As a student and researcher, there are a few basic things I’m looking for in the Apple iPad
- A word processor
- Web browser
- PDF reader with markup
At the Jan 27th presentation, Apple announced that each of the iWork applications was ported over for the iPad (Pages, Keynote, Numbers), so that takes care of the first. It’s running Safari, so that takes care of the web broswer. That just leaves the third and most important application.
I think it’s fabulous that textbooks will finally be available in a usable device. Not only that, but the iPad is powerful enough to do interactive animations and video… so publishers can go far beyond the written word.
As almost anyone in academic can tell you: we read a lot of articles! Absolutely necessary is a decent PDF reader with the ability to do basic markup (highlighting, bookmarks, notes). Personally, I would be thrilled if Apple ported Preview over to the iPad. It’s PDF manipulating abilities are perfect for 99% of what I need to do. If Apple doesn’t make a preview-like application, then there’s a nice opportunity for a company like Mekentosj to port Papers to the iPad along with a PDF reader/editor.
I have Papers for the iPhone, but quite frankly… trying to read something inflexible like a PDF on a tiny screen is just a pain.
Back in 2003, I purchased and tried using an Acer C110 tablet for just such a task. Windows XP tablet edition was SLOW and I didn’t have the software I needed. The touch interface on the iPad, and long battery life will certainly make a big difference in the usability of the tablet. The one question: will anyone develop a usable stylus? I’ve tried a pogo and it was terrible. It had bad precision and was quite unresponsive with tapping. I’d rather not have to use a stylus, but it might be nice to have for drawing.
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Reading on the iPad is going to be much better than other devices. The big screen clearly puts it ahead of iPhones for readability but I think the way you hold it may be even more important. Reading PDFs on my laptop while sitting on the couch works pretty well but heat becomes an issue pretty quickly. I’m assuming the iPad will not generate as much heat as a laptop and the way you hold it will make any heat it does produce less of an issue. Typing on the virtual keyboard doesn’t look particularly fun but will have to wait and see.
I am curious what your recommended PDF editor is these days. Adobe Acrobat Pro?
For me, Preview in Leopard and up does everything I need. I can comment, highlight, and split/combine PDFs. Acrobat works fine, but it’s a little slow and over-featured for what I need.