Why I adore my new iPad

I've joined the ranks of iPad owners and I adore my new iPad. I have a 32GB 3G iPad. I opted for the 3G version because I wanted the flexibility of having access to "the cloud" when not in a WiFi zone. Of course my access is limited to AT&T's coverage area which can be problematic at times.

I've had my iPad since Monday. Three full days with it so far. It is already changing the way I interact with "The Cloud".

I have an iPhone and like it a lot. But the screen is just too small for easy viewing when reading RSS feeds, Twits, e-mail etc. It's possible to do all of that, but not always comfortable. The iPad is changing all of that. The screen is large enough to comfortably view most data without need to modify (i.e.., enlarge) it. Already the way I read Twitter posting is changing. On my iPhone, I would see a Twit with an interesting link and I would mark the Twit as a favorite so I could go back and view the link later on my computer. The iPhone's screen is too small to comfortably display standard web pages. But with the iPad, I can now follow the links directly and comfortably view the results.

I don't like to sit at the computer and read a lot of text, or long articles. For me, reading is not something I do on the computer. Of course I read while on the computer, but only as much as I need to accomplish whatever task I'm working on. Reading for entertainment or education is not something I like to do on the computer. Maybe it's because I spent so many years pre-computers reading books, that I find the task of doing a lot of reading on the computer to be uncomfortable and boring. The iPad is changing all that. I already read books on a Kindle or the iPhone. With the iPad I can continue to read books but I can now also comfortably read newspapers, magazines, comic books and just about anything else that requires reading for long periods of time. Now that I think about it, it might have something to do with screen orientation. When using an iPad (iphone or Kindle), I hold the device below me, looking down to read, as I would if reading a book. With a computer, it is always in front of me, with the screen at or near head height, so I'm always looking "forward" and now down. Perhaps the reason I don't like reading on the computer has more to do with this (display orientation) than anything else.

In any case, I'm already reading more, now that I have an iPad, than I was before having the iPad. I'm also reading a larger variety of content than before.

Because of my age and deteriorating eye site, I can no longer comfortably read most comic books. The text tends to be too small to easily read and glossy pages can make reading difficult as well. Comixology has come out with a comic book reading app that opens up access to comic books again. While the app is available on the iPhone, once again the screen is too small, for me, to comfortably view the content. But with the iPad, I can once again comfortably read comics and it's great to be able to do so.

This is just tip of the iceberg, I'm sure. I expect the iPad will continue to change the way I interact with the world around me. I simply adore my iPad and it is quickly becoming my primary computing device. Of course I'll keep my desktop computer for various functions that work best on a desktop, but the iPad is rapidly becoming my day-t0-day "go to" device.