My first day with the iPad

Since the day it was launched, I heard so many people talk about how amazing the iPad was. Every time someone would say, "Hey, check this amazing app out!" or, "Did you see what happens when I tilt it this way?" I would gag a little bit. I mean, I'm a technophile myself but no piece of technology can be that good. Or can it?

My awesome business partner, Mike happened to have one at home that he hasn't been using much. So instead of letting it sit around, acting like a giant drink coaster, he brought it into the office the other day. It sat by his computer for a little while but it wasn't long before the shiny black border and super awesome touch screen got the better of me. I picked it up, turned it on and loaded our new website for GetMinders (it'll be live in a day or two). And for those of you who care, it looked gorgeous! Not only that but I noticed a number of other impressive features right off the bat.

The device was fast, it was light weight but felt sturdy in my hands, the screen was bright but not glaring and most important, the onscreen keyboard rocked. I mean, I'm typing this blog entry entirely on the iPad and it feels pretty damn good. One other major point that I think most people gloss over is the fact that it's simple to get started. I mean, anyone can work hard enough to make a slick UI but it takes serious skill to create an OS and platform that can be picked up and used full force within a few minutes.

Finally, I want to share what has really sold me on this device -- productivity. I have a MacBook Air sitting on my desk at the office, a Dell at my wife's office and a MacBook at home but there's something to be said about a device that does only one thing well at a time. Many have said that they hate the fact that Apple doesn't offer real multitasking. And there is a time and a place for everything but in a world like mine where my day is filled with checking email, working on documents, chatting with customers and investors and getting research done, being limited to one thing at a time has boosted my productivity exponentially. I still use the MacBook Air for heavier lifting (I don't do much CPU intensive stuff) like logging into our servers with SSH and working on lots of code but I do find myself doing a lot more on the iPad during the day.

So far, I like the device and can't wait for the new one with a camera and all sorts of other new bells and whistles to be released. But for now I'm getting more and more comfortable with every minute I sound with this nifty computer-like piece of hardware.

P.S. If you have favorite apps for the iPad, please post them here in the comments or give me a shout on Twitter. I've started using some pretty cool products like MightyMeeting, WordPress, Squarespace, Flipboard and more and I'm always open to new suggestions.

Android versus iPhone: Winner Takes Most

That's right, my belief was that the Android platform would beat out the iPhone OS way back when and that time is coming just around the corner.  Google announced some major improvements at the Google I/O conference that really turns their flagship mobile product into the best mobile platform out there.  Let's take a look at four reasons the little green alien will kick ass:

• The faster and more powerful browser - While Google already had a pretty decent browser built into the Android OS, it was still the younger, more awkward version of the iPhone's browser.  Actions while browsing the web on an Apple device were simply smoother and faster to load.  Android had no problem with this before as they allowed any browser to come in and fix the problem (and people did - Dolphin, Sky Fire, Mozilla, etc) but now they're taking the lead and rolling out a browser that's not only faster, but sexy and simple to boot.
• New APIs - I know this seems a bit technical but it's not that complicated.  The Android OS is fairly open (there are still some hooks that are unavailable to the normal developer) and this means one thing for end users.  More amazing applications that continue to rock your world.  Sure the iPhone has some snazzy games but the latest Android release opens up tethering, more security features (for the enterprise) and an unlimited amount of space for applications (now that they can be saved to the expandable and removable SD card).
• Oh yeah, that little thing named Flash - While Apple continues to believe that just because they don't support it up on their platform the rest of the world will roll over and simply replace all of their Flash developed apps and sites, Google is embracing the fact that there are numerous technologies out there.  With this latest release, Flash will be supported directly in the OS (because of their open platform, Sky Fire already does this on Android).  This doesn't meant that Google isn't looking forward.  Their browser supports HTML5 and all of the other great web standards but they've given users the choice to log on to their everyday sites.  This is a big deal for more people (and their grandmothers).
• Multitasking - Need I say more?  The ability for me to run multiple applications at the same time is important to my productivity.  If Apple wants me to replace some of my everyday hardware with theirs, they have another thing coming.  I, along with the rest of the world, work on more than one thing at a time.  I hope Apple gets with the program but for now, this is a major reason to stick with Android in my book. 

I'm not saying that the iPhone (or other Apple products) will be obsolete any time soon but I do believe that over the next 12-18 months people will realize that Google's product is pretty amazing and will eventually win the mobile war if Apple doesn't choose to open up and smell the web (the open web that is).  People need choice, it's part of what makes us human.