So, there’s a new iPad. The same day that it was announced I had someone asking me whether it was worth having.
Which of course begs the question, what is an iPad good for.
I’m in the position where I have an iPad (2) for work, and therefore I don’t need to justify why I purchased one. I don’t even need to justify why my work purchased me one, I develop apps for iOS – there is no alternative to having an iPad for that work.
From the day I got the iPad there were two things I knew I’d use it for (aside from the development bit), reading comics and casual web browsing in front of the television.
The web browsing is good, but a smallish laptop is pretty much as useful for that (except in summer). For reading comics it’s far better than a laptop, whether they’re the sort that’d been scanned in for digital reading or the new breed of digital comics – a laptop doesn’t come close.
The one other thing that I use for iPad for is cooking, it’s great for having in the kitchen and referring to recipes, and somehow the screen doesn’t seem to get as dirty as a laptop keyboard.
However, at the end of all this, I’m now sure I could justify the cost if I were paying it, an iPad for half the current retail price would probably have me on board, but until then, it’s too much of a luxury.
This all of course isn’t specific to the new iPad. The bigger screen does look fantastic, and a faster processor and better graphics should mean that the larger screen doesn’t slow the whole thing down too much, but at the end of the day, it’s still a luxury item.