(+) Follow-up: Using the Apple iPad for Several Days

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

On April 3, I received a new Apple iPad tablet computer, used it for a few hours, and then wrote an article entitled "A Hands-On Review of the new Apple iPad." Basically, that article described my first impressions using the new device. I now have been using the one-and-a-half-pound tablet computer for several days and have learned still more. Most of my initial impressions remain the same, but I have learned many more details about the device as I spent hours with it. I thought I would share a few of my "later lessons."

In short, I still like the iPad, and I carry it with me most everywhere. However, having a full-sized display screen means that the iPad is a full-sized device. I still describe it as "portable," but it certainly isn't so convenient that I want it strapped to my side all day long. I also cannot carry it in a pocket. My earlier iPhone is far more convenient, primarily because of its smaller size. Like the iPad, the iPhone is a handheld computer. However, it is also a cell phone and a camera, functions that are lacking in the iPad. Best of all, the iPhone is attached to my belt all day long, every day. That's not practical with the larger iPad.

The iPad will never replace my iPhone. Or will it? See another possible solution later in this article.

Of course, ladies carry purses; so, they may not be bothered by this limitation. The iPad easily slips into a medium-sized purse. Men typically expect to carry electronic devices in their pockets or on their belts. The iPad isn't practical for that. And, no, I am not about to purchase a man's "European shoulder bag" as mentioned in one of the current television commercials!

As much as I love the large screen on the new iPad, I am still using the iPhone more than the iPad to check my email, read the news, and perform other casual web surfing. However, I love the iPad's big screen and excellent graphics. Surfing the web is certainly easier on the big screen and showing pictures to others (as I did this morning) is much, much better on the iPad than on the iPhone.

I love using a finger instead of a mouse to navigate with the iPad. Other reviewers have questioned the lack of a mouse and have speculated that the iPad would fail in the marketplace because of this omission. After using the iPad for several days (and the iPhone for a much longer time), I can report that a mouse now feels unnatural. Mother Nature gave each of us ten fingers and using those fingers is a much more comfortable experience than using a mouse. I have found that pointing, touching, and "dragging" icons with my finger on the iPad is superior to using a mouse. I now consider a mouse to be as desirable as a walking cane: use it if you have to, but it will never be as good as using what Mother Nature gave you.

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