Some Things That I Was Worried About (With Updates From The Road)
In the time that I had been preparing the iPad for the trip, I had developed a few concerns about whether this setup would work for me over an extended period of time:
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No-Fi.
The initial release of iPad’s wireless software seemed a little finicky and the trouble that I occasionally had connecting with older, mixed Wi-Fi networks gave me pause. Since I started traveling, I’ve also noticed that the iPad currently struggles with authenticating at *many* Airport Lounge hotspots and that both my iPhone and my Macbook seem to have greater wireless sensitivity.
It’s something that I expect will improve as updates roll out but, for now, it’s glitchy.Even after updating to the latest version of iOS, the iPad seems to lag behind both the iPhone and the Macbook in its wireless sensitivity. Is this just me, or are other people noticing this as well? -
There’s Almost An App For That.
Frontier days for a platform are both fun and frustrating. I really like many of the first wave of iPad apps that have been released but, more often than not, I’ve found myself frustrated by my inability to do the same things with an iPad as I can do with a MacBook.For example, I was worried about being able to do some website edits from the iPad until I found an app called Gusto — a very full-featured code editor with a built-in FTP client. Awesome!!! One problem — I can’t actually use it yet because my server requires SFTP connections and that feature is currently hung up on Governmental and Apple approval. Well… maybe I’ll just find another app that does all of that. Oh riiiight — there isn’t one yet.
And in many cases, the only iPad application for a job right now is actually an iPhone application. They work — but they are usually pretty ugly when blown up to iPad screen resolutions (although I expect this to improve as iOS 4.0 rolls out).
Plus there’s the expense of buying an assemblage of apps that duplicates your OS X toolkit. Not a big deal for people with basic needs… but it sure added up for me.
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Browser Blues.
HTML5 is The World of Tomorrow… But Flash is The World of Today. As crazy as it seems to me and to Steve Jobs, some websites are just flat-out unusable without Flash. The other night, Lauren and I heard some good things about a hotel — and so we tried to book a stay there from the iPad. Once we realized that the site was unnavigable without Flash, it was back to the laptop. Same with booking a flight on a certain Southeast Asian airline.
Here’s another one: Yesterday, I heard Lauren muttering to herself while trying to edit an online photo album. “It instructs you to either hold down the Control key for multiple item selections or to draw a rectangle around the area with your mouse. What am I supposed to do here?”, she asked.
Use the laptop — that’s what.
I have no doubt that Flash will eventually be replaced by HTML5 or something like it, but I think it’ll hang on for a few more years like some kind of a vampire or, even more frighteningly, like the tradition of websites being designed for IE6 Compatibility. In other words, you’d better be able to deal with it until a new standard drives a wooden stake through its heart.
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Keeping A Low Profile.
You can pull out a Macbook
in almost any part of the world without attracting too much attention… not so much with The iPad
Very useful and informative post. The most important sentence is that “every person has different needs” when it comes to travel and mobility, connectivity etc. Personally I spent a recent week on vacation, for the first time in more years than I can remember without my MacBook, only relying on the iPad. The reason it worked was that, unlike you, I didn’t have to perform any tasks I could only do on a laptop. It works extremely well for more leisure oriented tasks and less for strictly business ones. It is really a third screen and I have noticed I use the iPhone less but not the laptop. In summary, to each his/her own and enjoy the iPad for what it does great like listening to music, watch videos/movies, play games and many more things, but certainly not writing the great American novel or edit complex spreadsheets and such.
People still use Flash?
I’ve had adblockers and Flash blockers in place for a few years now, and apart from feeding my Bejewelled Blitz addiction, haven’t missed Flash at all.
For what it’s worth, I’m planning on pretty much the same kit as you’ve put together – I’m heading off to Europe for 6 weeks next year, and I’m already using Evernote to start collecting the various bits of “paperwork” that are going to make our trip a little easier to keep on track.
I’m looking forward to seeing your notes about using Evernote!
If I could make a suggestion, it would be to try LogMeIn Ignition on your iPad. I travel a lot, and was hoping to use my iPad for almost every computing task under the sun. I’ve had it for a month, and recognized a few situations where I needed a computer. I recently deployed LogMeIn Pro2 to provide tech support to my extended family, and downloaded LogMeIn Ignition on a whim. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I could get done from my iPad (and from my iPhone) when combined with Dropbox and Evernote.
I agree completely — LogMeIn is *fantastic* — especially for the iPad!
Part of my work is doing technical consulting — and I’ve been using LMI to help my clients while I travel… and, you know, it’s also nice to be able to make a little money to help finance the trip! đŸ˜‰
I couldn’t tell from your comment if this was the way you use it, but often times I have a server or a spare computer turned on at home which I connect to via LogMeIn. By being able to use it as a virtualized desktop as well as for remote support, it really justifies the price of the app. (Something I hope to cover in an upcoming “Apps for Travelers” series).