From volcanoes to Third World schoolchildren: Why I chose the iPad 2

I have an ipad and like it... but what I really hate is the plethora of tech blogs claiming it is the perfect computer for most people.

For me when I travel I love the idea of the battery life, weight, light gaming, instant on etc but when it comes to the crunch the lack of storage to copy my photos to, the office suites are pretty feeble and difficult to work with compared with a netbook, getting my movies into ipad friendly format is a pain and time consuming, inability to plug in a standard usb 3g modem is a pain, need to jailbreak to unlock skype to 3g or to get more user friendly multitasking etc etc.

I have to disagree that the ipad will be fine for an average users needs... more like a very casual or inexperienced user. Unfortunately most tech blog writers have very few computer demands.. mainly because all they do is write, surf and post a few pictures/videos. Most of which will be edited in the office on a desktop.

We have released two iPad applications titled “The Deep Blue Kingdom” and “An amazing day at the zoo”. Both have been profiled on iTunes under “New & Noteworthy” (The Deep Blue Kingdom) and “What’s Hot” ( An Amazing Day AtThe Zoo). The applications are more than an illustrated book in that it offers a virtual experience filled with video and narration. Our goal is to bring positive experience that some families or parents would engage in with their children, to the masses. This creates a learning and creative experience which is fun and educational. This is especially true for children with special needs as those experiences are difficult to provide.

The Apple App Store links are:

1) The Deep Blue Kingdom: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-deep-blue-kingdom/id425904157?mt=8&ls=1

2) An Amazing Day At The Zoo: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/an-amazing-day-at-the-zoo/id420420133?mt=8

More information on our products can be found at: http://LearningInfinity.com

Great article appreciate the point of view don't understand why people are so negative. Here is a hands on experience with a product and people still find the time to talk smack about it which accomplish's nothing. I ended up replacing my laptop with ipad 1 i do a lot of speaking and working with kids it just worked better in the tablet form factor. It works great at home as well with the apple tv and a comp running itunes the whole set up was cheap and has been really stable. I say keep on writing don't give those people the time of day.

Some people simply want the moon!! I read on mine too no blurry screen perhaps if he cleaned every once in a while might help!!

"Crappy screen?" "Type too blurry to read?" (well, actually the OP wrote "print" which is probably a giveaway). I simply do not understand these criticisms. I'm an artist and teach design, read all the time and am very picky. My everyday monitor is a 30" Cinema Display. I'm also extremely nearsighted and am developing some other vision problems. One of the things I didn't know before I got my IPad is how stunning the display is and how easily it accommodates my visual needs and preferences. With type I can enlarge with a simple gesture and a huge virtual keyboard, it's just a joy to use.

I like the idea of using an iPad for traveling instead of a laptop.
What to do from overseas though?
I'm coming to NY from London and I need a good internet connection wherever I am.
Is anybody renting ipads in the airport yet? That would be a perfect solution.

I can understand the hate for the ipad. It's an expensive timewaster that can't do much practical. Like a two-seater vette. I sold mine cuz I hated the crappy screen. It was great for pictures & movies but I bought it to read books and magazines. The print was too blurry.

And often when you surf the web, you invariably want to...type. And guess what, typing on the glass screen sucks. I would go back to my laptop. Not too mention, I didn't carry it everywhere with me cuz it's so big, so I used my iphone almost as much just because it was in pocket.

I'll be buying another ipad in the future. One with a sharper screen. The ipad2 was a HUGE disappointment for me when it had the same resolution. When I can read print on it like I can with my iphone or a paper magazine it will finally justify it's existence.

I don't understand the hatred for iPads. They are great. I'm not even sure what I want to say but I'm on my second one and when I sold the iPad 1 and had a weeklong gap before getting the 2 it was like losing an appendage. I know this sounds a bit silly, but you have to consider my situation: I have a 10 year old PowerBook that I am too broke to replace (in it's day it was top of the line and cost me 3000 bucks) it runs leopard and has 1.6 gigs of space left on it. I use my 64 gig iPad to stream music (which I constantly buy - yes the real CDs) to my apple t.v. due to fact that I had to put my 1000 + cd collection in storage. I don't have everything, but I have what counts and that is alright by me. This thing also plays games, saves me money on books (space again) and is super fast. Plus no fan noise or scorched laps. Why would I want a netbook? I've used them. They are underpowered and difficult to use. There isn't a whole ecosystem built around them. I guess what I am saying is that I had to make some hard choices when I moved to this tiny apartment with the wife and the iPad 2 works for me.

It amazes me that detractors are still trying to slam the iPad after all this time. The fact is most have never even used one and simply are 'spec-heads' who can't see past the processor speeds, etc. It's a shame they miss ou on such practical and useful device. Try walking and typing with a laptop, especially in that terrain. Comedy.

"the iPad 2 is the first Apple product I've ever purchased. I'm not a fanboy and I've written some very nasty things about Apple that have been read by a few million folks."

Seems like the perfect resumé for someone who writes for The Unofficial Apple Weblog. I mean, why on earth would we be interested in hearing from someone with apple experience on an apple fan site.