I am amazed at the impact the iPad has had on my life in the few short months its been available.  Announced in January, 2010, and on sale in early April, 2010, I took the plunge less than a week into it’s release and purchased one.

Yes, it’s first generation technology.  Yes, there were a few things I would have liked to see in the device.  Yes, it’s perhaps a little on the expensive side. At least at first blush.  I erred on the side of caution and purchased the least expensive model — the 16G non-3G model.  I’m glad I didn’t wait for the second generation device to be released.

Frankly, the lack of multi-tasking didn’t bother me.  The device is solid state, so it’s easy to switch from one app to another, and it’s easy to get back to the app I was working in, so a simple cut and paste when working with words, for instance, is just that — a simple cut and paste.  There is one place where I do appreciate the new multi-tasking, but I haven’t used it much.  The iheartradio app will now play in the background.  I can see that being a plus at some point.

I loved the switch for portrait and landscape, and I’m not happy that the latest OS update made that a software only option.  The mute button change is less valuable to me — I typically had my volume minimized on the iPad anyway, so the mute switch seems redundant to me.  It had to look up how to the access the software switch in the User Manual, and thankfully, they included the instructions.  Then, when I wanted to access it again, I had to look it up again, because I didn’t remember how to get to it.  I think I’ve committed the double-click on the start button to memory now, so it should work.  To me, the intuitive place to put that would have been in the Settings app, but what do I know.

I use the iPad for everything.  I keep my lists on it.  I read on it.  I play a couple of games (my current “addiction” is Train Conductor 2). I can browse the web.  I can participate in Twitter.  I can write.  I can read, create, and edit PDFs, word processing documents, spreadsheets, and (supposedly) graphics presentations.  Thankfully, I haven’t found a use for PowerPoint since I retired.  I have photo editing apps and mind mapping apps.  I can track diet and exercise — but I haven’t found exactly what I’m looking for in that area nor have I found exactly what I’m looking for to track expenses.

There are apps for all that, and they are generally good, but I just haven’t found what’s clicked for me yet.  I prefer free apps, and there are a lot of them out there.  Unfortunately, more of the free apps are becoming ad-supported.  I don’t have a problem with that for Words with Friends — a Scrabble-like game app I play with one friend.  The ads come at the end of the turn and are discretely placed at the top of the screen and do not interfere with play.

There are a few apps that just didn’t pan out for me, so I removed them from the iPad.  That’s easy to do.  I’ve maintained them in my iTunes account just in case I want them back, but generally, I don’t miss them.

My goal when I got the iPad was to replace my Palm that I was rarely using.  The screen was just too small.  I’d wanted the iPod Touch and almost sprung for one last year around this time, but I realized it’s screen size was the same at the Palm’s so if I wasn’t using the Palm, I probably wouldn’t use the iPod Touch all that long either.  But the key to the iPad was to keep using it.  To carry it everywhere with me.  I wanted to jot notes, capture ideas, capture expenditures (ideally — I still haven’t got that part figured out), make lists, etc.  I wanted it to be the day planner so many people had their lives synchronized with in the corporate world.  Even hubby seems to like it — he keeps telling me to add things to my list.  We coordinate our calendars (his a small paper pocket version, and mine on the iPad), and he even started dictating an article to me one day when we were at lunch.

Frequently, we’ll be talking and wondering about something.  I can pull out the iPad and, if where we’re at has free Wi Fi, I can look up the answer, which allows our discussion to continue.  With the Verizon MiFi, if we’re sitting somewhere that doesn’t have free WiFi, we can jump on line and check something, too. This has helped keep our discussions interactive and interesting.

Eight months after welcoming it into my life, the iPad has become that.  I keep everything I possibly can in the iPad.  When I’m in Central Texas, I sync it with the MacMini, and it is fully backed up.  There are some things where  a computer is easier.  For instance, even though I have the WordPress app on the iPad, I’m typing this entry on the MacBook Air.

The rule of thumb is, if I’m typing more than a couple of hundred words, I need to use either the Air or the Keyboard Dock for the iPad.  The iPad itself is a sturdy device.  The aluminum case has a slippery feel, so I found a clear case to put around it, and that gives it a surer feel in my hand.  I started with a Belkin case that fit wonderfully, but once I got the Keyboard Dock, I didn’t want to remove the case every time I used the keyboard.  After some searching, I finally found a wonderful Speck case with a “trapdoor” I could open when I needed to mount the iPad on the Keyboard Dock.  Now, I’m 100% happy with the iPad protection scheme.  The Speck case for day-to-day handling, and a Brenthaven mini messenger bag for carrying the iPad around.

I was surprised to read the other day that this was the iPad’s first Christmas.  Surely, I’d been using it longer that that, but, of course, it is just that new of a device, and it is the device’s first Christmas.