One Week of iPad

It’s about one week since I got hold of my iPad. I didn’t port my life over to the iPad. I still do everything on my MacBook Pro, exactly like it was before I got the iPad. The iPad is entertaining, but at least for me, it isn’t quite changing how I do my typical computer things. I need a console terminal, I need to type a lot, these aren’t the strong points about the iPad.

But it’s nice to lie down on the bed and catch up on the news by reading off the iPad. Like the two-times-in-two-days engine failures of Qantas’s Sydney bound flights from Singapore. After holding the iPad up to read, as well as to play some absolutely time-wasting (yet still slightly entertaining) games like We Rule Quests, I’ve realized one thing.

The iPad is too heavy. It officially weighs 0.73kg. That’s not a lot. But imagine holding it for extended periods of time. A notebook typically rests on a table, or on your lap. But a tablet probably gets held up a lot more than being placed on a surface. 0.73kg is too heavy. Particularly when you want to hold it at odd angles. Such as upside down while lying on the bed.

If you have not read it, check out Ten Theses on Tablets, where author Tim Bray compared the 10″ Apple iPad and 7″ Samsung Galaxy Tab. He noted, too, that for prolonged usage, the 7″ Galaxy Tab was the winner… because of the weight.

I like the iPad’s 10″ screen size. I haven’t tried the 7″ Galaxy Tab, so I can’t say for sure if 7″ would be an okay size or if it would be too small. But the Galaxy Tab’s weight, at 0.38kg and almost half that of the iPad, certainly makes it a whole lot more portable.

Apple: You need to get the iPad to loose some weight.