Aug 11 2010
Is that an iPad in your Sandbox? Or are you just happy to see me?
As an early adopter I have a roomful of must-have techno gadgets from the Palm Pilot to the first generation iPod, so it was no surprise to my family that an iPad found it’s way into our home.
There is much hype in the media, “Will the iPad save publishing?” “Will the iPad change advertising?” “Will the iPad be a Kindle Killer?” There is a lot of power in those questions related to this flat screen gizmo, and it is surely too soon to tell the outcome. I do have a few early observations of how I use the iPad and how I plan to create programming for it.
What the iPad does well is surf the web. Much more fun to swipe and slide then to mouse and scroll. I had long ago given up my printed newspaper in favor of iPhone App readers like the New York Times and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the shape of the iPhone required a custom made App to quickly assess stories and to assemble content in a more mobile reader format. On the iPad, most of the standard newspaper websites work just fine. Although some publishers have noticeably optimized their web content for iPad users. My biggest pet peeve–the news site advertisements where I slide my finger to move down the page. On some sites this triggers annoying new ad windows to open. Online ads have their place in the economics of news sites–they just need to be in a more friendly place for iPad use.
On average, I browse three news sites and read about 12 to 15 blogs each morning. There is no better tool for reading blogs than an iPad, and with the share capability built into many websites and blogs, it is also a breeze to share my favorite articles with my Facebook Friends or my Twitter followers.
After many false starts, the promise of the paperless office may have finally arrived. Whether a two page word document or a 100 page PDF, I read a documents with the ease of a paperback. And I annotate, highlight and even write notes in the margins.
Now, my one caveat is that there is one aspect of the iPad experience that has yet to live up to the hype is video and motion content. Beyond the YouTube app and non-flash motion, iPad users miss the promised full multimedia experience from Flash-animated sites. Many publishers are just now rolling out their new content and I suspect that much of it will be geared for the iPad user. It will be interesting to see if these multimedia add-ons are just bells and whistles or if they add real value to the viewer experience.
Having said all that, as a photographer and multimedia producer, I see the iPad and other tablet platforms offering enhanced web experiences as an opportunity for my clients to deliver their messages in exciting new ways. Its a sign that multimedia is here, and I’m excited about the possibilities of how these tools will change our art. We have a big sandbox, let’s make some castles.
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