iPad Someday...

I don't have an iPad; yet, I have 21 iPad-only applications and 27 universal apps that will run well on an iPad. As time moves on, I feel like I am becoming more and more convinced that this is the future of computing. It is still difficult to imagine doing heavy computing on an iPad, e.g. video editing, hard core spreadsheet work, and more niche computing like statistical analysis of research data, but for everything else, and I include creating and editing word documents, an iPad would work quite well.

Sometimes I feel people sell the iPad short. Apple non-fans will always have a hidden agenda against the iPad, but even fan boys are often saying things like the iPad is a media-consumption tool, as opposed to a media-creation tool (media including things like documents). I don't agree with this. Sure, for long documents you would do well to have an external keyboard, but it is possible. You don't need a physical keyboard to do everything. Camera? Well, maybe front facing for video calls (i.e. Skype), but I'm not sure why I would want a traditional rear-facing camera.

Some of my favorite iPad apps include:

(1) Air Video - for streaming video from my MacBook Pro to the iPad
(2) DocumentsToGo Premium - this is my Office app of choice
(3) Dropbox - wireless document management
(4) Friendly Facebook Browser - for Facebook
(5) GoodReader - document reader and manager
(6) IM+ Pro - for instant messaging
(7) Photogene - for photo editing
(8) Zinio - magazine reader

In addition to these apps are some for reading and entertainment. The bottom line is that the iPad is all about the apps. The possibilities are limitless.