Amir Gets an iPad2!!!

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Yes, I did. No, it is an April Fool's joke. Why? Because it is April 2nd. :D

Was at Verizon store to help my son upgrade to a new Droid phone. His firs gen Droid died as with our first one. So he opted for the HTC Thunderbolt. As always, it takes 10 times as long as one things to get in and out of Verizon store. So I spent the the time playing with toys there. As soon as I touch the iPad 2, I hear the sales guy shouting that he has one in the back. I turn around and he says, "and it is the cool white one."

Thinking I will get into paying more mot Verizon than we are now, I said no, if I get one, I will get WiFi only version. To which he says, I don't have to activate the account. And if I did, it would be month to month for $20.

So in a moment of weakness, and prompted by Gary's post about using the iPad to browse music with Foobar, I broke down and forked over ~750 for the thing.

Here are some random first impressions.

1. Compared to the regular iPad we have at work, it fees lighter and thinner. I just could not hold the old iPad for long. This one is easier although it is still "heavy" compared to holding my Android phone.

2. The white color is gorgeous. As is the display and its viewing angle. The touch sensitivity is also superb. Machine performance is also excellent.

3. The out of box experience was odd. I plugged in the UBS cable and it just told me to get iTunes. I am not used to buying hardware that is dead without its companion software. Maybe there was a way around it but couldn't find it. Went and downloaded iTunes which did wake it up and got it working.

3. I expected the experience to be first class from then on. It was not. I was prompted at least three times to accept the 16 page EULA and warnings when I didn't read every page. And it seemed that every other thing I did would prompt that I type in my Apple login.

4. Most annoying is having to login to get free software. On Android, you do nothing for free software. You can select all you want downloaded and they just come. On iPad, you can multi-select them if you remember to say in the pane that has all the apps listed. Otherwise, if you select them one by one in their own page, you will get pestered to type in the stupid password over and over again for each app.

5. The wifi receiver sensitivity is worse than all of our laptops. Our access point is good ways away from our living room but I still get 3 bars as I type this on my Sony laptop. On iPad, it only gets one bar. Downloading performance seems very poor as a result.

6. Our access point is dying and once in a while it drops a connection. I was downloading a few apps and when the thing died, it was not pretty. My in-progress apps would either do nothing if I clicked on them, or would cycle from "waiting..." to some other thing I forget. No error. No indication of anything wrong. But yet, I had icons that would do nothing. I get the let's dumb it down for masses but come on. Say something.

7. This may be me but I don't get the metaphor of showing apps on the desktop before they are downloaded. Android download manager is a better way to do this I think. The above confusion would be avoided.

8. So I get through all of this and get ready for the main reason I got this: remote control of the iTunes/Foobar. I download Apple's Remote App. Run that and tell it to add a library. It puts up a 4 digit number and just says go and click on the name of my iPad in iTunes. I do that and nothing happens. I do this half a dozen times with the same results. Would it break their fingers to say a bit more about what is supposed to happen? I guess it would.

I Google for the issue. Land on an Apple troubleshooting page regarding Home Sharing. Its only suggestion is firewall issue. All is well in Windows Firewall. But I still disable it. Still no joy.

I do the usual stupid newbie things like re-downloading and rebooting iPad, PC, etc. Nothing works. So I go and get the Foobar to work and that pops up a message that it can't talk to the iPad. Not hugely useful but now I know it is a networking problem and not me doing the wrong thing in iTunes.

Read Gary's note that you need to download Bonjour (discovery protocol for devices that Apple has cooked up). Yet everyone says iTunes comes with it. As it must. How else would it work the way they say with nary a word of getting Bonjour?

By then it is 2:30 in the morning and I go to sleep in disgust.

9. I chase another guy's plug-in for Foobar. Get that working since it relies on web browser only. Got it working, but it looks like hell. And it only shows the current playlist, not the library. So I ditch that.

10. I then move on to my second use of the iPad: controlling my home as smart remote. Go to download the Crestron App, only to be told to cough up $99. $99? I thought it was free! Not being in a mood to spend more money on this thing, I hunt around and notice the non "pro" version for free. I get the app. Now the fun begins on figuring out how to make it work.

Go searching on Crestron site for instructions on how to connect it to my system and notice that they only talk about the Pro version. As I type this, I may have figured out how to get the free version working. Maybe.

11. I know this is like the notion of God and Christ to a Christian but what is with this single button UI? I am so used to have 4 buttons on my Android phone. There are times when an app is up, like the above Crestron in demo mode, with no obvious way on how to go back. Or pop up any menus. I use the single button and that takes me to the desktop. Hitting Crestron app take me back where I was, the with thing still stuck in demo mode. What to do now? Reboot?

13. Second rant (OK, fiftieth rant :D): what's wrong with having some text on programs instead of just icons no one can figure out? Discovering how to save a bookmark in Safari browser took hitting every icon to get there.

14. I went to try to find something to play music. I hit iTunes and it puts up a blank page with a line saying "iTunes store terms and conditions...." Say what? Click it and it takes me to browser to accept more terms and conditions. No matter how many times I have done that, this page is still there. Why, oh why?

I see a button down left and it says "Music." I am thinking that is it. But it is not. This is for buying music but apparently not for playing it.

Go googling and realize duh, you are supposed to hit the iPod button. I hit the iPod button to play something on iPad?. Why is it not called iPad? On the PC, I don't run "iPod," I run iTunes. What was wrong with it here?

Let's say I was the only one on the planet to not know to hit ipod to play music. How about browser? Why on earth is it called "Safari" with a compass symbol? Do average people know that safari=browser? How come the call Mail, Mail? Why not call that some random name? Google's browser is called Chrome but the Android Browser is called just that: Browser.

15. I try the Google maps app. Compared to Android version, it feels like running DOS against Windows. It is dull, has horrible search function and doesn't show anything as I type. It has an annoying pulsing circle for my current location. I can't stand blinking things. There is a bloody pin where my home is. Why is it blinking the darn thing? Is there a way to turn it off? I guess not since there is no menu button to examine.

16. I hit a thing called Game Center. For the hundredth time, I am asked to type in my iTunes password again. I am ready to throw the thing at the window by now. But I think of the $750 and don't do that. The thing then starts to walk me through my profile yet again. Why? I still don't know what use I have for this thing. I hit Next and it then complains that I have not entered the year I was born. I don't want Apple to know how old I am so I lie and put Steve's year of birth. :D

I hit something by accident and the touch keyboard comes up on top of yet another terms of service. There is no button to accept the thing. And no indication that there is more text. I assume there is and slide it with my finger to expose it at the bottom. How is this discoverable by average folks? I say I agree and the stupid pop up comes up and asks yet again, "I have read and agree to *** Game Center Terms and Conditions: Cancel | Agree." I just hit the button that I agreed. What more do you want from me???

It was a nickname, I give it one. It then says "there was a problem with one or more fields below" in white. So easy to miss it. Why not a red color? Why not an asterisk beside every field that is wrong?

17. Then there are good stuff :). I download the ABC app and I am surprised with the ease and fidelity of streaming shows. It plays instantly. Love the way it goes full screen as you rotate the iPad. No need to hit a button.

Maybe I had expected too much from Apple on my first purchase from them in some 21 years. Maybe I am too used to other platforms and anything different is too jarring. But I have to say, my adjustment to Android didn't last 15 minutes. Two days into this, I still find rough edges in what is supposed to be miracle of computing.

Cranky and tired in Seattle :).
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Hard to let go of that Microsoft/Apple sentiment isn't it?
Wasn't hard at all with my Android phone ;). Or Google Chrome ;) :). :)

FYI, I was a Mac guy for an entire decade. I have learned to have only one religion in life when it comes to technology: whatever works best! :) So many people become religious about such things. I made my name working on Unix in all of 1980s (what runs under Mac OS). Then realized the importance of PC and Windows and learned that too. Don't take the back and forth between Steve and as I holding illogical love for anything Microsoft. We just have fun with each other....
 

tonmeister2008

WBF Technical Expert
Jun 20, 2010
210
6
0
Westlake Village,CA
Last December, I lost my Ipad 1 somewhere along highway 101 at 80 MPH after putting it on the roof of my Mini Cooper while loading my car. Sounds like I should wait awhile longer before getting Ipad 2, albeit many of the setup issues you describe were already known with iPad 1. If you're already an Apple user, some of these issues are not so jarring.
 

rblnr

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 3, 2010
2,151
291
1,170
NYC/NJ
Have to say I'm really enjoying my iPad2. My gripe would be the surprisingly unimpressive wifi reception as noted (much weaker than my MacBooks) and the occasional, slight interface/keyboard inconsistencies vs the iPhone. I've become used to typing in my password for free apps -- point taken on that.

I use iTunes - the remote app works perfectly for me as does iPeng, a Squeezebox controller. I'm happy with pretty much everything else.

Double click the home button to pull up the multitasking bar btw.
 
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muralman1

New Member
Jul 7, 2010
479
0
0
Sacramento Ca
Amir, Apple and I are one. I have been a stalwart knight in armor in it's defense. I detest all that is Microsoft. I check my blood pressure after using the onboard Microsoft writing program. Your description of the IPad2 leaves me feeling betrayed. Now I have to fall on my sword.
 

Jay_S

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
309
5
16
San Francisco - East Bay
I'm planning to pick one up but it looks like all local stores are sold out. I'm not willing to line up at the Apple store at 4 am in the morning to get one of the few that are dispensed each day.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Amir

welcome to the Dark Side :). Sort of like tubes vs SS

Seems you are the only one who is having problems with the iPad. The iPad2 is so clearly superior to the initial two versions (no wifi and with wifi) that honestly you just need to know how to navigate the Mac system. Interesting that both your Droids died. I have never heard of an Apple product that gives up the ghost.

I continue to admire the clear superiority of Mac vs PC whenever I have both open and turn them off together. Mac is off in 5 seconds and my PC is still powering down after 3-4 minutes.

As to powering it up initially and needing iTunes, this is how all new Apple products are registered as well as getting updates to apps

Problem is IMO you have so much bias against Apple that I don't think you will ever be happy with an Apple product ;)
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Well, maybe this is another negative bias on my part. As much as people malign Microsoft and its software development practices, it is the only company that I put remotely close to Apple in following best practices. For example, we had a huge usability lab with mirrored windows where we would get people off the street, give them tasks to perform and see how fast and easy they could do them. And iterate product features until it was better than our competitor and old products.

Another area of focus was OOBE (pronounced oobee) or Out of Box Experience (first things you see after you get a new product). You would get incredible nastygrams from people above you including Bill Gates if you ever put the person through multiple licenses to agree, multiple times typing something, requiring reboots, undiscoverable features, etc. Alas, technical restrictions would force us to deviate from these ideals but the focus was strong -- it was career limiting to do otherwise. Remember the Windows XP days where installing some things required 3-4 reboots?

The reason we did all of this was that it was burned into our brains that Apple was always head of us. The above negative comments would usually accompany a message on how Apple's way of doing this was more efficient and better. Our aspiration then was to match them.

It was in that context that I was so surprised to have the experience I did. I expected to plug in the unit, hit an OK box and be good to go. But it was typical of a Microsoft project where the person had not gotten the above message and was about to get beat up by all the executives and beat up good!

It seems to me that there is a cost to success and that Apple is given so many free passes that it doesn't feel the pressure we always did. I have a feeling that if Microsoft products were this bad, it would take far more negative press.

Maybe another reason is that when things work in iPad world, it is so wicked good that makes one forget the others? Being an equal opportunity abuser, I am not swayed by that :).

BTW, there were more annoying things :). Every 5 to 10 minutes I would get a pop up telling me to set up the cellular connection. Per my original note, I bought this with no intention of doing that. So I said NO the first time. Did that make it go away for good? No. It would keep coming up over and over again, in most inopportune time when I was trying to type a password. OK, so I understand that they want you to sign up. But why not the standard checkbox in the Windows dialog boxes that says, "Don't ask me again?" Does Mac/iPad never have such a checkbox? Who besides me would think to go in the settings menu and find it there to turn off????

Admittedly, I am sure expert users figure out how to work around these issues or learn to look away. As I said, when it is good, it really is good. For example, deleting apps works the same way as Android by holding your finger on it. The little dance each one does though on iPad is cute.

My wish is that Google learns real client software development, hires the usability engineers and gives Apple a run for its money. That would push Apple to do better as it did Microsoft.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
My wish is that Google learns real client software development, hires the usability engineers and gives Apple a run for its money. That would push Apple to do better as it did Microsoft.

I completely agree

BTW, you know I am yanking your chain :). Eventually we will convert you to the Dark Side ;)
 

DaveyF

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2010
6,129
181
458
La Jolla, Calif USA
Amir, for some reason I am having none of the issues that you are having with your ipad. I think that that has to do with the possibility that I am far less adept at Windows based systems than you are.:D Therefore, my expectations are very different from the outset!:D
IMHO, for a neophyte, the Mac OS and the various pieces of gear that use it like the ipod,ipad etc are far more intuitive to use than the Windows based stuff. I suspect that if I was as adept at the Windows based stuff as you are, I would have as much frustration as you do at the moment with your ipad2.
The question you might ask yourself, is once you are up to speed on the ipad and have become aclimatised to its system, what will you then think of the Windows based gear?:confused::confused:
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Let me clarify something. I have no trouble at all navigating the iPad and getting things done. It is intuitive that way. Downloading apps, installing them, running them, zooming, etc. So it is not like I don't know how to use the machine.

The situation is a bit like getting a rental car and still being able to drive but being annoyed that you can't figure out how to open the trunk :). Indeed, I find the system without much depth in that I have already gone through everything in the machine and nothing more is left to discover. Same is not true of Android and Windows. They always have little things you didn't notice at first blush which can be good or bad.
 

DaveyF

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2010
6,129
181
458
La Jolla, Calif USA
Let me clarify something. I have no trouble at all navigating the iPad and getting things done. It is intuitive that way. Downloading apps, installing them, running them, zooming, etc. So it is not like I don't know how to use the machine.

The situation is a bit like getting a rental car and still being able to drive but being annoyed that you can't figure out how to open the trunk :). Indeed, I find the system without much depth in that I have already gone through everything in the machine and nothing more is left to discover. Same is not true of Android and Windows. They always have little things you didn't notice at first blush which can be good or bad.

Ok, so what is the expectation that you had that is not being met:confused::confused:
I think the ipad is just that, a tablet if you will, it's not really meant to be a full on computer.
The mobility is the big selling point, IMO:cool: --not the computing power:eek:.
 

DonH50

Member Sponsor & WBF Technical Expert
Jun 22, 2010
3,947
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Re-read his first post...

Amir, very nice review! I have gone back and forth PC/Mac over the years, but used Windows the past decade-plus because most of my applications were Windows-based (from Office to all sorts of technical/engineering SW). Bought my son a MacBook Pro for college and had many of the same sort of issues, though not as bad, and attributed most of it the (re)learning a new OS.

Only heard one or two around work talk about the iPad, but the iPhone is everywhere. However, a number of folk are switching to Androids, stating a combination of better phone quality and ease-of-use. Ironic, given the latter has historically been Apple's strength. A friend's wife bought an iPad and loves it, however.

My experience and that of others through the years has been that Apple SW is generally much more robust/reliable (for all the usual reasons), but the HW is comparable to most mainstream PCs (Dell, HP, etc.) in reliability and typically lags behind in performance, at least on the consumer side. Apple Pro machines are nice but wicked expensive...

My plans are for my next PC to be a Mac now that I can bring up Windows when I need it. But, I have no plans for an iPad...
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
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Seattle, WA
Ok, so what is the expectation that you had that is not being met:confused::confused:
My expectations were not as a casual viewer but to see critically, what it is that people rave about. In that sense, I expected no rough edges, no items I could not easily discover, no repeated questions to be asked, no performance issues like WiFi reception, etc. It is like the old Lexus ball bearing test on the hood and fender line. That is the test that was failed. Driving the car, as the analogy goes, worked fine.

I think the ipad is just that, a tablet if you will, it's not really meant to be a full on computer.
Actually no. I expected a polished experience. I did not complain why it did not do more. I simply talked about what it didn't do within the context of what it advertises. Let me give more context.

When I used to be a Mac user, I would rave about Appletalk and how easy it was to set up a printer. You would hook up the cable and all the rest would work like magic. One language for printers: postscript. Windows was a mess in comparison with multiple connection methods including the bulky parallel printer cable, control panel dialogs that were circular, etc.

Today, I look at how easy it is to share files between computers. Before Windows 7, it was a nightmare. With new sharing method in Windows, which I have used countless times, where you type in the code, it just works. So I expected iPad to not only match that but even exceed it. Yet I am sitting here, with no ability to share my libraries between iPad and iTunes and worse yet, even more lost in the dark as to what to do next. Googling shows so little results here. Perhaps because the feature is new. Still, opportunity was lost in my case at least to impress.

The mobility is the big selling point, IMO:cool: --not the computing power:eek:.
I don't buy that :). My laptop is actually lighter and more mobile in some sense since it sits on my lap as I type this. I suppose there is a keyboard and gizmo to make iPad do the same. But it didn't come in the box. It is much heavier than my Droidx and of course, much bigger.

Currently, I have no use for the device as a general computing platform. My 3 pound laptop outdoes by running so much more stuff and so much faster with higher resolution and bigger display. I bought the thing for specialized application of controlling my media and home. That said, it is comforting to know that if I have to run some place and size and weight is of absolute paramount, I can take the iPad and still be connected in a richer way. Where that manifests itself where the Droid is too small but laptop too big, I don't know yet :).
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
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0
Seattle, WA
Let me make another statement: these tables are a marvel of engineering. They are the closest thing to star trek and science fiction tables we have seen. It is remarkable how far we have come in engineering technology and batteries to be able to create such devices. Who would have thought the sewing machine size and weight portable computers of 1980s would go this far?
 

garylkoh

WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Sep 6, 2010
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Seattle, WA
www.genesisloudspeakers.com
8. So I get through all of this and get ready for the main reason I got this: remote control of the iTunes/Foobar. I download Apple's Remote App. Run that and tell it to add a library. It puts up a 4 digit number and just says go and click on the name of my iPad in iTunes. I do that and nothing happens. I do this half a dozen times with the same results. Would it break their fingers to say a bit more about what is supposed to happen? I guess it would.

I Google for the issue. Land on an Apple troubleshooting page regarding Home Sharing. Its only suggestion is firewall issue. All is well in Windows Firewall. But I still disable it. Still no joy.

I do the usual stupid newbie things like re-downloading and rebooting iPad, PC, etc. Nothing works. So I go and get the Foobar to work and that pops up a message that it can't talk to the iPad. Not hugely useful but now I know it is a networking problem and not me doing the wrong thing in iTunes.

Read Gary's note that you need to download Bonjour (discovery protocol for devices that Apple has cooked up). Yet everyone says iTunes comes with it. As it must. How else would it work the way they say with nary a word of getting Bonjour?

By then it is 2:30 in the morning and I go to sleep in disgust.

ROTFLMHO

My iPad has a little crack on the corner where I threw it in disgust when I was setting it up. I got much the same problems as Amir - and I'm *not* a Microsoft ex-employee and *not* an Apple proponent.

Even though iTunes is *supposed* to come with Bonjour, when I couldn't get it to work, I downloaded and installed Bonjour anyway. It did not say Bonjour, was already installed - so must have installed a newer(?) version of Bonjour over the old version - because it worked after that.

Also, if you have a VERY large library on your computer, you may find that after typing in the 4-digit code, you may have to wait for some time for the iPad Remote app and Foobar to sync. Sometimes it takes so long that the iPad goes to sleep, and you have to start all over again. Unfortunately, there's no "progress" bar on the iPad.
 

garylkoh

WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Sep 6, 2010
5,599
225
1,190
Seattle, WA
www.genesisloudspeakers.com
Ok, so what is the expectation that you had that is not being met:confused::confused:
I think the ipad is just that, a tablet if you will, it's not really meant to be a full on computer.
The mobility is the big selling point, IMO:cool: --not the computing power:eek:.

Like Amir, having bought into the hype, I expected the iPad to be simple enough for a newbie to set-up. It turned out an exercise in frustration. I only bought it as a remote for my media system. However, my wife and kids love it as a media player - mainly Angry Birds, World of Goo, Netflix and websurfing.
 

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