Yesterday I got all excited when I saw a Futureshop deal to get an ipod touch for $50 off (and they never go on sale) if you trade in any old mp3 player. For awhile I considered just giving up the wait for the next version of the ipad (or some similar tablet like the Motorola Xoom - best of show at CES). I envisioned myself flipping through ebooks, browsing the web, flicking my fingers at games. I even felt entitled: All the other kids at school have one! I can afford it! Then sober second thought (dash it all anyway!) kicked in. Do I really need it? (Of course, does one really need anything beyond basic sustenance?) Would I really use it? I don't want something to be gathering dust in a drawer somewhere ... kind of like my old palm pilot; even my Sony mp3 player which I really love doesn't get all that much use. Would I even like it or would it be just too tiny and frustrating to use? Would I still want an ipad anyway and end up never using the ipod?
Well, let's think about what I'd really like to do with a (semi at least) portable device:
READ - books and magazines especially would be better with larger screen real estate (although the touch does have the advantage of its stunningly clear retina display). But the next ipad is still a mystery - its screen could be amazing too - even better if they've done something about the glare.
SURF - again, bigger is better; many sites don't display right on the touch. Even the ones that do would require a lot of scrolling. Something that could run Flash pages (i.e. not an Apple device) would be best of all.
WRITE - emails for sure and, say, this blog. The ipad's keyboard is tiny enough; I think the touch's could just drive me crazy.
HAVE FUN - in this case meaning play the odd game and watch the odd video. Small is definitely more portable but I have to come back again to the idea that bigger is better.
So I guess it's solved then: ipad - or the equivalent - for me. Hey, I've already saved $300 by not buying the touch. So, in theory it's only going to cost me $250 or so. Now if I can just have the patience to wait a few months longer! I love my laptop and it's only five months old, but I sure am itching for something new!
No comments:
Post a Comment