iLive with the iPad

06/01/10 12:59
Anton Anderson, President of Productivity Consulting, a Los Angeles based consulting company tells his story of living with the new Apple iPad.

“iLive with the iPad” An interview with Anton Anderson by Shauna McGee Kinney

Anton Anderson is the Senior Partner at Productivity Consulting, a Los Angeles based consulting firm. He tells his story of the last couple months using the Apple iPad for business and personal computing.

How do you like your iPad?

I love it. For me it has been a revolution. While it has not been “magic”, it comes pretty close. The first thing it did was revolutionize my morning coffee! The experience with the web on the iPad is like nothing else. It's like I truly have the information in my hands.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

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Is it better than a newspaper?

It’s comparable to a newspaper. I used to subscribe to the hard copy versions of the LA Times and Wall Street Journal. I let go of both of them because it was too much paper, too much clutter. Now I read the LA Times online. Reading it on the iPad is as comfortable as reading a newspaper and much more comfortable than sitting at the kitchen table with my laptop.


Do you subscribe to any of these newspapers on the iPad, where you get additional articles?

The iPad app for the Wall Street Journal iPad app is free, BUT the online service to get the articles costs more than the hard copy and web online subscription combined! I am waiting for the pricing model to change.

Have you seen relatively smaller publications like the LA Business Journal adopt the iPad?

I haven't looked, but I get my news from a number of other sources


If an iPad user doesn't have the app, how do the news websites look on the iPad?

It's beautiful. To read a website on the iPad is much more akin to reading the actual newspaper than when I am using a laptop. Though, in both cases it's the same website. It's the physiology of the experience, of being able to have the information in my lap, sit on the couch and read it like a magazine.

What about the change to the user interface?

Touching makes the experience much more profound. Part of the magic of the iPad is that the web feels more intimate, just because I am touching it. Web browsing on the iPad is the best experience ever.

What about Flash on the web?

Apple is not supporting Flash on the iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. I personally have not missed it for personal or business use. Most of the videos, in particular the YouTube videos, work just fine on the iPad. In fact, there is a dedicated YouTube app that comes built in like the iPhone.


Clearly you love the iPad; how are you using it specifically for business?

I have downloaded a number of apps and I have taken my iPad with me to every client meeting since I bought it. My business has changed much in the same way, and reading a newspaper is dramatically different.

When I show documents on the iPad to my clients, the presentation felt the same as when I presented ideas on a piece of paper. But it is better than a piece of paper because I can edit it, right away. And, the information isn't obsolete, like a piece of paper is the minute I print it. I can pull up as many pages as I want; it’s like having lots of paper.

In particular, I do a lot of charts and graphs with OmniGraffle. I use a PDF reader called GoodReader, which allows me to read PDFs and other types of documents. One of the things I like about GoodReader is it allows me to connect to online services like my MobileMe iDisk. If I were unable to access my iPad, those documents are still backed up on MobileMe, and accessible by my other computers.

  • OmniGraffle - is available for the iPad
  • GoodReader - is a PDF reader that converts the text into the screen width of the iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch
  • MobileMe - is online, secure, networked file storage connecting and synching desktop, laptop, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch to the same data
  • Idea Boards - is a white board application
  • iWork - has iPad versions of Keynote (presentations), Pages (word processor), Numbers (spreadsheets)

Additionally, I can do presentations using Keynote. I would normally construct and present Keynote on my laptop. Now, I can present Keynote on my iPad, or I could connect my iPad to a projector using an iPad VGA adapter.

Do you have to pay for any additional WiFi or mobile service to connect to service like your MobileMe account?

I purchased the WiFi only iPad. This allowed me to check out the technology prior to the 3G becoming available at the end of April. So far, I've only had one instance where I wished I had the 3G. Later this year I will get the 3G because sometimes I won't be near any known WiFi and I will want to have the connectivity.

So you've been able to get by on your clients' WiFi or free WiFi?

Nearly all of our clients have secure wireless networks that our company set up and manages. Since I am working at our clients offices, I am securely connected to their network.

What is your favorite business application and your favorite personal application?

Specifically, for the iPad, my favorite business app is a tie between GoodReader and Keynote as my favorite. But OmniFocus is my overall favorite app.

  • OmniFocus - is a productivity and task manager

My favorite personal app is Scrabble. I can play with other people over Facebook. And, it has an amazing “party play” feature that allows me to play with people who have iPod Touches or iPhones. The iPad app is the board, while the iPod Touch or iPhone is the other player’s tile rack. With up to four people playing, it’s fun and very futuristic.

  • Scrabble - is the traditional multiplayer word-game, gone futuristic

So, you just can't load desktop apps on your iPad? You have to load specific iPad apps?

Yes, I have to download apps specifically for the iPad or iPhone.

I downloaded the three paid iWorks apps ($10 each from the Apps Store), so I could open Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. I can edit, manipulate, and change docs right on my iPad -- very functional for light-weight work.


Now, how about using cloud software like Google docs on an iPad?

Right now, Google docs sees the iPad as a mobile device which means I can view, but I cannot do anything much in the way of editing. It is fine for viewing.

  • Google docs - cannot edit Google docs, but can read docs using the iPad

So far, can your iPad replace your laptop?

So far for personal stuff, yes. Pretty much I feel very confident with my desktop machine being  my main repository for data, and I can go on personal trips without a laptop. The iPad would cover over 90%, and, most likely 100% of my needs.

For business, I think traveling without a laptop will soon be the case. On my business trips in May, I only had a few instances when I needed my laptop.

You travelled with both the laptop and iPad?

I traveled with the laptop as a crutch. I only used it when there wasn’t an equivalent app on the iPad. The iPad did 95% of what I needed.

For example, the only time I used my laptop was when I needed to use OmniOutliner (which is actually coming out soon for the iPad.) So in the future, this same trip would not have required me to use my laptop. I have another business trip later this month where I will not fly with my laptop. And, we’ll see how it goes – so stay tuned.

  • OmniOutliner - is soon to come out with an iPad version of their application

Once FileMaker becomes available, I won’t need a laptop for any of my travels—so stay “extra” tuned.

Does this mean you will leave your iPhone at home, too? You will have both your iPhone and iPad?

I’ll still need to have my iPhone. But also, the iPad doesn't fit very well in my pocket!
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