iPad annoyances and Samsung's giant Droid-- I mean, Galaxy Tab

The iPad and I have a complicated relationship.

One minute I'm enjoying the utility; reading PDFs, sketching, watching Netflix, doing quick internet searches, or just playing a game. The next minute I'm gripped by futility; crashing after hours of work on a sketch, crashing on picture heavy sites, crashing on picture light sites, crashing on sites in general, crashing with an alternate browser on a random site, crashing when I watch a youtube video in the browser, crashing when I adjust the volume after starting a youtube video, crashing when I zoom in or out of a youtube video in the browser, failing to display any interactivity with youtube, crashing when I youtube in general, locking up on updates, forcing me to stare at a progress bar like a simpleton because it can't multitask, refreshing the large page I'm spawning windows off of every single time I leave it and return to it seconds later, refusing to let me search a site for words (REALLY?! Would "Find" have complicated things too much, Steve?!), refusing to present any content beyond simple java, making me hit "More" twelve times to find the app I want to download only to make me hit "More" twelve more time to get back to where I left off in the list. I could go on, but I'm just angry now.

There is a new update to the iOS, but it still came from Apple, so I don't expect anything more than another layer of polish on this turd of an OS, with a few bells and whistles duct taped it. Any update from Apple would only treat the symptoms, not the disease. Because Apple IS the disease.

While the iPad has been alternatively useful and infuriating, my Android phone has done nothing but improve. This lead to some enthusiasm about Samsung's new Galaxy Tab.

I thought the Tab would make a great mid point between my phone and the iPad. Smaller, handier, more functionality, all on a bigger screen. That is, until I actually played with one.

First impressions were great, the size seemed more versatile, more convenient, and handier, but the screen left something intangible to be desired. After a bit more time with it, I realized that the display was nice, but what was on it hinted at the truth I would find out later. That the Android OS was far from optimized for larger screens. Everything felt clunky. Even at 1Ghz (the speed at which I overclock my Droid), everything seemed slower. Once I started browsing, and looked at media, it kind of brought me back in. The browsing and media had certainly been optimized by Samsung, while the other apps struggled with the larger screen. The more I used it, the more I felt like I was just holding a bigger, clunkier Droid phone with no keyboard. (One thing I must give the iPad is that its keyboard is actually usable with a bit of practice. If only its autocomplete wasn't so terrible it's a source of amusement). Once I had the idea of a giant Droid phone in my head, there was nothing I could do to get it out. The fact that my phone can do so much on a screen I'm quite comfortable watching had made the prospect of a few measly inches a tease.

I don't want a bigger phone, I want a full size tablet. I want an iPad, but I want it to actually do all the shit the iPad can't or won't. I want to browse sites on a full screen, watch flash content on a full screen, read books, view pictures, draw, browse, and multitask on a screen with more real estate!

Sadly, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is the best option for an Android tablet at the moment. Other contenders being deficient in a few large or many small ways. (No Android market support being a troubling norm thankfully broken by the Tab.) That is not to say the Samsung Tab isn't deficient in 600 large ways, but it's the best implementation of the Android OS yet. The fact that it has come so far since the first Android tablets in such a short time is quite reassuring for the future of these devices and the OS itself. The fact that Samsung has already hinted at larger Tabs coming soon makes me wonder if it was just testing the waters with a 7 inch tablet so as not to go head to head with the iPad just yet. Given the feel of the Tab's OS, it seems they've made the right decision. Test and perfect on the 7 incher, then slap Apple across the face with something they can call an iPad killer with a straight face.

Of course, just because I don't need a Samsung Galaxy Tab, doesn't mean you don't. If I didn't have a Droid hacked, overclocked, and unlocked with an iPad waiting for when I want a more comfortably sized screen, I would be sorely tempted to try out apps, video conference, watch flash content, or just read ebooks and browse the net on this handy tablet while testing the waters in the Android pool.

The fact that OS integration is a little dodgy in tablet form is only a minor hurdle given the fact that Android has shown itself surprisingly unafraid of issuing large OS updates that add support and new functionality. It's a whole new world out there now that we've got an OS that is not irrevocably fused to the hardware on which it was originally installed. Plus, if you're the adventurous type like me, just wait until the this thing gets rooted, and individuals start writing custom Android versions for it. The hackability was the major reason I went with the original Droid instead of the soon-to-be-released Droid 2. I think this hardware has some serious potential. It just needs some software that's not afraid to use it.

Updated iPad thoughts

The iPad has actually managed to find a niche in our lives, and has dovetailed in better than I had expected.

I've found the ipad to be somehow freeing as far as internet access is concerned. It seemed so trivial to grab the laptop, sit down on the couch with it on your lap, and fire it up, but now that I don't have to do that, it's extremely convenient. Getting a thought of something to check out, grabbing the ipad sitting conveniently withing arm's reach, pressing the power button for a no-boot startup, and doing your search is awesome. The iPad is slim enough to lean against something or participate in a stack of books, so there's always a place for it. The other unforeseen benefit is that my wife like to stretch out on the couch across my lap, leaving no room for a laptop (even my undersized Inspiron 11z). Being able to have that screen in your hand, and in any position you need has proven to be unexpectedly convenient. The portability makes browsing, youtubeing, and reading more convenient in bed too. It's easier to get your brain going when you're catching up on blogs or news in bed. The weight is still a small issue, but as I said previously, manageable.

Netflix streaming has been far more useful than I thought. With only one teevee, we're usually stuck watching what the other wants, which isn't too bad because we like a lot of the same shows, but if I'm playing a game she doesn't like watching, or if she's watching a show I don't feel like watching, it's easy to fire up Netflix, and pick one of those movies out of your instant queue that you want to watch, but don't think your spouse wants to watch. Maintaining physical closeness while both of you are enjoying the leisure time.

Safari has started being picky about the pages it chooses to load. If you're lucky, it'll crash, and you'll have to reopen it, and kill the page before it loads to the point to crash again. If you're unlucky, it'll try to load so hard that it'll get stuck, making safari completely unusable. And since you can't kill a crashed app, (APPLE PRODUCTS DON'T CRASH WHY WOULD YOU IMPLY SUCH A THING?! HERETIC! BURN HIM! BURN HIM!) you are forced to reboot the whole device. It's apparently a known issue, in that, users know about it, and apple refuses to acknowledge it.

Following Safari's lead, YouTube has been equally picky about videos it loads with ease. Probably 50% of the time, it can't download the video at anywhere near a usable speed. The same videos download just fine on a laptop on the same network. This is also a known issue, in that, users know about it, and apple refuses to acknowledge it. At least there are fixes out. Wait, did I say "fixes?" Because I meant "HILARIOUS fixes!" Check out that site for other data interruptions, and you'll see that doing things like adjusting the brightness fixes the network issue. Apple just gets more and more like Microsoft every day...

The third party app crashing has been lighter, but Sketchbook Pro persists in crashing with annoying regularity when processing transparency for multiple layers. This is particularly annoying because Sketchbook Pro is awesome, and I love playing with it. (though I'm not sure why the resolution is so low) (oh wait, probably for the same reason it crashes when processing transparency for multiple layers) I've just learned to save frequently, or suck it up. You know, just like in Windows...

My previous statement still stands though. It's not worth the money at the moment. Wait until the price comes down, or the next software version, or the next release of hardware with new features, or any combination of those things. You might weight some of those benefits noted here and previously more than I do, so keep that in mind.

This is Apple Perfection™???

Hey, so, you know how Apple is supposed to just work and all that? Say good bye to viruses and crashes, and now available with both great taste AND less filling?

Yeah. No.

I'm going to start keeping track of the amount of crashes I have on the iPad. I figured the first few just had to be flukes, because you don't hear people complain about Apple OSs crashing, because Apples Just Work™. But there I was, working or playing, and boom. Crashes.

The third party app crashes I can give a partial pass to, because Apple didn't write them, but one would expect them to test them for stability. Because a crashing third party app to a common Apple user (hurrr) is probably indistinguishable from an OS crash. I've been amazed by the amount of crashing I've experienced with third party apps, and have started saving my work as I go (which is not always easy depending on the app, because there is no save function, because APPLE PRODUCTS DON'T CRASH WHY WOULD YOU IMPLY SUCH A THING?! HERETIC! BURN HIM! BURN HIM!) So I've gotten into the habit of opening up a new application, doing something, quitting, and coming back to see if it saved. Then saving or quitting or whatever I need to do to protect my updates from a crash every few minutes or few changes I make.

Isn't this what Apple users were trying to get away from? Constantly saving just in case you get a blue screen of death and lose all your work? Now I'm just doing the same damn thing, and without all the extra functionality of a complete OS!

Where was I? Oh yeah, I can half-forgive the third party app crashes, but the Apple apps like iTunes, Safari, and the app store crashing? WTFM8?! This is THEIR application running on THEIR software running on THEIR OS running on THEIR hardware, and I'm still getting crashes? And must the app store reset the breadcrumbs of where I was whenever I install an app? It's hard enough to get a complete listing of a specific type of app in the store without clicking to install one item, being kicked out of the app store just so I can stare at a progress bar, only to return and find I'm back in the top-level category listings! Then to sit there trying to remember what category you were in, or what search you did to get to the listing you found the related app on to get to the one where the similar app listing included the other app you wanted to download. Heaven forbid you want to install two items from the bottom of the listings for a category, and have to click "Show more" wait five seconds, scroll down, click "Show more" again, and repeat 10 times only to install the first app, get kicked out to stare at a progress bar like a simpleton staring at a toaster, then go back to the app store, and do the same thing again for the second app. But hey, I guess it was built around simple, so why not build for simpletons?

I also enjoy watching iTunes or the iPod function shit itself when it has to do more than one thing at a time. Like if you are trying to download, browse, watch, or listen when a TOS update comes up, or you have to reenter your password. This morning there was a good 30 seconds of hesitant half-function before the app store choked to death on its own vomit and collapsed as the home screen popped up just in time to prevent me from seeing the app store deathrattle and release its bowels. At this point, I (of course) immediately clicked on the app store again and chuckled while the OS spent 20 or 30 seconds cleaning up the shit and vomit before reanimating the corpse and lurching it up on the screen.

All that said, blah-bitty-bloo, still not worth your money just yet, still a fun toy, etc.

Basic OS functionality? There's an app for that.

I was playing around with the sketchbook app, and made a bunny.

[pause for chorus of applause]

Technically I made two bunnies after the first one disappeared when the iPad crashed, but-- Ok. She wanted me to send her the file, so instead of setting up one of my e-mail accounts on the iPad, I just logged into gmail from Safari. I composed an e-mail and clicked to add the attachment... Except I couldn't browse the file system... Weird. Well I guess they want me to use their e-mail tool instead of doing it my way. Figures. Instead, I browsed to imageshack to do the upload so I could just send her the link... Except I couldn't browse the filesystem... Huh. Could it be that safari truly doesn't have an internet browser based file system browser? I think a moment, and remember Flickr. Flickr! Flickr is all Web Two-point-oh-y so it has to have functionality on the super hip Apple OS. I browse to Flickr, and I can't do any uploads. This was after I browsed the Flickr pool of other people's sketches they did on their iPads. How were those people uploading? Oh! There's got to be an app for it. Then I realized why there had to be an app for it.

The reason there are so many apps for doing tiny, menial tasks such as uploading files, using social networking sites, and almost any site with ajax involved, was because the OS couldn't do any of those things.

But why would they make an OS that had that basic functionality built in, when they could remove it, and sell an app for $0.99 that adds the functionality they clearly went out of their way to disable?

Amazing. I am both disgusted and impressed.

iPadulations

Because the business my partner and I started targets companies that don't know about the type of service we are offering, and haven't been actively (or correctly) marketed to, we ran into difficulty explaining the specifics of what we can do for them. Our elevator speech needed to be adjusted depending on the business of the person we were talking to, and even then, it wasn't always clear to the potential customer exactly what we were talking about.

We thought about the problem for a bit, and decided that this might be the only legitimate use for the iPad. We can get a 3G model, VPN into our network, and show them some interactive sample data without having to ask for internet access or commandeer their workstation.

For that reason and one other, my business partner and I bought two iPads. Both 32 gigs, one wifi+3G, one wifi only. We have yet to try out the 3G service, but for how shitty AT&T's voice network is, their data network has been fast and solid for both of us.

My derisive complaints remain; no card reader, no standard media storage, no flash player, proprietary everything, limited (and often buggy) applications, and a simplified, locked-down, lowest common denominator OS. I laughed at the early adopters because I knew that Apple was going to wait 6-12 months, and release a new iPad with one of those features added. Then 6-12 months later? One more feature. I never would have bought one personally, considering the above issues and the excessive cost.

But now that I have one...

The Good
The interface is flawless, as is par for Apple. You could give it to a chimp, and an hour later, he'd be setting up an RSS reader for his favorite blogs, and playing Words with Friends with another chimp in Florida. The ad says "You already know how to use it." and they aren't lying.

The display is brilliant. The color reproduction and contrast are fucking beautiful. The brightness effectively blends every fingerprint smudge away. No color weirding when viewing at any angle. Perfection.

The battery life is very good. Use it for hours, and watch it drop to 99%. It's not measured in days like a lower-tech e-reader, and it might be worse for movies on Netflix or something, but for casual use for a variety of purposes, I think they've found a great balance. No complaints here.

The reading of websites and blogs is quite optimized. The text rendering is sharp and clean, and the horizontal lock feature is very useful. I think they wanted to be very sure to get this right.

The Bad
I hate to sound like nutnfancy, but it's just barely too heavy. This is a tiny problem, but it's noticeable when you hold it in certain positions for more than a minute. It also affects unsupported one handed holding. Again, not a big issue.

Playing videos is hobbled due to Apple's "No video format exists except Quicktime" mentality. I have yet to find a working WMV player, and the one system that is supposed to play MPEGs and other formats requires they be streamed through a separate local server. Youtube plays, and is technically integrated with the browser, but there seems to be some intangible clunkiness there. I guess they've got to keep you buying movies from iTunes.

No multitasking. I know this was done intentionally to keep things simple, but I think we're ready to listen to Pandora while we browse the internet. Our heads won't explode, Steve. We've been multitasking since Windows 3.1, so this refusal is starting to wear thin. I suspect we'll have to wait two more iPad revisions before they provide the software to add this functionality, and it almost certainly will not work on previously released hardware.

The keyboard is debatably bad, but I've heard reports of people with enough practice using it easily. It's too easy to drop the blade of your hand or an errant finger onto the keyboard, and inadvertently add a few letters to your word. So try it out for yourself to see if you can work with it. But the fact that the F and J keys are rendered with the touch tab on them should tell you everything you need to know :]

File transferring is cumbersome without using iTunes (tough if you run linux). Fortunately DropBox is free and effective at getting files from your computer to your iPad, but that doesn't change the fact that Apple wants you to use iTunes instead of your tool of choice to transfer files... Or maybe they just want to be able to add the card reader in the next version. Either way, it's a dick move.

Conclusion
So it's too physically heavy, too software complicated, and too expensive to be a good e-reader; and it's too software incompatible, too unfamiliar in form, and too simple to be a netbook laptop. But I guess that's what Apple was going for. It's not either of those things, it's just an iPad. Nothing more or less. But the question is, was there a market for an in-between device? Apple has created new markets before, but fucking over loyal early adopters can overshadow popularity and cult following.

I don't think I'd buy one with my own money. I might wait for the inevitable 3rd or 4th generation, when it has more of the features we would expect to get standard from any other company, and is at a price we would merely scoff at from any other company.

All that said, good on Apple for recognizing how to squeeze money out of its followers, and exploiting it for the largest profits it can get from the market. Also, Apple's management of their market demand is nothing short of brilliant. From a technical standpoint, I think their offerings are sub-par, but from a business standpoint? Their ability to create markets where there were none, and drain every available cent out of them is stupefying.

So far, I've been enjoying Dominion in the time my wife isn't glued to the awesome that is Words With Friends. Dropbox is an easy way to do file transferring, and is free. Private Media Folders is also free $3.99 and worth it, and provides a password protected area in which to store your files.