And I’m not the only one. Within my circle of friends, I know several people who are also using their iPad as their portable computer. I even have a handful friends who have an iPad as their only computer.It is not a sacrifice to use the iPad as a primary device. I wanted to take a look at some of the most compelling reasons to use an iPad as your portable, if not your only, computer.
What? I did read the entire article. I’ve confessed my love of iPad and it’s many advantages. I use it daily until the battery dies but, when I go somewhere, my 13″ MacBook Air and iPad 3 are in my bag side by separated by a smart cover.
What did Shawn miss on his piece? Well, he does actually cover what will be my biggest complaint in the post:
Two prime examples for me are my use of QuickBooks and InDesign. And then there are the things which can be done on an iPad or a laptop, but which are done more efficiently on the latter. Another personal example: email. I am much better at processing email with my laptop because of the many AppleScripts and keyboard shortcuts I use in order to file and act on my messages.
Which is why I could not get by with an iPad only. But I am comfortable traveling without my MacBook Air, and there are often times when I prefer to work from the smaller device rather than at the comfort of my Mac. The iPad is a compelling computer, and it is quickly maturing right before our eyes.
I don’t use QuickBooks or InDesign anymore but I use a lot of applications that DO require I manipulate items on screen with my track pad. The difference between my trackpad and the iPad’s touch screen? The fact that I don’t have to literally life a finger to manipulate items on my MacBook. I once worked for 8 hours in a cafe on my iPad. After an hour, my shoulder was in pain not just from muscle fatigue but from an old shoulder injury I have. Switching hands didn’t help.
I tried the other day editing a roll of film from an SD card on iPad. An operation that takes 5 minutes in LightRoom took 1 full hour in iPhoto. I tried blogging from my iPad but inserting photos from Flickr code and holding my index finger over words…waiting and then selecting them to edit took forever. If you’re a man that doesn’t use the arrow keys, the iPad is for you but don’t come crying to me when your shoulder begins cramping up from raising it above up a few hundred times an hour.
I use my iPad to 0% each day but I use it for reading the times, watching YouTube, television and quickly reviewing emails if I’m walking to a meeting. To abandon my Macbook Air that is almost as thin and light as the iPad seems insane. If you were to give me a choice, I’d go with MacBook over iPad.