I’ve decided to publish a short series on mobile tools that can be adapted effectively for the ethnographers craft. Today let’s think about recording the discussion/observations. Typically I use a note book. I write in it and make the odd drawing or sketch. While that’s all happening a digital recorder is usually capturing anything that’s said. Later, that recording will be transcribed and while there are systems to tie together the transcript with the audio tape… that’s more sophisticated than most of us have access to.

Audio Note… is really simple. You create a new note and start the recording. Then either type or draw with your finger or stylus. This was with my finger! Each entry to notes is time stamped. Benefit. Makes it really easy to go back and hear what they said! Optionally you can pause and continue. Key thing is making some notations or adding shifts in the question or the guide as you complete the interview.

Downside. Which I’d enjoy some debate on. Using an iPhone or iPad (iPad is better as a more pad like tool) in this manner still seems more invasive to me than using the old note book and pen/pencil. Still, increasingly… no matter where I go there’s been an iPad on the TV, and mobiles are everywhere. Since we explain we will be using a recording device, or video etc… I’m not sure that using this tech is intruding… I sense it quickly goes into the background. My concern here is.. that the use of such devices might shift how the respondent thinks about me… or what they are thinking about. I’m particularly conscious of this when involved with tech products and so tend not to use them in those situations. So, not yet convinced it is great for all situations. I am convinced it is brilliant for general interviewing and will become the norm.

For the makers of Audio Note – Luminant Software.….

I want the following. I want an account that links my iPhone and my iPad… So I can simultaneously record on both devices. I want to use my iPhone as a video. I want to use my iPad as the note pad and I want both audio streams recorded and the option to shift from one to the other… or quickly find that video moment. Analyzing video today is often too time consuming. However, the opportunity to bring some short clips to life very quickly has a huge bonus factor. I don’t mind if you make this all work through my iCloud!

I’ve written a few posts on the user implications of the iPad and changes to behavior that I’ve observed. You can find these here.

Imagine my delight to find the BMWMOA International Rally had WiFi everywhere! It was excellent, consistent and delivered at high speed. Despite there being 6109 attendees there wasn’t the pressure on the network that you get at a geek fest, the interest was more in bikes, chat, and a beer or two. Still as usual I was keeping my eye open for technology – particularly iPads which beat netbooks and carrying laptops on a bike any day. There were plenty of iPhones around too in this crowd. Now this biker crowd definitely skews older – it’s quite possible the average age was over 60 there. And I know the average age of BMW riders is north of 50.

I had placed my tent down to get a shady tree early in the week. By the time I returned on Thursday my choice spot was very crowded and bikers from all over had moved in. I went to the Rally knowing no-one and was pleased to find myself in the midst of a very eclectic group. Yet in my business I’m always looking for a few insights or reminders about how the world is changing and how people are having difficulty with it. So this post is really a short story about one of my campmates a retired lawyer from Texas who’s been coming to these Rallies for quite a few years. This is less about his stories and more about my observations. If you read this my friend I trust you see how much I enjoyed sharing with you.

My buddy had one of the latest Sprint phones an HTC Evo I think… or Samsung. It was an Android phone. He also had an iPad which first got us talking about them. I also know that I changed his world talking and sharing with him what he could do with both of these tools. After we talked they were more magical and valuable to him. And the world changed slightly.

Let’s step back. He’s retired and it was his daughter that really wanted the iPad. I suspect she conned him into buying one for him too. Perhaps he thought it a good idea for the trip this year. It wasn’t the type of conversation where I could dwell too deeply on these issues. His daughter had set it up for him. His grandkids had put a couple of games on it. It didn’t have more than one and a half screens worth of apps downloaded. The iPad was doing what he thought it could do at this point and not really showing him what it could do.

So naturally I asked him what he was using it for… and we began talking about his backroads route going back to Texas. We found ourselves talking about using google maps app versus google maps in safari to find routes. (iPad tends to push you back to the app). Soon I was showing him my iPad and how I’d used DropBox to drop my route maps from my Mac onto and then save them for offline use on my IPad. But we had a more immediate need. He needed maps and screens for tomorrow…. when he wouldn’t have cell coverage (more on that later) as his like mine is WiFi only. FIRST SIMPLE trick. Take a picture of the screen. Both buttons simultaneous click. So he soon had his photo file filling with maps/screenshots of directions. He was delighted and and I’m sure he never looked at the paper maps he had on the way home. The satellite view convinced us that a few roads also weren’t right for his 1200RT.

Of course this exercise took us into comparing iPads. He looked at mine with its pages of news apps. Within moments I’d got him downloading apps for WSJ, NYTimes Bloomberg etc. I can’t say how thrilled he was with this discovery. I made sure he downloaded them. We did search I then show him categories and how to find free apps etc. He was just delighted to get a daily fix opportunity for the Drudge Report. Oh well….

Then this took us to mobiles. He’d said perhaps you can help me with this… I then learned he had an unlimited data plan on Sprint with an Android handset. I started looking for the data modem on it. I was telling him it is only finding the app or it is already installed and you can use this as a wifi hotspot to provide all the connectivity he could need for his iPad almost anywhere. Unfortunately, that’s one I didn’t solve but again I know he will call sprint or check around / go into their store to find out how to use it as a hotspot.

We spent about an hour on this. Both of us I’m sure were highly animated. I had a blast. I also learned he’d paid for a $99 course at the Apple store. Basically as many help visits / tuition as he wanted. I’m not sure he’d been yet. Yet I’d been showing him ABC TV, NetFlix etc. He hadn’t been aware of the streaming capability. He didn’t have iBooks installed and I then helped him add Kindle too and talked about the differences. Another “bingo” moment. I challenged him to a racing game…. it’s about that time that the other guys told us to turn them off. I think there was some tech envy creeping in – although my other campers were still being slowing pushed into the tech world.

While nice to know that one iPad user now thinks his iPad is many times more valuable and I think well certainly hope I’ve made him more curious about it and willing to explore, the whole experience was one big red flag. Tech Geek world continues to make too many assumptions. We may think the iPad is an easy to use product or that the latest Android in your hands is going to get all the various options explored. The fact is few people either have the curiosity, or the understanding to know that it should do something. These products are magical when you are curious….. otherwise they are just a dumb purchase that isn’t leveraged to the max.

Some Observations.

• Granddad is / can adapt to the iPad very rapidly. However, he’s probably going to like “print” – news more than “music” (and may have never had an iPod). He’s probably also splurge on games for grandkids when he understands how to add them.
• The iPad doesn’t / fails to create a “magic” moment out of the box for users like my friend above. That’s because they see it as a PC which for them is just email… or not much more.
• There’s a collection of Magical Products – that could make a difference. However because they are only found in the APP store we can’t assume they will ever be found. In fact the iPad store organization is terrible for helping with this problem. There’s not even a first time visitor or user set of suggestions.
• Steve Jobs for all the great marketing he is attributed with is blowing the educational opportunity with every iPad and for that matter iPhone and iPod Touch sold. The suggestions I provided, the mini-tutorials may seem so obvious that you think you can skip them. You can’t. These should be installed on the device when it ships. The idea that there is no “HELP” effectively is a mistake.
• There’s no reminder of why it is “magical” out of the box. PC manufacturers junked up their PC’s with unwanted software for years. I don’t want to see that on the iPad. Yet a few videos… the how you do this and that – take a screen shot…. explore books, etc.
• Even WiFi and Using HotSpots can add some understanding of utility. Here’s a guy that has a hotspot in his phone and he doesn’t know it. If he knew it… the iPad just became more valuable.

My reflections above lead me to believe that Apple doesn’t really have a good grasp on these new iPad users. Yes it is early days. However, the Geeks are giving them to everyone. Christmas will see huge numbers sold. My belief and the proof point really is we all want our elders to stay current, we want to keep them going, keep them curious and we’re willing to give them expensive gifts from time to time. If the choice for many is… do I give my daughter one or my father…. I think I’ll hear I can share the one at home (although the device is more personal than I expected it to be) and give one to my Dad first.

The out of the box experience is lacking. An iPod Touch may hit the market with YouTube and Music, an iPad doesn’t. It needs TV on it… more Books, some Newspapers and magazines. And most important it needs to make the APP store really accessible. Right now it confronts people with “Ah I will be paying” and potentially all the concerns this target has with online shopping. It’s a danger zone rather than a learning and pleasure zone. It’s probably a shame it is known as a store rather than a “Zone” or a “Mall”. A “Zone” would really help with things like free, learning, hints, geniusbar, and then all the other things that could be brought in. Eg social element, meetup places etc. I’m sure that it is coming yet it’s coming too slow.

Smart Phones – similar problems. I tried to find the hotspot capabilities and couldn’t.  I couldn’t find the store in two minutes to see where to go and look for it. Everything about the Android remains more complex than the iPhone from what I’ve seen with each test I’ve used and tried. The message still isn’t getting through. Dumb it down. Dumb it down. Actually make it easy to use. I believe the mobile carriers aren’t making “hotspotting” with your mobile easy enough. Now that data seems to be charged for charging extra for this option like AT&T is obviously just what it is. A rip-off.

It’s not often I feel misled by a product and the hoopla surrounding it. LogMeIn Ignition for iPad/iPhone (see below for their description) is misrepresented on their site. It’s simply not a secure solution and not worth 29.99 from the iTunes store. I’ll share my story and you can be the judge if my expectations are unfair or unreasonable. I spoke with a LogMeIn tech too looking for resolution.

This is my issue.

1. IPad app has remote “blank screen” and “lock keyboard” capability.
2. This “security feature” is not available on or doesn’t work with a Mac. THEY CLAIM IT DOES SORT OF
3. Nowhere in the marketing on iTunes or on the LogMeIn site does it state that using this app with your Mac may leave that Mac open to other users even after you have logged off (Exiting the iPad).
4. As the lock screen and the lock keypad is unavailable it is sort of pointless using the wake-up feature.
5. LogMeIn can not refund your money because it was purchased via iTunes – take it up with them they say.How convenient!

I set up LogMeIn on my Mac after signing up for a standard account. I then purchased it for my iPad from the iTunes store. $29.99. I connected back to my MacBookPro with no problems. It took only a moment to figure out how to move the mouse on my iPad. It’s slower of course than just being on my Mac but really quite usable. The time delay was minimal on my home wifi network – although I imagine this could be slower on some connections. I was soon looking at the settings. There’s clearly a remote “screen” and “keyboard” lock available. I flicked them to on. I thought my laptop screen and keyboard would blank and lock. They didn’t. I rebooted and reset both devices a couple of times. I couldn’t get it to work. I went to the support pages. I accessed this page. How do I blank the host screen’s display while in remote control?

And while this doesn’t seem to be specific it doesn’t mention MAC’s or OSX as being incompatible. I have no idea if they are or aren’t with DPMS. But there was nothing I could apparently download. I rated the page a 1. I then called customer support.

The support tech was pretty unclear at first. I was way ahead of him re notes on the page, familiarity with the iPad and the software. He apparently had it working on an Android and while busy with my support inquire apparently logged into a mac etc. He also contacted some of his colleagues. I reiterated my problem a couple of times. That logging into to my Mac via my iPad left it exposed. Their site info states:

Option settings for optimizing the experience of connecting to and controlling the remote computer, including locking the remote computer’s keyboard, blanking the screen of the remote PC and screen resolution.

I guess this is the bullshit legal thing. Since when is a Mac in this regard not a PC? I can only assume this claim is effectively fraudulent. Let’s be even more obvious. How many iPad users or iPhone users have a Mac? I bet it is a lot. So if you create a product for them you’d expect them to connect to a Mac. Why is there NO WHERE something that says… if you have a MAC this will not work as advertised? Well he confirmed that the controls are their and only work on Windows machines. It doesn’t say.. won’t work with Mac – it just doesn’t. I asked him how many iPad/iPhone users probably have a Mac. I’m  sure a good number. That’s why I’d expect this to work.

So I asked for a refund. I was told that they can’t give a refund and I’d have to apply through the iTunes store. I’m not sure how you get a refund via the iTunes store. Sort of thought it impossible. In other words you spend your money and weep if the product doesn’t work. I’d have been less incensed if the product was at a price point that was much lower. However, I was prepared to pay $30 bucks for a product that would give my iPad more flexibility. I got a tough luck buddy. He said he’d never had this complaint before.

For my part I’ve seen a number of reviews. It was my impression that LogMeIn was one of the top grossing apps for iPad on iTunes. Certainly many people were writing it up that it was easy etc. I should have stuck to a VNC solution. It would have been cheaper and probably provided the security that should be built in. So think twice before you buy this app.

If you don’t lock your Mac, then it works. If you log out of your account then it isn’t going to work either. And when you log in your screen and keyboard will be available. You can only wake from sleep if it is hard tethered to your router. While I don’t see this as a big issue the LogMeIn site lacks instructions for proper wakeup and sleep setting.

Let me give an example where these controls aren’t just based on security. I’m at a show. My Mac is being used as a “presenter” hooked to a large Display. The Mac is hidden away. The iPad can be used from anywhere at the show to key up new presentations, play music even to activate remote skype sessions. They keyboard in this instance remains locked.

That’s the type of functionality I thought I should get for $29.99. BTW it seems the latest update doesn’t provide multi-tasking for iPhone 4.

More descriptive stuff from LogMeIn:

One click on your iPhone or iPad lets you remotely access one
or more computers anywhere, anytime. So you never have to worry about
leaving anything behind. Directly control your desktop, all your apps
and all your files – like that important presentation for your boss or
that important photo album for your mom – with a simple touch.

Now one last thing… really makes one wonder. You can simply log in from Safari on the iPad without an APP. Although You cannot download the plug-in to Safari that might make it work eg to type a document you can certainly click around.

LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone and iPad is a fast and simple way to connect to your LogMeIn Pro² and
LogMeIn Free
computers.

One click and your
iPhone or iPad becomes an extension of your work or home computer

• Your login information and preferences
  are stored securely
• Access from anywhere -
  without having to remember passwords

I’m still making notes and keeping observations about my iPad.  This is Part 4 of the Series where I share how I find I’m using my iPad in my kitchen. The series so far:

Part 1: What the iPad means to your next iPhone purchase! Observation #1 Speed
Part 2: iPad Observation #2 Content and Reading – Reinventing the Paper
Part 3: iPad Observation #3 Motorcycling with the iPad – Better than a laptop or notebook
Part 4: iPad Observation #4 Kitchen iPad – Epicurious – Food Revolution – ABC Player and where’s Safeway and Tesco?

For years I’ve seen the odd TV in kitchens. At one time they were small and portable. Then there were LCD’s etc. For me there was always that segment that watched TV in the kitchen. There’s another part of the kitchen I like too. It’s the bookcase part with a collection of recipe books and perhaps the “book stand” so they are easy to read. Yet the iPhone came along and I found it was easy to find a new recipe there and then there was Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals which taught me the fine art of making Risotto. Although the screen was too small, the length of time it stayed bright (settings) was always a nuisance.

Does the iPad have a place in the kitchen?  Then the iPad came along. Its place in the kitchen as part of modern everyday life is apparent. At first I even had the dock and charger located there. Whether on the table or on the bar it is at home there. Where and how’s it being used?

1. Reading: Yep its a supplement or replacement for the newspaper and that ‘take a break’ ritual. iPad and coffee and cereal? Kids reading to you?

2. TV: When you are left with nowhere else to go in the house and are pushed back into the kitchen. Stand up the iPad in the iPad Case and start watching Netflix or ABC Player. Need to understand what’s wrong with the American diet… start watching Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (was an entertaining series).

3. Cooking: Inspired to cook and eat better the iPad becomes that recipe book. While the iPhone could do with a good “camp food” recipe book Epicurious offers a visual experience that just starts to demonstrate why Recipe books are now obsolete. Add in ratings and room for comments and notes. Create your favorites. The change for me – earlier, the computer recipe was printed out somewhere else in the house. It wasn’t spontaneous while you are looking in the fridge etc.

4. Notes, email etc. Yes and no. I’d still put the shopping list directly on the iphone. Although the kitchen office is obvious. Notes, the odd family email yes very doable.

5. Sharing Occasions: Others have noted the iPad’s capability as a sharing device. It’s a great “bring it here” or “show me” device – thinking more about with children.

For me, the biggest downside of the iPad as a shared device is the lack of “log-ins”. In a house it is not about the password it is simply examples like everyone has a Facebook account. Logging in and out is just an unnecessary pain point.

This leaves me wondering how many households would benefit more from the addition of an iPad rather than an iPhone. There are many things the iPhone does from camera to the shopping list that the iPad cannot do. Yet in a family environment where there’s a stay-at-home partner and perhaps a desktop and general shared computing, this device takes the household experimentation into a new realm.

If the trend continues and people see it they are already saving for Xmas! In all the cases above it provides ready access to information in an environment that wasn’t starved of it but was usually adjacent. I haven’t solved the sticky fingers on the screen although I’m in the right place to clean it. As our living spaces have changed and so many homes live around the Kitchen it should be no surprise to find the iPad is at home there too.

We have plenty of “home & kitchen” stores. Great displays, lots of gadget. The iPod produced a generation of “Sound Docks”  and while BlendTec decided the best thing to do was blend an iPad, perhaps the best approach is to create an app for that. I’m always a little skeptical of multi-engined tools. Eg the drill, saw, sander, jigsaw type of thing. Yet there’s a range of Kitchen apps and gadgets coming that will make the iPad more relevant to this place in the home. Things I’d add to this idea space. Security, FirstAid, MedicalPlanning, Dietary Assistance, Food Scanner, energy meter (PG&E tie-in). If I was Safeway or Tesco I’d have it ready soon for the Shop from home program. Test a free scanner too!

So where’s your iPad go?, get used?, by?, and what’s it doing? What if your iPad kept a diary?

Most importantly. Has your playing around and usage of an iPad yet led you to rethink some aspects about future products, or how you should do business. I’d be surprised if it hasn’t and if you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 and don’t have one yet. I suggest you buy one and later ask your people about it. It’s worth the risk.

No real surprises in this first “report” on iPad usability. Still it is well worth the read. I’ve found and made many of the same observations. They have a 93 page report you can download at the end. There’s some good technical jargon and it certainly supports my general contention that the “publishing” media apps are the most boring. I’ve also been less than impressed by the “navigation” found in iPhone apps. Fact is up-sizing iPhone apps doesn’t work very well. Some of the language does seem harder than necessary yet it’s required to frame the real opportunity the iPad represents. That so many have already embraced it positively merely points to what is to come.

iPad Usability: First Findings From User Testing (Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox)

Another big difference between iPad and iPhone is that regular websites work reasonably well on the big tablet. In our iPhone usability studies, users strongly prefer using apps to going on the Web. It’s simply too painful to use most websites on the small screen. (Mobile-optimized sites alleviate this issue, but even they usually have worse usability than apps.)

The iPad’s bigger screen offers reasonable usability for regular Web pages. Of course, there’s still the “fat finger” problem common to all touch screens, which makes it hard for users to reliably hit small targets. The iPad has a read–tap asymmetry, where text big enough to be read is too small to touch. Thus, we definitely recommend large touch zones on any Web page hoping to attract many iPad users.

Also, most Web pages offer a rich and overstuffed experience compared to the iPad’s sparse and regulated environment; when an iPad app suddenly launches users onto the Web, the transition can be jarring.

For more than a decade, when we ask users for their first impression of (desktop) websites, the most frequently-used word has been “busy.” In contrast, the first impression of many iPad apps is “beautiful.” The change to a more soothing user experience is certainly welcome, especially for a device that may turn out to be more of a leisure computer than a business computer. Still, beauty shouldn’t come at the cost of being able to actually use the apps to derive real benefits from their features and content.

I’ve been quiet on my iPad observations. Fact is I’ve just been enjoying it. Perhaps so much that I’ve even overheated it. There is no question it is a powerful multi-media consumption device. I much prefer it for reading, over both my iPhone and my laptop. Something tactile and satisfying about scrolling and turning pages with the finger. So I thought I’d share my exploits using my iPad while camping off my BMW R1200GS.

In fact the weekend after the launch the iPad was on my bike. I’d slipped it under the clear plastic map cover on my tank bag. I was very keen to test it out as a GPS alternative despite it’s lack of 3G and need for WiFi. Now one needs a hotspot if this is to be successful. So after working out that the iPad fits perfectly in the GS Tank bag I went after my hotspot solution. I’m tired of hacking my iPhone and so I pulled the SIM and stuck it in my trusty N95 with JoikuSpot installed. Turned on the Nokia and synced the iPad. Perfect…. now we have WiFi and iPad almost anywhere.

Best things about this setup:

1. I can with an ungloved finger touch the iPad through the plastic and all touch features are retained. I did turn the screen up to the brightest setting. Lots of glare off the screen – yes it was on although can’t see that from above small picture.
2. I later added an iJet and remote. I stuck these in the bag too. The iJet remote (which works via radio) can manage all the volume and track changes I want with a gloved hand.
3. I locked the iPad screen and added a plug for the earphones so it would be accessible. Hooked up to my Shure earphones and I had a great experience. No wind noise and a low level of music. Better than earplugs.
4. The maps are incredible and there is enough memory in the system so google maps seem to go small and large and can be pushed around at any time regardless of whether there is a connection. If you have a travel bug just planning your trip on the iPad looking at maps is sort of cool. The downside. Google Maps doesn’t yet allow those advanced features that let you drag the route or specify no highways in the App.
5. It revolutionizes the entertainment available in a tiny tent. I hung it from the roof and watched movies. Lots of battery life. However, forget downloading from iTunes while on the move.
6. In the morning it charged relatively quickly off my new 2 amp Kensington USB charger that plugged into my standard power socket on the bike as we went up the road.
7. While N95′s running as wifi hotspots are powerhungry it was easy to keep the charge off the USB. I also ran my iPhone in Wifi mode no SIM off the same hotspot on a couple of occasions.

The downsides:

a. Sun! The screen isn’t really effective in bright sun. I never really expected to read it while riding and I seldom ride at night. There’s enough going on already on a bike. And no, movies on the road weren’t on the agenda either. In future I’ll keep it in the normal folio case I have for it on top inside the tank bag. The lid is useful as a shade when stopped and viewing the map.
b.Overheated: I’m not sure why but this last weekend under the plastic I got a total overheat and the iPad shut down. At that point I put it back in the tank bag. It cooled off and back to working. I don’t think it took well to the direct sunlight above even though I wasn’t using it. Black screen – music playing.
c. No GPS: The lack of real GPS never worried me. I can read a map. I wouldn’t buy the 3G to get that higher level of accuracy right now although I can see it would be preferred. The benefit comes when finding your position on the map when AT&T is nowhere to be found.
d. AT&T Coverage: Until you have really spent time out on the backroads of California you have no idea how sparse AT&T connections are and how frequently there is no data at all. The more backroads I travel the more off the grid I know I am. I’m sure the iPad is going to generate some really interesting GPS / Mapping solutions. The Garmin / TomTom killer mark two. That may get me to trade up.Right now I don’t know of any programs that have been launched. A and B above wouldn’t really be an issue in a car.

Note: Important note! If I’m carrying my stuff places I’d rather take my iPad than my iPhone. Taking my Macbook camping is more of a hassle and it has no battery life relatively. It also takes up way too much room although fits nicely in the lid of a side case. The iPad obsoletes the need re updates, staying in touch etc. It would help if the iPhone would tether without a jailbreak (again). I’m almost at the point where I’d never take anything but the iPad to any conference, on vacation (perfect for that) etc.

I’ve never understood why “integrating” GPS and navigation systems into cars is such a smart thing. I’ve not had a new car in years and I’d never purchase one with Navigation installed. The iPad could make for an awesome in-car system (yes it was done on the first weekend). By contrast I understand more why Bikes have expensive Garmin units mounted. Once you go in search of getting lost it is rather nice to have. Yet a waterproof unit with the latest bluetooth etc can cost you close to $1000 with mounts. So you will have to understand that I’m happier with my iPad substitute. It also saves me a fortune in buying maps and adding “camping” to the google maps search can even find you a spot to stop for the night.

Maybe there is some special mount and visor coming that will make integrating the iPad simple and effective. That’s a farkle I may want to try out.

This is Part 3 of a series of my iPad Observations. The series so far:
Part 1: What the iPad means to your next iPhone purchase! Observation #1 Speed
Part 2: iPad Observation #2 Content and Reading – Reinventing the Paper
Part 3: iPad Observation #3 Motorcycling with the iPad – Better than a laptop or notebook

I’m typing this post on my iPad using my “mac” bluetooth keyboard. I’ve done very little typing on it otherwise. Why? Well I was told it was for consumption and so I’ve been “consuming”. The thing is I’m consuming video – catching up on TV like Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. (Yep I like it. I hope he succeeds and I’m currently doing my own little food revolution – diet). And every one in the family has logged in and watched one movie via Netflix. In fact it probably took Netflix only a couple of hours to realize the mistake of never offering to stream recent videos to iPhone account or former account holders. I opted in again after a 3+ year absence at $8.99 about the lowest cost plan there is. (This hits family use of the AppleTV and renting via iTunes).

So that initial WOW! It wasn’t the Kindle WOW I expected. I read plenty on my iPhone already. And over the weekend I wasn’t ready for a book. Although I brought some back from my archives. It was video! Everyone was impressed with the screen and picture – unless in a very bright room or there is a lot of sunshine and glare around. The rain kept me from any outdoor tests. And the battery kept on going and going. (Note a full charge today on the supply charger while it was on took approximately 5 hours!).

So what does it all mean for content? Sometime over the weekend I read Suw Charman’s (Strange Attractor) post on just how stupid this content pricing is. Jeff Jarvis sleeping with an iPad and John Patrick on size pixels and more had good thoughts too. Key is… there’s a creative opportunity here that incumbents don’t begin to get. Examples WSJ at $17.99 per month (I can see it via the Safari browser for $1.99/week and for $2.69 get it with a paper) or Time Magazine for $4.99 which is not for all time. That is for ONE issue. When the WSJ was “free” I used to use it all the time on my iPhone. I also share a many links via Twitter off my iPhone. So I thought the NYTimes might actually be interesting. But their “editorial” iPad app is just a collection which can be emailed etc. It’s at best unfinished WIP. The 2X versions of iPhone apps particularly to read are unsatisfying. Eg the Guardian. Of the newspapers that managed to feel a little interesting only USA Today pulls off an iPad app which goes a little further and yet goes backwards at the same time. It’s not “flow” it’s more static than the iPhone’s. More on that later.

The Content Problem: Here’s the deal. We have newspapers thinking the iPad is an electronic newspaper. It isn’t and it doesn’t suit that format. Let’s deviate for a moment and talk about the iPhone. When all those first newsy apps reached the iPhone they were very much like the RSS readers we were used to. scroll and open… back and scroll. That model was easy to follow. Yet on the iPad there is so much more screen real-estate. By this morning I had bookmarked all the sites that Apple lists as HTML5 on my home screen. I’d added the NYT, Reuters, etc. That was a turning point. I run Thesis on my blog these days. I know what it could really do. In fact my sense is the best blogs are doing a better job than these traditional newspapers. My gut tells me the current crop of “newspaper” & “magazine” exports to iPad will fail. Just because you can whiz from page to page or is that article to article it doesn’t mean that is the best way to engage a sophisticated audience.

The Social Content Opportunity: I thought it was clear with the iPhone that sharing content / sharing links was cool! Tweet them, post to Facebook etc. Progress is too slow in this area. Location data. Where is it? Classifieds? Oh those are already gone? Adding in lots of video is not the answer. Make it easy for me to see who wrote it. Make it easy for comments. In fact make the “flow” faster and the “trust” more transparent. Make the location obvious. If the news is from another news organization… well share it. I’m on your new-platform for a reason I’ll stick to it if you help me find what I need. I also need things like notifications. I need things that make me smarter about my interests, work, life, etc. With this iPad I am going many more places guaranteed. Actually it is unreasonable to think they’d get all this in one or in time for the launch. Yet it’s been there on the web now waiting for years for them to pick it up.

The Weight Factor Sharing: I know many prefer the small Kindle to the KindleDX. At 1.5 pounds the iPad is close to the heavy weight class. It’s a maximum for this type of device. We’re still working out how to hold it or prop it. I was reading Food Rules last night. Now you can also read this common sense on an iPhone the difference is you cannot share it. It’s easy to read a Kindle book on the iPad and share or read it together. Just looking quickly at the pictures in Winnie the Pooh (free with the iBook app) it is immediately apparent that reading to another could be a nice thing to do. (That’s something that we never do with newspapers although sometimes do with a Magazine and often do with a book with a child.) This is another place where the “content” managers don’t seem to get it. We have desktop sharing and yet I don’t have “book-sharing / synchroinization”. I may be happy to share what I’m reading or seeing in real-time although perhaps not for later review (unless I bookmark it). I have enough power in this device – just don’t have the sharing opportunities around content. Eg the Digg factor with people I actually know or can get to know.

Kindle or iBook: It’s really very first impressions. I’m already Kindle centric via my iPhone. I don’t imagine I’m going to change that. In fact I’m pissed with Apple as they just helped put book prices back up. I liked the 9.99 model. I don’t get the iBook store. It doesn’t have my 10 years of reading history and purchases and doesn’t have all the neat recommendations. Apple may get there…. or could continue their old world new world forward by just buying Amazon.

IMHO the iPad makes the deficiencies inherent in old media even more apparent. Steve Jobs has done a masterful job of getting publishers on board and agreeing contracts. That gives him books, and media exposure. Unfortunately the iPad wants newspapers in a new format. Fact is magazines are something we hold, so are newspapers. Yet we don’t “touch” them much. We hold an iPad and we touch it a lot and the screen flash as fast as any page we turn. Peripheral vision exists on the iPad as part of a “touch-stroke”. Reading on the iPad is more lean forward in the newspaper mode. In fact that’s the table mode of reading the paper. The minds engaged.. a short period of time to drill to information that matters along with a lot of scanning, some mental notes and perhaps some rips or tear outs for someone else.

There are a couple of newsy items that did a better job yesterday. At least they show info in a new way. My first impression  NPR and iMDB was good they didn’t try the “old” thing. ABCVideo works. Yet some of these I prefer on the iPhone. Huffington post is faster on an iPhone than on the full Safari iPad browser. The iPads already set up for the “flow” and some Twitter clients suggest some insights although in the developer rush to get them out… they are unfinished and none in my opinion really work well.

Perhaps the single biggest opportunity for web design in a generation now exists. The “click screen” with mouse and trackpad brought us blogs. The RSS reader and small screen touch enable an understanding of the flow. I’m certain the gesture generation of web design will bring us something new. Maybe I will also have to explore some of these sketch programs.

Drawing to a conclusion on my first iPad WordPress blog I know I want an upgrade to the WordPress app. There’s much more it could do and needs to do to be effective. I also resorted to the iPhone Flickr app and then another edit on the laptop.

So… back to consuming and notating…

This is Part 2 of a series of my iPad Observations. The series so far:
Part 1: What the iPad means to your next iPhone purchase! Observation #1 Speed
Part 2: iPad Observation #2 Content and Reading – Reinventing the Paper

I’m not ready to write my review (if I ever am) on the iPad. It’s intriguing, it does things very well that make it compelling and it’s still a work in progress. So I’m more likely to write a few observations about the iPad over the next little while.

Observation #1
I won’t be buying another iPhone soon unless it delivers the speedy performance the iPad delivers. The iPad is the fastest “switching” device I’ve ever had my hands on. If only one app at a time was an issue on the iPhone or your old PC takes seconds to load that extra program then the iPad will leave you gob-smacked.

I loaded mine up 27gb (32gb iPad) and over 2gb of apps. Netflix loads and plays the movie without waiting or seeming to buffer or anything. YouTube the same way. The slowest sucky app I’ve tried is the WSJ and I won’t be subscribing to it at $17.99 per month.

I found there’s no sluggish changing between browser screens. They seem to be pop pop pop. Yes some games load a little slower yet I expect that. Yet my reference point is my 3G iPhone which is getting a little tired (not the 3GS with faster chip).  And that is the most important point. iPad sets my expectations re performance for the next iPhone. It’s also feels faster for reading pages.. than my MacbookPro.

Competitors and Future iPhone Purchaser Advice – Observations.
1. Know the Speed Spec: If you plan later this year to buy the next generation iPhone listen carefully to the announced specs. You want to know if you be standing in line to buy on day one the “chip” and the same performance delivered or even faster response than the iPad. If it isn’t or won’t deliver I will be disappointed and less likely to buy. I certainly won’t stand in line for one and will wait to go in and test “speed” first.  Also, if the next gen iPhone provides this level of speedy response they have an even better chance of sticking with their model and not running background apps.

2. Speed is Critical to Location: The speed has been verified already in other tests. Eg iPad vs Nexus1. The response speed of the iPad is so obvious to me that I’d pay a price premium to have the same or better on an iPhone. That’s good news for Apple. When there’s a visual difference and obvious out of pocket time to response ,whether maps, browsing, or to take a message it matters. We don’t slow for seconds… we are effectively on the run. Mobile devices that run faster and respond quicker to the out of pocket experience will win. This game is no more about answering a call or an SMS. Its about access to data/info, and momentary pauses, fleeting moments or notifications. We don’t all run the 100m in less than 10sec. However many mobiles won’t even respond in 10seconds to getting their browser open or responding to that notification. Apple’s on the right track with speed. Location centric devices need speed.

3. iPhone before iPad: The iPhone will always be more important to me than the iPad. Many iPhone purchasers will also purchase iPads. The iPad cannot compete with the utility and pocket-ability of the iPhone. I feel there’s still many cases where the iPad will be an appropriate purchase. For non-iPhone users that is  really an iPod purchase and the iPad will excel at trading up iPod Touch users and broadening the Apple audience.

4. Speed and Longevity: So here in the iPad there is a device that will further reframe how we think about mobility, touch, and performance. Just when the “chip” speed and memory was no longer relevant to the PC / Mac we may be poised to find it defines the mobile space. Before iPad it appeared it was just software and some good design that made the iPhone better. The iPad suggests that the tight integration Apple is applying may not be easy to compete with. I’m yet to handle a “fast” Nokia, and “Androids” seem to be fragmenting. The time to hold on to a mobile has been decreasing. Yet Apple appears to be going against the tide with a platform approach which pushes 2 to 3+ years of life rather than 1 year or 18 months. Phone’s that last a little longer have many benefits from implications re “contracts” to total cost of ownership. Apple’s iPhone approach doesn’t suggest radical change tomorrow. The form factor won’t be out of date in 18 months. The range is not proliferating with many different models. They are all factors which help justify a higher price.

The real point of this post and “observation” is “speed”.  Speed matters, the chip is only part of it. So is touch, clicks to action, generally accessibility. Touch is already maturing. So, Apple’s timing on “hardware” seems impeccable. if that makes my phone last like my Laptop then it’s an important purchase criteria.

Now let’s wait and see if Apple “launch” the speed model (just like the PC/Mac 2.8ghz etc) in the next generation iPhones / mobile. They get a huge premium currently for the 32gb vs 16gb etc. That’s less and less sustainable. Most of us have more capacity than we need. So…. why will you continue to pay a premium… it’s for speed or screen.. there’s not much else in it. So extend that thought and we get two versions. One higher speed – more efficient screen and longer battery life. The other faster than current. Who know’s if I’m right.

As a competitor I’d be worried that Apple’s next generation mobile devices will be faster than what’s in your pipeline.