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Stuart and I have had our iPad now since the first day it was sold by Apple. As developers we stood in line to pick up our reserved device at our local Apple Store about one month ago. The new iPad 3G is now released, one month later, and it is also apparently off to a great start.
We are adapting our Life Balance app to run on the iPad, and it is an interesting process. We are playing with some of the existing apps to get a sense of what works and what doesn't.
One thing is clear, the iPad is not just a big screen iTouch and it is not a flat tablet Powerbook either. It is its own thing.
It has its own quirks, strengths and patterns of use.
The iPad really does video and sound very well. It is pleasant to watch a movie, or a TV episode on it. I don't watch a lot of TV. I am just not a couch potato. When time comes for television viewing, I usually get up and move around and putter, and do other stuff. Nevertheless, I have been watching the series, "Castle" on the iPad. I am not sure why, exactly. I am certain that it goes beyond the obvious reason that Nathan Fillian is ruggedly handsome, and I am sentimental about Firefly.
I am watching the iPad, or listening to radio in some new circumstances. For instance, I was surprised to notice that I was watching the ABC series, from their iPad App as I brush my teeth?!! One major difference is that the iPad can follow me around the house, rather than me sitting on the sofa, and the screen is still large enough to be viewed at a comfortable distance. I do not feel that there is in any danger of it falling in the sink, and my hands are free.
After a month using the iPad, I find that it reminds me of the little beige transistor radio with the pull up antenna and the string wrist strap that I used to climb trees with as a kid. Over the weekend, we set the iPad up in a friend's kitchen to play some tunes as we chopped fruit and veggies for a shared meal, and like some high tech and yet still primal campfire, we all started to sing along. I can totally imagine hanging out in the hammock with the iPad. It is strange to think of the iPad as the book you read in a tent in the backyard as the other kind of fireflies drift by with their friendly yellow glow. At least the iPad comes with its own flashlight if you want to read under the covers.
For Life Balance, I think this means that people might use our software when they are more relaxed, open to new ideas and in more casual settings. Using the device ourselves influences our design decisions as we continue our work to release our App on the iPad. There is only so much we can learn from a simulation. Our customers might find themselves doing more of their personal planning in their shorts and flip flops, rather than in neckties and suits. That might be very pleasant too.
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Copyright @ 2010, Catherine E. White, permission is granted for this article to be redistributed and shared with others in its entirety as long as links and attribution are maintained. Catherine E. White is president of Llamagraphics, Inc., developer of Life Balance™ software for Mac OS X, Windows, Palm OS and iPhone. Life Balance provides a structure for your goals, projects and tasks that is priority driven, so you can to make better decisions about how to use your discretionary time. To learn more, please visit http://www.llamagraphics.com/
