THE BEST WAY TO EXPERIENCE YOUR DIGITAL LIFE

The iPad is not available in Argentina yet, let alone in Mendoza. But we are slowly seeing more and more iPads in Mendoza’s cafes and restaurants. I bought my iPad the day Apple released it in the U.S, April 3th. I had pre-ordered it about a month prior and got it in the flagship Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. I’ve been using my iPad for a couple of months now and I must say that this is simply the greatest piece of technology ever designed for consumers.

Apple has created an entirely new product category with the iPad, and this is a revolutionary product, offering phenomenal construction, design and user experience. Although it is a 1.0 product, it is smartly based in Apple’s existing products, from the great MacBook’s unibody design and construction, to the iOS (the Operative System Apple developed for the iPhone). But we must remember that this product is still in its version 1.0, so, there are a lot of things the iPad can not do, at least right now, but there are a lot of things the iPad does extremely well.

This is why I love the iPad:

• Design: It is simply beautiful, and it looks amazing too.
• Display: The LED-backlit display is a real delight to use
• OS: Very easy to use and intuitive (iPhone users will love it)
• Battery: Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life
• Web: The best way to surf the web
• Mail: The Mail app is just fantastic – Video: Video looks amazing, the 9.7-inch high-resolution screen makes iPad perfect for watching movies in HD, TV shows, etc
• Photos: Viewing photos on iPad is a great experience , and syncing them with iPhoto is simply fantastic
• iBooks: Reading is a nice on iPad too. Text looks bright and sharp.
• iWork: These apps have been completely redesigned for iPad. Apple have done a great job here!
• App Store: there are more than 200,000 apps!

Some things people may consider a problem:

• A desktop or notebook computer is still needed for many operations, like loading your existing music/video library, syncing contacts, printing documents, backing up your data, etcetera
• No Flash support. Apple is doing everything to encourage developers into HTML5. This is good in the long term, but will be a transition issue for people with some particular need for a website that still uses Flash
• HD videos look great on the iPad, but it outputs video at 480p, which is standard definition. This means that for now there is no way to have HD video from the iPad on your HDTV. This is certainly something Apple can change in the future via a software update, but still no HDMI port
• The onscreen keyboard is surprisingly usable but I wouldn’t use it to write a long article. But the Apple Wireless Keyboard uses bluetooth technology and it is just great. It will also work on your iPhone if you update the iOS to version 4.0

A lot of people ask me questions like: is it just a big iPhone? will it replace my laptop? can I run Microsoft’s Office on it? The iPad is no cell phone substitute as it doesn’t have any phone capabilities (you can use the Skype App to make phone call, what only using a Wi-Fi network) . I think it can replace a laptop in some cases, it really depends on the user’s needs. A desktop or notebook computer is still needed for many operations. And Microsoft Office is not available for the iPad yet (probably it will never be, we don’t know). Apple offers the iWork suite that can open and save MS-Office documents. The iWork apps (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) constitute the greatest example of how specifically designed apps for this device can lift the user experience to new levels. The user interface is simply stunning. But make no mistake, if you are a heavy user of MS-Office (using complex Excel spreadsheets, creating macros in Word docs, etcetera) the iWork apps will not be a substitute.

The App Store from Apple offers more than 200,000 apps to download. Some of them are free, but the best ones are paid; usually from U$1 to U$10. New applications are being released everyday. I think these apps are showing the real potential of the iPad, and this is just the beginning. If you’re familiar with the iPhone or iPod Touch, then you know how useful and fun these applications can be.

Apple is currently selling 6 different configurations for the iPad. The differences rely on the capacity (16GB, 32GB and 64GB) and the 3G option (all versions have Wi-Fi). The 3G option is an extra U$130 in the U.S., and transforms the iPad into an always-online device. As far as I know, the only company operating in Argentina that will offer a G3 plan for the iPad is Movistar (the iPad uses a special microSIM card, your mobile phone regular SIM card will not work).

One of the problems is that the iPad is not available in Argentina yet. Although there are no official dates from Apple, we can expect the iPad to arrive in Argentina in about 2 months. It will be -for sure- ridiculous expensive when it arrives (high taxes). One good news for Apple fans living in Mendoza is thatYourStore (the only Apple Distributor in Mendoza) reopened its doors last week atPalmares Open Mall.

Expats living in Mendoza, or people who has a bank account in the U.S. or Europe, will find the “Apple experience” more interesting than locals do. Mendocinos using the iTunes Store and its related products (iPhone, iPod, iPad) are still unable to buy music, movies, TV shows and books from it. The iTunes Store in Argentina (and almost in all Latin American countries) only offers Apps through the AppStore, and there are even some Apps that are only available in the U.S. or specific countries (for example I had to wait almost two months to buy the iWork Apps for my iPad because my iTunes account only works for the Argentinian Store).

I also think expats will love the iPad for reading foreign magazines and newspapers. The news services and the publishing industry are very excited about this revolution. Some very good apps you can download for the iPad are:

ABC News
BBC
Financial Times
Fox News
Fluent News Reader
Marvel Comics
Popular Science+
Reuters News Pro
The Wall Street Journal
Time Magazine
Wired Magazine

It is a gorgeous device. I think it is perfect for people who travel a lot and need something light, powerful but not a full laptop. Apps like Skype, GoogleMaps, DropBox, GoToMeeting (just to name a few) are redefining the way we use technology and the iPad seems to be right platform for developers to put their products in. The iPad is the greatest post-PC (a term Steve Jobs has coined ) device yet created. Some day, the iPad will have most of features of a PC. And there will be almost no reasons to even have a PC. As we see more and more Wi-Fi hotspots in Mendoza, the iPad seems to be a great choice for many people.

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