iPAD Reality Check

Sometime ago I was lusting after an iPAD (jan 2010). I could envisage lots of uses for such a device around my home, at work and generally as a mobile device instead of lugging a laptop.
Now I've got one, or should I say, my library has bought a couple of devices for staff use. Yeah!! I have been bringing it home and figuring out the pros and cons of the device.
Dealing with "the Apple Way" was the first learning point. From a person who has used PC's her whole life, the Apple Way of doing things is a little different. Downloading iTunes onto my work PC, authorising it and syncing iTunes with the iPAD was relatively easy, if somewhat counter-intuitive to 20 years of PC using.
Downloading Apps from the iStore was easy - very similar to my Android Phone.
Paying for iWorks Apps such as Pages, Keynote and Numbers has enabled the device to be used with office files but it hurts that I need to download the three apps separately. Perhaps my systems admins can use a different, networked approach?
The interface with iTunes Apps File Sharing is workable but cumbersome. However, the document I transferred from the iPAD  to the appropriate folder and then opened in Word 2007 worked like a dream. No importing problems or formatting problems so far.
So far I have avoided as much of the "cloud" as possible, for reasons to do with privacy and security, but I will have to approach that issue sooner or later.
I have downloaded eBooks, podcasts and iView programs - all good. More on eBooks later!
I have used the iPAD at a planning meeting, taking notes as the discussion evolved. I have loaded photos and used it as a photo slideshow, and I used the device in a particular Library Program.
The inbuilt camera is useful for Skype but does not have high enough resolution to use it as a camera. The size of the iPAD makes it difficult to focus as well.
I have also projected the iPAD screen onto a data projector.
The BAD part is the lack of Flash support - none of the Children's online databases subscribed to by my library work as all need Flash!
The interface is intuituve, easy to use and of course a little bit limiting.
But it is a fine piece of engineering and great to use while sitting on the couch in front of the fire!

eBook Readers

I just received my Choice Computer magazine in the mail today so immediately opened it to page 16 for the eBook Reader test titled "Virtual Bookshelves". The article tested 6 eBook readers from Eco Reader, BeBook Mini, Sony Reader to Amazon Kindle. While I found the Computer Choice article informative it was lacking some in-depth discussion on Digital Rights Management issues as well as the likelihood of Australian content appearing in ePUB (or other) formats.

Unfortunately, only a mention was made of the Apple iPad as it has not been released as yet in Australia. 28th May is the release date according to this Computerworld article

I have heard rumours that the new Apple iBookstore app will be selling books at an inflated price in comparison to the US store. Certainly the local pricing of the device itself is higher than the direct international price conversion so it will be interesting to see how fast the device will sell-out and how many new Australian books it will have available.

Choice mentioned "its a good idea to get some hands-on time with each model on your wish list so you can get a feel for it ". It would be nice to see whether this can happen - for example who sells Kindle readers here in Melbourne?? Let me know please!

But I am looking forward to seeing my readers start to purchase these devices. With WiFi connectivity I'm sure I will be asked to assist in setting up the device to use with the Library WiFi service and then asked to show users how to download the iBooks. So thanks Choice for an informative beginners article!!