthyroid iPod Touch. I really thought I was going to wait for the second generation iPad until I happened to see one in a Best Buy and made the mistake of playing with it a bit.
<snip>
But all in all the iPad is terrific. It's relegated my laptop to a transportable desktop and I spend a lot more time on my iPad than my laptop now.

Was not a hater here maybe a skeptic. Saw it at launch weekend at the Apple Store. Was not impressed at the time, but followed some of the threads on here. And had two of my customers come in with theirs and my initial reaction started to change.

In the end I got the wifi model the week the 3G was to be released. Ended up turning it in for the 3G on that Friday - and don't regret it all all.

Like so many have said so far... the iPad is making orphans out of our laptops. LOL Now to get Apple and Adobe to kiss and make up to bring a workable Flash to the iPad, or for the likes of Hulu and NBC to wake up and smell the coffee and move towards HTML5. With talks of 5 to 8 million iPads to be sold this year alone... they are loosing out on eyeballs here. Seldom do I go out to Hulu any more. And not NBC at all now.

I am voting my preference for HTML5 with my choice of sites.

 

[ScottFitz]

Not a hater, but didn't think I'd want one. Had iPhone and MacBook air. Then I played with one at Best Buy and was hooked. Had to wait several frustrating weeks for the 3G version to come out.

 

[wgary]

You people are way too tough. It takes a big person to admit their preconceptions were wrong to themselves, let alone in public. May we all learn a lesson from this. And, OK, I was skeptical too, but enough of a "true believer" to want one anyway after 30 minutes of exploration in the store. Turned out well for me, but fully understand those who were less convinced by the idea of a maxi-iP(a/o)d. So shall we all exercise just a modicum of understanding and more than a modicum less of self-righteousness!!!!!!!! (8 exclamation points)