Two Months With The iPad...

A Love Story - Part I

Next week will mark a personal anniversary of sorts; it will be the two month mark for my iPad and I.

We had a rocky start and like any couple bound for catharsis and redemption, the stage was set for an eventual reunion.

When I first spotted the iPad, cradled lovingly in Mr. Jobs' arms during an Apple keynote address, I knew it was love and I thought to myself:

"This is the future of computing!"

I mean, how could it not be the beginning of something?

Wasn't this the magical and revolutionary device that Mr. Jobs promised us. Wasn't this the device that was going to revolutionize the way that I would use the interwebz? Wouldn't I have the power of the Internet and the sum total of human knowledge at my very fingertips!?

How could this beautiful piece of hardware be anything but magical? This svelte, wonderful pound-and-a-half slab of aluminum, glass and awesome that, roughly, three months later I held in my excited hands.

"Will this replace my laptop?"

"Can it do all of the things my laptop does?"

"Will it significantly alter my mobile computing experience?"

Questions plagued my mind as I struggled to contemplate the iPad's potential place in my digital lifestyle. I am unashamed to admit that I was smitten with the device when it was first announced.

The answers to all of the questions that I hitherto discussed with myself came in early April of 2010 when I finally purchased an iPad.

I am an "early-adopter". Early adopters often bear the burden of being burned by the bugs of first generation products (or "G1" products in geek-speak). Less importantly to the masses, but more importantly to their fellow geeks, is the "fan-boy" stigma associated with early adopters. I steeled myself for this stigma and reaffirmed my commitment to a philosophy, rather than a vendor. I wanted to be "that guy"! I wanted to be on the cutting edge of technology!

My first go-around with the iPad wasn't as successful as I thought it would be. I tried using the iPad as a laptop replacement. A job that it clearly was not intended to do. I didn't appreciate it's capabilities, I took it for granted and couldn't see it for what it was. I tried to change it and make it something I wanted it to be.

My initial approach was all wrong and doomed to fail from the outset.

I made all of the mistakes.

In short, I failed to see a good thing!

I ended up selling my iPad to a woman who was very excited to purchase one. Clearly she was in love.

"If you love something set it free" I thought "and if it comes back to you it was meant to be..."

I gave the woman a deal: I didn't charge her the sales tax and ridiculous recycling fee (i.e. tax) that I was charged when I bought my iPad.

I decided that my iPad was never coming back to me...

That was the end of my odyssey for several months, or so I thought.

The reality was that my experiences with the iPad and the possibilities therein were just beginning!