iCloud was undoubtedly what tipped me over the edge to buy an iPad. It hadn’t launched and few technical details were available, but the idea of iCloud and Apple’s reputation for eminently usable technologies had me convinced that it was going to transform mobile computing. After a couple of months this reality has not manifested itself for me, but the potential is certainly there. There are many good points, there are gaps that have no solution yet (the bad) and there are those gaps for which inelegant solutions exist (the ugly). I’m going to reflect on these from my own point of view as a researcher whose needs are for a) manipulating text documents and b) a mobile library of PDF documents. More…
I originally bought the iPad as a laptop replacement thinking I’d probably have to scale back my mobile access to some things I normally use a computer for. Silly me.
Mail, web browsing and games are functions that the iPad and iOS are well-known to excel in.
But, I’m most impressed by:
1. Pages and The Thesis. The only thing it’s missing is EndNote references. But this is not really important for me when I’m out and about (i.e. in the library).
2. Evernote for organised note-taking. And it synchronises with my desktop.
3. Readdle Docs for synchronised access to all my documents. My whole PhD is currently 2GB. Easy. Plus I can access my Google Docs. Mind you, this will probably be replaced with iCloud when it launches.
4. Citrix Receiver for access to work. Not that I want to encourage myself or need to work at all hours, but it helps. And given how well the Citrix app works, I’m think of replacing my work desktop with the iPad – BYO style.
5. Textastic for editing code locally or on remote servers. Am looking after a few websites at the moment and it helps to have a nice editor for any emergency coding. Textastic is it.
6. Flipboard‘s magazine layout for any type of feed is just plain sexy.
But, all of this is not really possible without Apple’s Smart Cover. Whether I want to attach one of my Apple wireless keyboards or simply have a more comfortably inclined iPad for using the on-screen keyboard, the Smart Cover can handle it.
It took me a while to get there, but am thoroughly convinced I won’t ever need a laptop.