We’ve all found ourselves in situations where we need to complete a task and the appropriate implement for the job isn’t available. Or maybe it is available, but it’s just not immediately at hand. If I encounter a loose screw on one of the cabinets in my kitchen, my mind immediately tries to recall the location of the nearest screwdriver. When I realize that said screwdriver is on the other side of the house or out in the garage, I then start looking around for a suitable, one-time stand-in like the tip of a table knife or a narrow key. Clearly, I’m not going to use a tool like this to drive all screws from that point forward because it’s inefficient, but it will get the job done in a pinch. Such is my opinion of the iPad for “content creation”.
While there are obvious proofs of the concept that the iPad can be used to create things instead of just consuming them, I think we need to take a step back and consider the idea that just because it’s possible to create with the iPad doesn’t necessarily mean that the iPad is the best tool for a given job. When talking about content creation, typically people mean things like writing, shooting and editing photos and video and other visually creative things like drawing or sketching. I won’t argue that the iPad can do most of these things, but I will argue that it doesn’t excel at any of them to the point where it’s a better tool than a “regular computer”. It comes down to the concessions you’re willing to make.
For instance: I’m writing these words on an iPad while sitting on my front porch. I’m typing a good deal slower than I would be if I had a physical keyboard, and making more mistakes. I chose to use the iPad in this situation because it was a matter of simply grabbing it off of my desk and walking out my front door. I chose it because I’m not in any particular hurry in writing this, but I also don’t plan on sitting out here all day and just wanted to work on this post for a few minutes, so unhooking my laptop would have been a bigger hassle. I’m making sacrifices of speed and typing accuracy, but gaining portability and mobility. Is the iPad doing a good enough job in facilitating the writing of this post? Yep. Is it the best tool for the job among those available to me? Nope.
I’m not saying that people who opt to take their iPad to a conference instead of a notebook computer are somehow dumb or crazy. I’ve heard lots of people do this and since they’re ostensibly doing so with the understanding that they’re giving up certain affordances by doing so, more power to ‘em. Wanting to travel lighter and have a more compact device with which to take notes or check their email is understandable. The problem is that many of these same people would have you believe that they are simply using a different, yet equally capable, tool for the job at hand and this simply isn’t the case 99% of the time.
Most of the examples of people doing crazy shit on an iPad are to show that said shit is *possible*, not efficient or even practical. If I really wanted to, I could hobble my way through a game of tennis using my iPad to hit the ball, but it doesn’t mean my iPad is an excellent or even passable tennis racket.
I don’t mean to get all ranty here, but I find the endless grandstanding about the iPad’s content creation facilities to be a little tiring. If you show me somebody who can type on an iPad as fast or faster than they can on a “normal” hardware keyboard, then I’ll show you somebody who needs to spend less time trying to convince the world that the tip of a table knife is all the screwdriver they need and more time doing interesting things with their fingers.
The iPad is, in and of itself, truly amazing and I love using it the way I believe it was intended: as a short-term understudy for my Macbook Pro that’s really good at helping me read and watch things in a polished, engaging fashion - and maybe tap out part of a blog post. Occasionally.
Surely you have something you’d like to say about this?
I like the metaphor, and couldn’t agree more. Just like comparing a Mac Pro to a MacBook Pro, each has their time and place, strengths and weaknesses, etc.
Why is it more efficient to type on a laptop with more speed and less mistakes, but its not efficient to have the mobility and portability of an iPad?
I’m not sure I get this. Is 75%+ of our writing happening on mobile devices, even though it is in short bursts? Sounds efficient.
I think you’re limited in scope when you refer to “content creation”. Content is more than text.
Have you seen the people creating artwork or the people who make music? The device isn’t yet a year old and people are already resigned to say that no content creation will ever happen on the device and everyone should just go back to their safe and sound laptops.
Sure, typing on the iPad can be slow and clunky; I’m not sure that that kind of interface is exactly intuitive for that particular task. It seems rather silly and premature to throw up your hands now.
I totally agree. I replaced my MacBook pro with my iPad but that’s only because my mbp was overkill for what I needed.
Mobility and portability are only valuable when you’re not actually working.
The portability of my computing device ceases to be a factor once I arrive
wherever I’m going and, most of the time, you’re spending more time working
than you are going to/from the place where you’re going to do said work.
Now, if you’re flying 5 hours each way for a 20 minute meeting, the iPad
would be the clear winner. But, if I’m driving for 15 minutes to a coffee
house where I’ll spend 8 hours typing, it’s better to deal with the weight
and bulk of a computer because you’ll get more done once you arrive.
And, yes, I think about this way too much :)
I agree the portability factor changes depending on what you are doing. Otherwise, why do you have a laptop and not a desktop?
I also agree that much of these discussions has been creating=typing. Perhaps that definition is changing.
I don’t own an iPad, but have tapped around on my friend’s. I definitely agree with Brett on the whole text entry issues. I’ve gone to almost 100% electronic note taking and task management. When I see someone using an iPad to do that in meetings, they don’t seem engaged or involved in the meeting. They seem to be more focused on typing. Its almost as if the iPad removes any advantage to being touch typist and makes everyone a two-finger typist. In response to Nathan, I have not seen anyone using it to do art or music. Are they actually entering it or only manipulating it? I would be very excited to hear about any tool that would allow me to hand write with a stylus that would convert to print text. I’ve heard it does not exist, but I they can do art, text entry doesn’t seem far away.
As Nathan pointed out, just focusing on “text entry” may be too narrow, and it’s a given, I think, that some clever individual will use the iPad (and its very limitations) to create something novel, if slight (as with iPhone “bands,” for example).
But, on the subject of text entry: Relying on the on-screen keyboard for typing of any length is, basically, bonkers. But what about the bluetooth keyboard? As comfortable as a full-size? No. But, personally, I find it manageable, and the portability of the device is relevant to the actual work, for me. I find that my writing - or, rather, my attention for writing - is influenced by setting. So, the freedom to quite easily, on a whim, bolt for another place is helpful.
Which, of course, you can do with a laptop, but the iPad’s inability to multitask is, for an easily distracted person like me, GREAT! True, it’s a bit pricey for a minor “attention-deficit” hack, but benefit of being able to throw the kit in a small bag, get a change of scenery AND leave behind the lure of IM, Facebook and 20 open windows is significant.
Exactly my opinion. And now one has to think about that before one buys an iPad: do I already have tools that accomplishes the stuff I wanna do w/ the iPad better than it and might there be a tool that is actually cheaper (in my case I decided against an iPad and will buy a Kindle WiFi - far cheaper and actually I only need an ebook-Reader for ebooks and Instapaper)
Perfetc! In fact I am on a conference now and for the first time I took iPad instead of my MacBook. And now that I read your post it perfectly describes my impression.
For me the bottom-line is that I am ready to sacrifice some usability in favor of lighter luggage and a more portable device. But no, I won’t convince anyone that iPad is as good tool to produce content as proper computer is. It was just never meant to be. It was meant to be there when you need it.
Brett; obviously you have not heard of the ipad “keyboard dock”, and if you have you certainly haven’t used one. If you had you would certainly not have ranted they way you did.
Try one, then sit back and rethink your article, and perhaps reissue it. I think you would feel obliged to eat “humble pie”.
Regards
Barry (an iPad devotee)
My apologies. I had only just this morning read your several weeks old “iPad and content creation” document and I went in boots and all without reading any of the previous contents. Sorry Ivan, I now see that you had already taken Brett to task and my rant was unnecessary.
Cheers
Barry
Thanks for shirang. What a pleasure to read!
Actually, at least 75% of the writing I do on my iPad is done with the help
of a bluetooth keyboard. Why do you think Apple announced the keyboard dock
the *same day* they announced the iPad? Because they knew that typing on it
sucked and that the only way to mitigate it sucking was to give people a way
to type on it that resembled what they were used to.
Telling me “The iPad is perfect for creating lots of (written) content… if
you use a keyboard.” isn’t an effective way to sell me on the iPad’s
utility. Put another way, if I have to schlep around a bluetooth keyboard
whenever I think I might want to write something substantial on the iPad,
then I’ve effectively eliminated (or, at the very least, substantially
narrowed) the gap between the iPad and a notebook computer.
The fact that Apple sells an iPad-specific dock with a built-in keyboard is,
in my mind, a not-so-subtle admission that long-form text entry on a “naked”
iPad is clumsy and inefficient.
And, sorry, no humble pie for me, thanks :)