Westlake Side Story

iPad is terrible for typing.

Whether it’s the fact that I have developed reasonable touch typing skills (QWERTY, I know is inferior to what some of my friends interest themselves with, I know, but still) or just a fact of ergonomics, the iPad does not work for typing out anything larger than a search query. After just three paragraphs typing out a blog post, I was relieved to have brought my laptop on the train to be able to finish my first post and write this post in addition in what is likely half the time it would have taken on the iPad.

I honestly feel that the iPhone is more suited for short e-mail replys, perhaps due to the life long (since age 13 anyway) conforming to texting.

Sorry Phil, it just does not cut it.

The iPad is great for watching youtube videos, half sleeping through a movie when I come home drunk at 2AM, or reading tweets or posts on arstechnica on the loo, but that is definitely media consumption and not production. For even the simpler things, although it’s comparably bulky to pull out a Macbook Air, the better ergonomics is worth it - and I still carry only 1.3kg plus charger.

My verdict is I wont get my own iPad when the one I now borrow will have to be returned. I might still recommend it (3G ready) to my parents for looking up sightseeing on their trips, or viewing photos (that now sync in the cloud, yay!), however.