Why I Like The iPad Mini, And Why That's A Problem (This Month)

[f4f3]

Yes, I bought an iPad Mini today. Don't try and look surprised, you knew I would. 
I'd just been paid on the same day that it came out, and if that's not an omen I don't know what is (I also got word of a £2.5k tax rebate tonight, but I'd already bought it, so that's no excuse). 
I was working from home today, so thought I'd have time to nip into town at lunchtime, and pick one up at the Apple Store. I also needed to drop off my shirts for washing, so it wasn't an unnecessary trip (see what I mean about omens?). Someone tipped me off on Face Book that there were queues at the Apple Store, so I parked in the Buchannan Galleries, and had a look in John Lewis' which had plenty of Minis, with their standard two year guarantee. 

So I bought one. 

What do I think of it? Well for one thing, it's bigger than I expected - that is, the screen is bigger. It seems to be not much smaller than the original iPad, which is strange, as the actual tablet is much smaller. The screen is also pretty good. I know it isn't a retina, but it looks good on HD video, and better than the Kindle for text (it ought to be - my Kindle was half the price). For browsing it seems to be pretty snappy, and it is ideal for reading magazines. It's a much better form factor than the full size iPad for reading and browsing, and for watching movies, because it fits in the hand so much easier. It isn't any better for typing than the iPad, but it isn't any worse. So it does the thing I liked about the iPad, consuming content, better than the iPad and it's much cheaper. 

And there's the rub. It's all about consuming: watching, reading, clicking. It isn't about generating. I wouldn't write anything longer than a Tweet on it, if I had my way. I'm writing this on my laptop, and the iPad is lying next to it (and the iPhone is lying next to that. Yes, I do like them Apples). And this month, I want to be all about the writing. 

I'm doing NaNoWriMo, after a fashion. After about a year of writing I'm 13.5k words into a novel (it's called Lifting Stones, and I'm quite fond of it). I'm going to try to add 50k to that total this month, or however many words it takes to finish it (I've just started chapter 9, of a 21 chapter outline). 

So the last thing I want is a very cute device for reading, browsing, watching movies and playing games. 

Which makes me wonder why I bought one today...

Comments

[widgetfox.livejournal.com]

Step one is admitting we're powerless.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I won't be buying any other Apple products this year. Unless they are gifts, of course.

[parthenia14.livejournal.com]

Ah, give my love to Dalriada. Very much missing it at this time of year.

[widgetfox.livejournal.com]

I think you might have missed the sense of what I wrote.

[deililly.livejournal.com]

To loan to me for the month of November :P

[andrewducker]

Because: Shiny.

The only reason I want a tablet is to read comics on. And having done so on a 10" model, I've realised what I really want is a 12" one. Which, sadly, don't exist (yet).

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I think you may be wrong.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Love is given. I took the bus up yesterday, which gave me much more time to look out of the window and sigh - the trees are beautiful.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

No, that wasn't it... ;-P

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I'm in two minds about reading comics online. The only way it seems to work for me is on my laptop (which, not coincidentally, has a 13 inch screen). I think once we get more comics written for tablets, that might change.
And incidentally, do you have NETFLIX? Just found out last night that they have a ton of motion-comics on line, including Whedon's run on the X-Men. They make strangely compelling viewing.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Just gave the mini a spin on Marvel's site - not too bad at all. It may be the size, but I don't expect to see more than one panel at a time now, and the story (Daredevil 100) flowed ok in panel view. I do miss the page layouts though.

[andrewducker]

I recommend grabbing a CBR reader - and I can chuck you the complete Miracleman if you like, which would give you a chance to try it out with full-on pages.

(I don't feel guilty about sharing Miracleman, as they aren't willing to sell it to me. The second it's available in luxury hardback format I'll be buying that.)

[andrewducker]

I'm not terribly interested in motion comics. I've tried watching them and they feel like an awkward halfway house to me.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I would love to see Mike Moran on the small screen - I do have the full collection somewhere (unless it was lost in one of my moves) but they are getting pretty crumbly now (I wonder if the "10 years later" story from the Warrior Special ever got collected... "Did I ever tell you about my wife").

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

That's what I thought about the Watchmen motion comic (well, the "Tales of the Black Freighter" to be exact) but these were pretty nice. And directed by Neal Adams, of all people, and John Cassaday himself.

[deililly.livejournal.com]

Rats! :P

The tablet thing is getting pretty interesting. Proper user friendly technology for all age groups. The iPad was the first piece of tech I have seen Maw properly love. She likes tech and enjoys it. But the ipad was the first thing I have heard her talk about as one of the best gifts ever. Her laptop is barely used now. She has decided that once it dies she is just going to have a desktop for any proper work typing etc (sis is building one with server capabilities I think) and just keep on with the iPad. Which I didn't expect at all since she is a typist who complained bitterly at how keyboards were changing.

I am having a moment of "holy hell! The future, we are actually in it!"