In a prior post, I took a first look at the iPad 3G. I don’t usually leave town without my Macbook Pro, but this past weekend I traveled to Boston with only my iPad 3G.
Performance
To test the performance of AT&T’s 3G network, I used XTreme Labs Speedtest Application. With wifi turned off and both devices running on battery, I tested the iPad, stopped, then tested the iPhone. Not terribly scientific, but hopefully ensured that one device did not lag because the tower was being bursted by traffic from the other device.
iPhone 3GS
- 32GB
- iPhone OS 4.0 beta 3
- Baseband 05.13.04
(Screen shot of iPhone 3GS Speedtest)
iPad 3GS
- 16GB
- iPhone OS 3.2
- Baseband 06.15.00
(Screen shot of iPad Speedtest)
Findings
The iPhone 3GS had a faster download speed (1670kbs vs 1352 kbs); the iPad’s latency was higher (273ms vs 166ms). Any number of factors could have caused these variations between these two data points. In general, I will say that the performance of the iPad 3G seems very comparable to that of the iPhone 3GS, if not faster.
Data Plan Cost
I activated the $30/month unlimited data plan from AT&T on May 4th, and have used the 3G as often as I was away from any wifi access; as of May 13th I have only used 88MB. My sense is: even if I was in a hotel for 3-5 days and did not want to pay for wifi there, 250MB would still be sufficient. With that said, using Google maps on the street or in the car is amazing; I continue to be amazed at the usability and performance of Street View on the iPad using 3G.
Usability
I briefly touched on the usability aspects of the iPad in my prior post. Over the past 10 days, I have shifted as much daily work as possible to the iPad to answer the question, what does it NOT do well? Thus far, it is a very short list.
Browser-based Applications
The touch screen keyboard the iPad provides is not as fast as a physical keyboard, but it is pretty close. It is significantly faster than hunting and pecking on the iPhone or iPod Touch. I was able to touch type long emails fairly precisely.
Google Docs
There has been some criticism on the Internet about the lack of productivity applications for the iPad, and the incongruence between Apple’s own iLife desktop applications and those for the iPad. My acquaintances, who have used the iLife apps for iPad, have spoken pretty positively.
The mobile GMail interface on the iPhone has, for some time, supported easy viewing of MS Office attachments. Now that Google Docs is 100% HTML5, it is fast becoming a mobile productivity solution. When you venture off the supported path, you are warned:
That said, the interface shows you your folders and document types stored in the Google cloud:
Documents support all the features/formatting of a Microsoft Word document:
Spreadsheets are just that:
Currently, Spreadsheets have limited support for editing:
Presentations is a suitable replacement for PowerPoint:
Technical writers and those who create a lot of content in Word/Excel/PowerPoint may not find it a suitable replacement, but for those who primarily view these file types, you will feel quite at home.
Flash
Much has been said elsewhere about the lack of Flash on the iPhone and iPad, and what the impact may be. After reviewing their site statistics, some companies are shifting from Flash to HTML5. This debate will continue for some time, and while I do visit sites that use Flash, lack of iPad support for it has not affected me.
Media
Streaming video is where the iPad really shines. My experience is that the Netflix app gives the same viewing experience as: a DVD, computer, PS3, XBox360, Wii, and Sony Bravia TV.
Since I would not have Internet access during my flight, I needed media stored on the iPad to watch. I could have purchased or rented a video from the iTunes store, but a free application for the Mac called Handbrake gave me another option: extract a DVD I already own to h.264 video (with Dolby audio) and upload that to the iPad. The result?
DVD quality video, and (in my opinion) the perfect size to watch on a plane (the screen is larger than those built in to the A319 and A320). Sitting in coach, there is always a chance of cracking your laptop screen if the person in front of you reclines unexpectedly; I had no such worry with the iPad, which rested nicely on the tray table.
Assessment
The iPad 3G was a worthwhile purchase, both for personal and business use. With the expectation that it is not a complete replacement for a laptop or desktop computer, the iPad provides a greater-than 80% solution for my computing needs, in a fun-to-watch 10″ form factor, and whose battery lasts more than 8 hours. Though I do not intend to use the 3G often, I am grateful that I purchased the option, and have access to the Internet anytime and anywhere.
