last year, the keyboard on my 2006 macbook pro finally gave up the ghost — after several months of intermittent malfunction, a small connector inside the computer at last refused to do its duty altogether, severing my keyboard and trackpad from any meaningful communication with the logic board.  the next day, in accordance with earlier plans, i stood in line to buy one of the first ipads sold, and began an unexpected experiment with the ipad as my primary mobile computer.

given this experience, i thought i'd share a few reflections on using an ipad for a year.  while it's mostly been the sort of joy that few tech companies other than apple can deliver in a first-generation product in an (arguably) entirely new category of devices, there have been the ups and downs one can expect as an entire market segment works out its kinks while you're along for the ride.  these notes are intended, and probably most useful, for those considering their first ipad purchase.  here goes.

1. you still need another computer

this is probably the biggest problem facing any would-be immigrants from the pre-'post-pc' era.  in the strictest sense, the ipad only needs to be plugged in once, to set it up via itunes.  but the average user will be best-off with some sort of base-camp computer to sync with on occasion.  backups of all the ipad's data are accomplished this way, but more critically, system software updates (which apple provides free of cost at irregular interval) can't be done without plugging into itunes.  you'll definitely want these updates - not only are they required in order to run some of the best new apps, but apple often adds huge new functionalities: since i got my ipad, apple upgraded ios with multitasking, printing, airplay video and photo streaming, email enhancements and much more. 

using a macbook pro with a dying battery and no physical inputs is a fairly joyless experience for any purpose, so i replaced mine with a mac mini that now serves as the home base for my ipad.  it's rather trivial to use any computer, mac or pc, to run itunes for this purpose, but for all those without a bunch of old computers taking up space around the house, this is an unfortunate burden.  i look forward to the day when novice or lightweight users can dump any association with the bad old days of computing altogether, and own and operate an ipad without also having to administrate an antiquarian lump of pc hardware with all its attendant woes.  post-pc life should be independent of this albatross, not merely less-dependent.

2. get a keyboard

i had the ipad for almost 6 months without a keyboard, and now 6 months with the apple wireless keyboard.  as i've said, i used the ipad as my only mobile computer for the entirety of that period, and i have to say that it's done a much better job approximating the utility of my late macbook pro when paired with a physical keyboard.  the virtual keys work very well, and certainly allow for mobile use of the ipad for decent text entry, but given the option i never use it over physical keys.  i'm typing this right now on the apple keyboard, and i'm able to type at the same clip as i would on a notebook.  the bluetooth keyboard will fit better in your bag than the keyboard dock - even with a case, my ipad and keyboard are lighter and slimmer than the notebook they replace.  one caveat - the bluetooth connection with the keyboard really sucks battery life, such that an 8-hour workday with heavy keyboard use can drain the ipad from 100% to almost zero.  (complaining about getting "only" 8 hours of mobile computer use is the kind of thing you start to do when you own an ipad, i guess.)

3. if you want to draw, consider a stylus; otherwise skip it

the ipad, as with ios in general, is designed to work without a stylus, steve jobs' contention famously being, in effect, that if your device has a stylus you're doing it wrong.  as someone who has extensively used stylus-based devices from palm and handspring, as well as played with a newton, i agree that the move away from styli for text entry and interface interaction is a major improvement.  in most cases, there's nothing better than direct touch - pressing buttons just makes more sense, and the multiple-toumat nature of the capacitive screen really becomes useful with the ipad's larger format (typing on the on-screen keyboard is greatly facilitated by the ability to hold shift keys and letter keys at the same time).  but for drawing apps, the removal of the stylus isn't the elimination of unnecessary interface abstraction, but instead takes away familiar tools.  to a practiced artist, drawing in many apps will feel like clumsy finger-painting, and though much can be done in this new medium, the unlearning curve is uncomfortable.  i've only had a capacitive stylus for the last few weeks, but in that time i've done more ipad drawing than the total of last year.

capacitive styli aren't perfect - don't expect using one to replicate your wacom tablet's precision or sensitivity. since the ipad screen is tuned to respond to a fat finger press rather than a pinpoint tip, these styli are all fatter and softer than any you're used to with resistive screens.  but unless you've got a cintique, drawing on an ipad screen is going to be much more like really drawing, and much more fun, than using a pen tablet attached to a computer.  the ipad's size also makes it the most portable digital art platform out there, and it feels like a medium-large sketchbook that you can carry with you - but with a staggeringly huge number of potential pages.

for drawing, i use two apps heavily - adobe ideas, a great freemium app that does curve-smoothed vector drawings in a super-simple, just get drawing interface (great for illustrating your thoughts or fast prototyping), and autodesk's sketchbook pro, a powerful bitmap drawing app with dozens of brushes, interesting blending and compositing tools, and some gesture controls.  the fact that i got both of these apps together for a fraction of the cost of one mac app of comparable complexity, and yet find them infinitely more useful and productive than anything i've used for drawing on the mac, says a lot about the potential of this platform from the user perspective.

4. you'll want a case or cover

the ipad is principally a big sheet of glass and some aluminum surrounding a large battery, which apple has somehow fit a computer between.  the glass is fantastic to the touch, and rather scratch-resistant, but by no means is this thing indestructible.  the first little scratch on the screen is a bummer - it'll refract the pixels underneath, and you'll see a tiny little rainbow line on the screen that won't go away.  do yourself a favor and cover it well - not only will you avoid the tragic feeling of loss that follows a blemish on the beautiful screen, you'll bring the ipad with you more places, since you'll be more confident of its safety in your bag.  i've played with the ipad 2's smart cover, and it really does strike me as worth the extra investment, since it adheres to the most vulnerable part of the device.  but i think i'd still want a sleeve or some sort of secondary case to throw it in before i'd feel comfortable carting it around in a bag full of stuff.

5. apps apps apps

the functionality of the ipad out of the box is limited to a web appliance, media player, and lightweight email machine.  i suppose it's conceivable that this is enough for some users.  but the true nature of the ipad, its raison d'être, is running apps - as many have said, because the hardware is so minimal, the interface so basic,and the focus so complete, the ipad effectively becomes the app it's running.  more so than any other computing device i've used, the ipad puts software up front and gets out of the way, almost letting the user forget that the hardware is anything at all.  and though apple's built-in apps are fantastic and serve some core functionalities, the app-centric model means there's a lot to miss in just running what apple has built.  to get the most out of your ipad, you need to download apps.

the good part is that apple has made this fantastically easy.  the app store is really the best discovery, purchase, and installation experience for software ever devised.  because apple curates the store and approves all apps for sale, you as the user can count on the apps found there not being malware out to destroy your computer or steal your information.  you can see ratings and read reviews that other users post about the apps.  when you purchase an app, it's yours forever - even if you delete it from your device, you can download it from the app store again at no charge, and install it on as many ios devices as are attached to your account.  there's no installation process to worry about - after you hit the buy button and enter your password, the app will begin downloading to your home screen immediately.  so take the plunge - try downloading a few to see what's out there.