Blog/First iPad Impressions

From ~esantoro

I've been curious about trying an iPad for a while, and a relative had a 10 inches ipad (and a first-generation apple pencil) around which wasn't really used, so they lent it to me.

I've been trying it for a while, and would like to share some first impressions. Spoiler: i'm not really convinced.

Basically what i'd like to use it for are the following tasks:

  • reading ebooks
  • taking notes
  • (occasionally) connect (ssh) to remote devices to do maintenance and/or light development

Let's go over the three main tasks one by one, but keep in mind: the deal here is that I can try the iPad for some months (it's mid-june now) and in September give it back and decide whether i want to get a personal one (out of pocket). The conundrum here is if I want to spend a large sum of money and buy further into the ecosystem (accessories, subscriptions etc).

Some updates are in the post Blog/Second iPad Impressions

Reading ebooks

To give some context about where i'm coming from: I currently own a Kobo Touch 2.0 (bought new many years ago). It's a very nice little device, that has been working very well over the years. The best thing about it is that I can connect it to my laptop over USB (must be usb 2.0 it seems) and transfer ebooks, and after that it will just work and don't bother me very much.

It has some problems however:

  1. Displaying PDFs is slow, zooming in/out is even slower
  2. When displaying ePub/mobi files, things like tables and/or images get very often messed up or even worse, cut out of the display (with no clear way to have it displayed properly)

The above problems get really frustrating when I want to read something more technical (which contains pictures, tables and charts). Particularly with charts, colors would help.

Now, the iPad:

No big deal. The built-in e-reader is fine, it get tables and pictures just fine (and i can view pictures individually).

I don't consider this an incredibly better improvement, it's really the bare minimum, considering that I'm comparing a 120€ device (the Kobo) with a 900+€ device (the iPad)

Transferring file is way more convoluted though:

The ways I seem available are:

  1. Downloading them via http
  2. Transferring via airdrop
  3. Downloading them via SAMBA
    1. note: the samba support in the iPad doesn't seem to go hand-in-hand with my samba server at home. Some additional configuration is likely needed, but i haven't looked into that (yet)

Reading in landscape mode is dumb: the ibooks app will force you to keep two columns.

But long story short: it's generally okay.

Taking notes (and studying)

This is the main reason why i'm considering the iPad.

So for a number of reasons I have to go through classes and courses, so the appeal of the iPad is to have something light and functional that can replace the laptop (computer) + books + (paper) notebooks + pen.

Additionally, the idea of moving from a paper agenda to a digital one could be interesting (my paper agenda works fine, I don't really need a digital equivalent).

But here comes one of the biggest disappointments: the whole story is a bitter trade-off that I don't really like.

  • The built-in notes app is very basic (but it gets synchronized across devices)
  • There are a number of note-taking / notebook apps, each with its pros and cons
    • which one is would work well for me?
  • basically all the interesting apps require some kind of subscription, and they're not really cheap.
  • since all the apps require subscription, that means my data would be constantly at risk (not to mention, the privacy implications...)

But wait, there's more (and worse): the apps are free to download from the AppStore, it is signalled that in-app purchases will be necessary (the subscription) but:

  • there's no way to know beforehand what the subscription price will be

Basically to know how much it's going to cost you, you'll have to go ahead and install the app, go through the whole first-run and then you'll be prompted to buy the subscription.

The app i'm most interested in, Penbook, seems to have a free trial of one week, which is too short in my opinion. Considering I'd like to acquire tooling that I plan on using for years, a month would be more suited. Note that dven the Penbook website do not list pricing anywhere.

In fairness, there's also to be said that Penbook does offer a lifetime subscription for something like 55€, which is interesting.

But considering it's the Apple ecosystem, it's a weak promise that you can't really trust.

So basically a 900+€ device requires a perpetual influx of money to keep working. And will become useless if for any reason you fail at keeping the influx alive.

SSH and remoting

I've been keeping the I swapped my MacBook for an iPad+Linode article in the back of my mind for like ~10 years now.

It's a nice idea, that wouln't work for me in practice, for a number of reasons, among which:

  1. my current employer is (rightfully) very strict about device security, and you can't just pick a new fancy device and connect it to corporate resources.
    1. I don't complain about this, it security is very important and customer data security and integrity is sacred.
  2. my current work is fairly complex, and I do use two external 24" displays, because work often becomes intense and i do need that kind of screen real estate
    1. the idea doing any actual work on the 10" is ridiculous to me
    2. it doesn't seem to be possible to use two external displays on the ipad, and from the videos i've seen using an external display with the ipad looks like a crippled experience

But besides this:

  • I did manage to get my personal VPN installed and working, no big deal
  • I did manage to get my private CA recognized and working, it was a bit cumbersome but ok
  • connecting to a samba share seems to need some additional attention.

I tried some SSH apps, and the good ones have the same issues as the notetaking app (and more):

  • they're really optimised for touch usage... but i want an ssh terminal. it's a tablet, i guess i'll take it anyway.
  • subscriptions, subscriptions everywhere.
  • the free tier is just below actual usability... all the niceties are behind the paid subscriptions.
    • example: run a snippet on connection (like reattaching to a screen session).

What are the alternatives?

The alternatives that i'm considering are the following:

  • get some other kind of e-reader device (like the Kindle Scribe or the Kobo equivalent).
    • I like the large screen real estate
    • I like their long battery life
    • I don't like how little expandable (in terms of features) they are
    • I have to look deeper into how easy loading books into them is.
  • Keep using my trusty paper agenda and my trusty laptop (ThinkPad X270).

Considering the entry cost (600-900+ €) and the ongoing costs... I might not be worth it for me.

Some final considerations after these initial impressions

So what will I do for now?

  • I think i'll stick to the termius free tier, and maybe try some more ssh terminal apps.
  • I want to try and go in the office a bit, and see how pratical/useful this really get
    • is the additional weight in my backpack noticeable?
    • is the required space in my backpack a reasonable tradeoff?
    • is it even practical to get this ipad thing on my work desk near my main (work) laptop?
    • does this thing, overall, make my life better or worse?
  • I want to try the Penbook app, so i'll give up and go through their (one week) free trial and maybe the monthly subscription.
    • I'm already a bit skeptical about getting an iPad, but if i end up liking it enough I could consider getting the lifetime license.
Retrieved from "https://santoro.tk/w/index.php?title=Blog/First_iPad_Impressions&oldid=45"