grade=A for iPad so far

It was nice to be able to work outdoors rather than be stuck in the stuffy air up here, which I will depart again shortly precisely because of the stuffiness. Three key points about the iPad so far:

*The battery life is remarkable. Even as a Mac loyalist, I find the batteries on Mac laptops to be generally fairly pathetic. Not so with the iPad. I corrected all the proofs in 4.5 hours and the battery is still at 55%. I’m estimating a 10-hour battery life for normal use, and that’s exactly what I need: a device that can last for the whole work day plus the commute both ways. This is important, because you have to recharge the device through your computer; there’s no independent electrical cord or even any place to insert one. [ADDENDUM: I’m now told that chargers are available, but most of you probably already knew that.]

*Weight. As an object carried in a shoulder bag, the iPad is almost unnervingly light. What I mean is that it’s so light in comparison with my bag that a few times I had some microseconds of panic, not sure whether I had forgotten to zip the iPad back in the bag again. However, the current iPad is not yet at its ideal lightness for personal use. Your wrists are what feel the weight, and though it’s still pretty light, you’ll feel your wrists start to ache unless you adjust your hand positions every few minutes. I’m sure this will improve drastically over time just as the size and weight of the iPod did. Have you looked at one of the earliest iPods lately? Ha! What clunkers they were at first.

*Screen visibility. I’d give the iPad a B+ here. It’s a lot more readable than a PowerBook outdoors, though not as readable as a Kindle. The main problem is that the screen is too reflective, and you have to position your face in front of the center of the screen in order to prevent seeing reflections of tree branches and dogs and children in the center of what you’re reading.

On the negative side, setup was anything but obvious and foolproof. A few weird glitches came up that I had to research on the web. Nothing too serious, but a new cult technical device ought to be so easy that even the least technically competent person can plug it in and use it within minutes.

I also don’t like its lack of independence from the computer mothership. There would be times when I would prefer to take only the iPad on a trip, but so far I don’t see how that will be possible. At least both can fit in the same bag easily.