★ How I survived for two weeks without an iPad

MLB At Bat 2011 for iPad, iPhone & AppleTV

The iPad is revolutionary according to the marketing teams at Apple. It’s the most intimate computing experience in the world and, as of this writing, it has been 2 years since the original iPad was released and I’ve owned one sine the very beginning. I had my doubts but I justified purchasing one anyway. Then, I spent half an hour with one while mine was being shipped. I was still not sold on it. When I finally reviewed iPad, I used it for consumption but the app ecosystem and my trust in it was still low. I reviewed the iPad 2 and felt it was a good upgrade. At the time, I had no idea that the iPad 2 would be the iPad I fell in love with. Its combination of great apps with a solid 3G experience and great battery life made me use it all of the time. Two months after getting the iPad, I claimed it had revolutionized how I used computers. I used it’s battery to near completion each day and, since that post in May of 2011, my usage had only increased daily.

When the iPad 3 was announced, I sold my iPad 2. The plan was to get an iPad 3 but it was time for a test. Could I survive without the iPad? What would I miss most about it? Was it truly as great as I thought? It was and now, I can’t wait for my iPad 3 to arrive. I have been without an iPad for 2 weeks and it’ll be 2 more weeks before my iPad 3 arrives. I’m past the emotional “missing” of the iPad and the attachment is long gone. It’s time to write about what it’s like to not have an iPad from a day to day perspective. I understand that many people in the world don’t own an iPad. They can’t afford one and I understand that. Understand this is not how an iPad fits into everyone’s lives. This is a post based on a person’s experiences of having an iPad for 2 years and then going without. Did they miss it and what places did the iPad actually fill in their lives now that it’s gone. I’m not here to sell the hungry and homeless on an iPad. I’m here to explain how an iPad owner of 2 years computes now that he’s left with a MacBook and an iPhone. Enjoy.

I paid $829 + tax for a 64GB Verizon iPad 2 in March of 2011. One year later, I sold it for $600. This is less than I was hoping for but that’s mostly because of the emotional connection I had with this device. The first day without this device was difficult. I subconsciously wanted to keep grabbing for it next to me at my office, on the couch and in bed. Anytime I thought of an email, weather check, news article or funny YouTube video, the iPad was the first thing I grabbed for. In fact, I physically grabbed or it not just mentally. It’s scary to think that a device that’s been in my hands, on my desk and in my bag everywhere for 2 years is so attached to me but it was and it took 3 days before I grabbed for it out of habit. I was pretty embarrassed every time my hands went for it. Am I really addicted to this device? It seems so because withdrawals were just beginning. Over the next week, I refrained from the most basic Internet tasks. I stopped watching YouTube videos, RSS feeds and my Instapaper queue grew HUGE beyond my control. Basic Google searches I stopped performing and I sort of watched TV shows and movies with this weird angst or anxiety. Sort of like I was half into the television and half in another world full of emptiness. I wanted to check IMDB and Wikipedia but couldn’t. I was only half tuned into shows because the other half was mentally wishing an iPad was in my hand. My iPhone was also in reaching distance but I had zero intention to even glance at it. Two weeks later, I still care zero about the iPhone. It’s my pocket computer but not one I want to use around the house. It remains docked in the other room. I care about the iPhone very little because the iPad was my life and it’s gone now. The iPhone compares in no way to it.

After a week, this very scary and disarming survival instinct I had toward iPad went away. The weird thing is, I simply coped with my iPad-less life. In two weeks, I haven’t actually gone back to my life pre-iPad as if things aren’t as they were and I can’t go back. I’m thinking back to my year with a Windows PC tablet. Microsoft can say all they want how their tablet was first as in 7 years ago but whatever, I never felt attached to Windows tablet like I do with iPad. Windows tablet was a chore and iPad is this device that helps me do things so much easier and better in a way that’s far more enjoyable. The primary tasks I miss about iPad:

  • Email reviewing each AM and PM
  • Calendar Management AM and PM
  • News Reeding
  • YouTube Watching
  • Instapaper Reading
  • Newspaper Reading
  • NYTimes Reading
  • Tweeting during down-time
  • Research during TV and downtime

The problem is, all of these activities have been disrupted by the lack of an iPad. I haven’t simply moved these tasks to iPhone or MacBook. I’ve stopped doing them entirely. It wasn’t that I was waiting for an iPad to magically appear. I just don’t want to do them. Why watch YouTube videos on my iPhone or MacBook? It’s not as fun! Instapaper, RSS, early morning calendar management? Meh. Just don’t do it. I wait until I’m at the office to do all of those things. I used to grab my laptop as soon as I woke up then iPhone because it’s all I had and then iPad but, without iPad, I don’t want to do either. I just wanna wake up and wait until I’m in my office to manage things.

It has been two weeks since iPad was in my hands. I haven’t seen or touched one since then. Still, my routine feels incomplete. I can certainly cope but things like Instapaper, Reeder, YouTube and passive research will never be the same. I miss the large screen that fit in my lap and I miss the touch interface and applications. I miss the 3G always on that paired with that large screen and I miss the smallness of the iPad and how it accompanied me everywhere I go.

Just yesterday I got home at 5PM and the weather was nice. “Why go out and sit by the river?” I said. “I’m not going to read on my iPhone or Macbook. Screw it. I”ll stay inside.”

The iPad has had a profound affect on my life and I can never go back or, if I do go back, it’ll be a lifestyle with far less consumption and far more creation. This isn’t entirely a bad thing but I miss reading and listening to great content and the iPad was the best device in the world for that. My Mac and iPhone will never equal the greatness that iPad provided.

iPad 3 reviews have been good but haven’t painted a compelling picture for upgraders like me. However, if you were to give me an iPad 1 right now, I’d use it. iPad 1 to 3 on their own aren’t a huge step forward in form factor but they don’t have to be. I’d be happy with any one of the three versions. Maybe iPad 4 will be revolutionary but it doesn’t have to be. I’m happy with version 1 still and that shows how perfect iPad was at release. I can’t wait to see what happens next but if iPad 3 was the last iPad, I’d use it for years.

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