iPad vs the laptop

iPad vs the laptop.

It's an argument that started with the iPad 1 launch event about 12 months ago. Mr Jobs announced that they wanted to have a device that sat in between the phone and the laptop. It had to web browse better, email better etc. It's been about 3 months now since we've had the iPad, which i think is a good amount of time to reflect on the impact that it's had on the family laptop.

And I think the laptop is feeling the pressure. When you really think about it, the laptop was designed (in my opinion anyway) firstly to allow people to do the work they do on their desktop computer when they are on the move, and secondly to allow people to do their work in multiple locations.

The multiple locations argument is getting very thin nowadays. The Internet, and that technological marvel that is the $5 flash drive start to make carrying a laptop device around a waste of time. I've recently been promoted at work, and one of the unwritten rules of becoming a manager is that you get a laptop rather then a desktop. Now i have a fairly substantial desktop setup at work, and a 27" iMac at home. What good reason do i have to give up those to do work, just to be relegated to a 15" hp notebook. Yes, the notebook can (and probably would) have as much guts as the desktop machine, but what's the point if it just sits on my desk all day. If i need to get anything home, i have a thumb drive on my most of the time, as well as access to mobile me, drop box and google docs.

So that just leaves the "work on the move" argument. Now I have a 5 minute car drive to work every day, so this really doesn't apply to me, but for people with a 1hr+ commute each day, this is valuable time that could be spent doing something. So what do you do sitting on the train with your "device" on your lap. Your not going to be doing any serious gaming (although I'm squre there are people that do the odd WoW instance on the train), and i doubt any a good quality Photoshop work came from a notebook on the lap of someone on a train.

So your basically left with reading emails, which my phone has been my main device for that for over a year now, web page reading, media consumption, and some text editing. Media consumption (and I'm including web page reading in this) is much more palatable with phones with high res screens, but the viewing experience isn't what your would call totally enjoyable.

I'm sure once I was set up, the 17" hp laptop i had would have been a better experience, until the battery ran out 2 hours in (which for the record is about......now), but lugging that beast to and from the station and the motel would have been a nightmare. I'm glad a brought the iPad, it's done everything I've asked of it, land not once have had the foretold "shit, i wish this had flash" moment. Its a light, easy to use device that does almost everything i need, without being burdened by a desktop os, and i think it's awesome.....

...until the guy with the 11" MacBook air just walked in, and made my whole post irrelevant.

Bastard.