yes same here. the iphone and mac book will do what I need it to for now anyways.
Take care. S On May 5, 2010, at 2:35 PM, Christina wrote: > Thanks so much for composing this e-mail. I completely appreciate it. I > tried out an i-pad at Best Buy. I was not so enthusiastic after I tried it. > So, does Best Buy charge the same restocking fee that the apple store does? > Ok, that was just a side question. :) I was not as excited about the i-pad > after I tried it because the main use I would get out of the larger screen > was surfing the web with the larger screen and maybe the ibook store. I > found the size kind of awkward and felt I would rather be on my macbook. I > have been holding out to get the iphone this summer and I just could not > justify the expense of the i-pad at this time because I could not figure out > how it would fulfill a need that the iphone would not. It is still very cool > and I love that apple has made it accessible out of the box but for now, I > just plan on waiting for improvements. I'm also waiting to see if I could > justify the expense after getting the iphone this summer. My kids loved the > i-pad though and I see how it can be used for educational purposes but it > still seems sort of large and awkward to hold. :) For me it's not a "no way > would I buy an i-pad" but I'm at a wait and see point. I'm definitely not > jumping through hoops to purchase one today. It'd still be cool to have one > but I'm just not sold enough yet to invest financially in the i-pad. Maybe > down the road it will fulfill a need for me and my family, but right now It > just does not seem to. > > Thanks for the insight in this e-mail, it really helped me with some things I > have and have not thought of. You did a great job detailing your experience. > I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one just not ready to purchase one > until I feel the ipad fills a need that justifies the expense. So, right > now, I'm eagerly awaiting getting an iphone this summer. :) Once I have an > iphone I'll have a much clearer idea if the ipad will fill a need that the > iphone cannot. > > Again, thanks for being brave enough to post this e-mail. > > Christina > On May 4, 2010, at 10:23 PM, Bryan Smart wrote: > >> OK. So, I've had my iPad Wi-Fi+3G for less than a week, and I've already >> decided not to keep it. There is so much of a euphoric glow on some of the >> lists about the wonderfulness of this device. I'm the type of person that is >> always eager to investigate new technologies and ways of working, and so >> expected that I'd agree with the generally positive reception. I don't. >> >> I have experience with the iPhone, and, other than the fact that it is >> slower to operate than a device with buttons, and that the battery life is >> terrible when compared to most mobile phones, I thought that it was an >> impressive piece of tech with an advanced approach to user interaction. >> >> I was excited about the iPad, and expected it to bring everything from an >> iPhone, only improved. First, the iPad would have a larger screen, so it >> should be possible to more easily move my finger directly to the position of >> known controls in order to speed up the operation. Also, the iPad would have >> a significantly larger battery than the iPhone, so I could spend hours using >> apps, even wireless apps, without having to worry about draining the power >> away. >> >> The only universally great thing that I can say about the iPad is that the >> battery is spectacular. With the screen brightness set to low, it runs for a >> very long time. I've spent hours streaming movies via Netflix over 3G, and >> the battery just keeps on going. >> >> Unfortunately, that's where it all ends. It isn't that I think that the tech >> behind the iPad is necessarily bad. If you want this experience, though, as >> a blind person, you're better off with an iPhone. >> >> Why? Well, let's compare the iPad to the iPhone 3GS. >> >> The iPad has a larger screen. If you're sighted, this is great for watching >> video. Watching movies on a tiny phone screen has got to be an eye strain. >> Blind people don't watch movies, and we can listen to them just fine on an >> iPad or iPhone speaker. >> >> I thought that the larger screen would help with VoiceOver, but, actually, >> it makes things worse. When you work an iPhone, placing your finger at >> different positions on the screen only requires wrist movement. The iPad >> screen is huge when compared to the iPhone, and you must move your entire >> arm in order to navigate the screen. This can become tiring after hours of >> computing, because your arm can rarely rest on anything. If you don't hold >> your arm up, with your fingers angled down, you're likely to bump the screen >> with part of your wrist or forearm, causing VoiceOver's focus to jump to >> some random position on the screen. This is particularly frustrating because >> there is so much content on an iPad screen. If you navigate through controls >> by swiping, you'll be swiping and swiping and swiping and swiping to get to >> where you'd like. Of course, you can directly explore with your finger, but >> I've noticed that, in several places (like the App Store and Safari), >> tapping somewhere doesn't necessarily mean that swiping will continue from >> that point. In many places, I'll tap at a point on the screen, but, when I >> start swiping, VoiceOver will always start from the top of the screen. So, >> in those situations, if you accidentally touch the screen with some other >> skin while swiping, or if VoiceOver mistakenly interprets a swipe as a tap, >> then you'll lose your place, and need to start from the top of the screen. >> In the App Store in particular, I've swiped myself to frustration. >> >> The size of the screen is also not convenient for holding the iPad like you >> would the iPhone. It must rest on your lap or a table. And, with me pushing >> and tapping on it with both hands, I've had some situations where it has >> nearly slid off of my lap. With the screen being made of glass, that is not >> a great thought to ponder. So, I think that the screen size is not only >> wasted on blind users, but is also a drawback. >> >> The on-screen keyboard is a bit nicer to use on a large screen. However, the >> touch-typing mode makes even one-handed typing on a small screen a breeze. >> Besides that, the larger screen meant that a lot more arm motion was >> required to type on an iPad. I tried the two-handed typing approach in >> landscape mode, but find that, no matter how well you place your hands, >> typing is very mistake prone. For anyone that finds it hard to type for >> extended periods of time on the iPhone, you can use the iPad keyboard dock >> with it when the next iPhone OS comes out. >> >> VoiceOver is worse on the iPad. I'll just put my flame retardant suit on >> right now for the hordes of people that will respond and tell me how I'm >> wrong, how wonderful it is, and how it must be me. Well, I've used an iPhone >> extensively, and I've used the touch gestures on my MacBook Pro a lot, so I >> think that I'm pretty familiar with how everything is supposed to work. On >> the iPad, for gestures to work, I must over-act them. On my MacBook or >> iPhone, a little flick of my finger is enough to indicate that I'd like to >> move to the next item. On the iPad, I must make a huge swipe, extending a >> few inches. Small flicks will work, sometimes, but VoiceOver is very likely >> to just interpret the flick as a tap, and jump my focus. As I've said >> before, given how huge the screen is, and how the control order is broken in >> several important places, this is extremely frustrating. Having to make huge >> swipes means that my whole arm is involved, and swiping and swiping and >> swiping with your whole arm will really make your forearm sore after a few >> hours. Sometimes, the screen won't even register that I touched or swiped. >> The iPhone screen seems much more sensitive. >> >> The speech glitches at high speed. At 90% or above, Samantha can't say >> "search", and other words, without chopping off the ends. >> >> And, my largest complaint about VoiceOver on the iPad. It doesn't recognize, >> in most cases, when the screen updates. This seems to be most noticeable on >> screens that use HTML/web content. Say that you are in the App Store, or >> Safari, and you tap a link. You know that a new page/screen must have >> loaded. Sometimes you'll hear the audio cue indicating that the load >> completed, sometimes not. However, most always, if you start swiping, you'll >> realize that you're reviewing material from the old page. You must tap >> somewhere on the screen for VoiceOver to realize that, in fact, the screen >> has changed. This is annoying for purposes of situation and orientation. >> >> Here is how it should work. You double-tap a control. You wait. You hear the >> completed audio cue, and VoiceOver speaks the first item on the screen >> (which now has focus). Now, you can either start swiping through controls, >> explore the screen with your finger, or two-finger-swipe down to start >> reading the screen. >> >> This is how it works, though. You double-tap a control. You wait, and wait >> and wait. You don't get any feedback about what is happening, so you start >> exploring the screen with your finger. If the screen hasn't finished loading >> yet, then VoiceOver will either repeatedly click at you, or else you'll hear >> absolutely nothing (because VoiceOver is frozen up). Once the screen >> finishes loading, all of that tapping and touching that you did while >> VoiceOver was frozen will be suddenly processed, and VoiceOver will start >> going crazy with clicking and speaking fragments. Now, you aren't sure where >> you are, so you must four-finger-swipe up to get to the beginning of the >> screen, then start exploring. >> >> Another way that this can work out is that you double-tap a control, and >> VoiceOver will say something (supposedly the first control on the new screen >> "cancel button selected", or similar). When you start swiping, though, >> you'll hear the contents from the last screen. So, you first tap somewhere >> on the screen to force VoiceOver to realize that the contents have changed, >> then four-finger-swipe up to go to the beginning of the screen, then, >> finally, start exploring. >> >> Honestly, this is ridiculous. It is hard to believe that Apple couldn't >> catch such a problem. I guess that web support had minimal testing. Lots of >> apps use imbedded web content, though, so this happens in all sorts of apps >> from Wonder Radio to Net Flix. >> >> As a final VoiceOver thought, I've noticed that the iPad is experiencing a >> problem that the iPhone had early on in its life. For those of you with an >> iPad, lock the screen. Now, put your ear up next to the speaker. Hear that >> hiss. Now, put your iPad down for 5 minutes and come back. Still hear that >> hiss? That is the sound of your iPad's audio hardware constantly running and >> draining your battery. So, while the iPad's battery life is impressive in a >> continuous run (like watching movies back to back), it sucks in a similar >> way to the iPhone where you'll go to sleep with a full battery, and wake up >> with 70% or less. There is no reason for that on an iPad, since the iPad >> isn't doing sync for Visual Voicemail and all of the other AT&T phone to >> tower chatter. That open speaker, though, is probably the cause of most of >> the drain. >> >> I'm further discouraged to hear that the iPad won't be receiving an OS >> update until the Fall. So, I suppose that these VoiceOver issues will stand >> for at least 4 or 5 months. There will be a new iPhone, and a new version of >> the OS for everyone else, in about a month. A major OS update almost >> certainly means an update of VoiceOver. >> >> So, in the final analysis, the larger screen makes the iPad harder to work >> for me, and VoiceOver has more problems than on an iPhone. The larger >> battery is nice, but that isn't enough. In my mind, the iPhone is all the >> iPad that a blind user needs. >> >> If you are thinking of returning yours, better decide fast. You only have 14 >> days after receiving your iPad to return it, and, even then, you must pay a >> 10% restocking fee. >> >> The iPad is an interesting device, but I'd just rather use an iPhone, I >> think. >> >> Bryan >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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