My life, my iPad

MANILA, Philippines - It has been one iCrazy week — an iPad-crazy week, that is.

I wasn’t sure that owning an iPad was one of the best investments to make. Matter of fact, it took me quite a while to really get the nerve (and the funds, too) to check out just what an iPad could do, given all the brouhaha about it.

There is nothing that compares to holding a live unit. So off it was to my fave suking tindahan, which as my lucky stars would have it, had units readily available.

How to make my room Wi-Fi-capable was the first thing that came to mind. I know, I know, it is quite simple to do — but at home I use broadband and since I am the only one at home, there is no reason to set up a Wi-Fi network in my house.

I got myself the cheapest router I could find, asked the salesman to explain to me how to configure the device, and then bought it because the explanation seemed simple enough.

Sure, I hemmed and hawed about getting an iPad. Who wouldn’t? It isn’t cheap, but there is something to be said about iPods, iPhones and now iPads — gadget lovers like me will die a slow death without them.

The Wi-Fi time has come to my home

I was amazed at how quickly one can get a router up and working if the desire is there. Or has router setting-up become simpler through the years? I wonder. Whatever, my room was Wi-Fi-ready in less than 10 minutes. I kid you not. It was really quite a simple and painless process.

iPad-ready is what I like to call my room. As Cola, my regular doggie companion, snuggled close, I opened the box that held my iPad.

It took me another three minutes to set up my e-mail addys, Facebook and Twitter — which are my regulars when it comes to socializing on the Net.

I synced the iPad with the iTunes on my Macbook. Personalize, personalize. It was so much fun I sort of forgot that I had a meeting to go to in an hour. I cancelled the meeting; what could be more important than setting up an iPad, right?

iLike, iPad

If there is one thing that I have discovered about the iPad, it’s that it is a unique device that complements, rather than replaces, existing computers and smartphones.

At least for now, since the iPad 3Gs are not yet available worldwide. When the 3G iPad becomes available hereabouts, I could change my mind.

There is no learning curve involved with any of the Apple products. All of them run on the same applications and formats. I really like that once you have fallen in love with any of the “i” products of Apple, it is easy to get a hang of the new products the company introduces.

I had been told that the iPad was too big for a purse - well, it’s a good thing I carry a bag because the iPad fits my bag just perfectly.

I also like the iPad’s size. This is one time where I will agree that bigger is better. Reading e-books, moreso e-comic books, was such a pleasure. Since I am into graphic novels, I downloaded a few, and at $1.99 each I could not go wrong.

At 1.5 lbs, the iPad has heft — its glass face and big internal battery make it feel dense. The iPad’s gently curved back makes it easy to pick it up one-handed. Its satin finish is pleasant to touch.

A black glass front dominates the iPad’s visual effect. A black bezel between each edge and the actual screen display offers a place for thumbs to hold the iPad without obscuring pixels. A single Home button graces the front. A power/sleep button is on the top edge, while volume and rotation-hold switches are nearby, on the top-right edge.

A stereo headphone jack and microphone are on the top edge opposite the power button. On the bottom edge, a Dock port is underneath the Home button, and a single speaker opening to its right provides an outlet for two small, stereo speakers inside. The stereo effect is completely lost, but when docked, the iPad’s sound reflects off a table surface and seems to spread out. Its speakers have considerably more volume than a MacBook’s.

All hands on iPad

Using the iPad is a tactile, intimate experience, as with the iPhone and iPod Touch. It is a gadget that you manipulate with the use of your hands. Fix the interface: tap icons and buttons, stretch and shrink images and webpages, drag objects around, all with your fingers, not with a proxy pointer like a mouse. Typing with the virtual keyboard takes a little getting used to. But I could write a story if I had to, although I may get an external keyboard to make the iPad almost perfect.

Let me just say that I did find the iPad’s on-screen virtual keyboard easier to use than that of the iPhone or iTouch — simply because it was bigger.

There are quite a few specialized virtual keyboards available on-screen, including QWERTY-Japanese and Simplified Chinese Handwriting.

Apps away

I spent a lot of (fun!) time on the iTunes store looking for iPad apps. I got games — the same ones that I play on my iPhone and which are now iPad-ready.

Cooking Mama, Bookworm, Creeps and a few more are loaded on the iPad. I love it when I have some free time waiting in the car because it is fun to play games — on the big screen of the iPad.

I also like the boxing game, which was uploaded for me. It allows me to hit a virtual boxer and get hit back. It’s the game I play when my mood is not at its best.

Apple has redesigned the interface of every app it offers for the big screen — successfully.

Play any way with the iPad, and the screen follows immediately. Any side is up! But you can also lock the screen to one orientation, with the switch on the side of the device, so turning it physically doesn’t reorient the graphics automatically.

Just for me

When I look at my iPad, I like to think of it as a blank sheet of paper where I can put and configure whatever apps I want on the screen. This way, the iPad becomes an extension of who I am.

I don’t know if the iPad is for everybody. But I do know that anyone who comes to hold it will fall for it. I know because I have a few friends who have fallen in love with my iPad.

I also just love the fact that I can now show off the wonderful photos of my doggie companions in such a big and clear screen. I also love it that I can leave the MacBook at home and carry the iPad in my bag for whenever and wherever I might need it.