Working with iPad: Consuming the Internet and Social Network (2/2)

(Continue from the previous post where we looked at how iPad was put into use in semi-working life)

Application switching
This is a mix bag feeling, mostly it is down to each individual app. Most non Apple apps insist on displaying the flash screen and logos. Safari is an example of the good guy who simply restores you back to where you were. Dictionary.com app is an example of when I get annoyed the most, it does not remember the last word you looked up and neither restore you back there. How to write 'mississippi' again? Switch to Dictionary app and I'll have to retype part of that word in again. You know what I mean.

The iPad OS itself has this one flaw - each time I switch app it put me back on the home screen. This was where I had to hunt for where the next app icon was. On iOS4, double-tap on the home button will expose the list of apps in the last-recent used fashion. Easy for me to switch back to the previous app.

Creating artwork
Simply cannot be done on iPad. This is when I had to go back to my MacBook. Nothing can replace my Photoshop. Question is - how do I get my photos on my camera to the iPad in the first place?

Posting blogs
A bit disappointed on this one. I can not find one good app for this. BlogPress is only good for simple blogs. I had to resort to Evernote and did the final edit on my MacBook. Blogger.com's editor in "Compose" doesn't even work with Safari on iPad. I had to use "Edit HTML" mode.



Twitter, Facebook, and other social net
Disappointed again. I try to like Tweetdeck, but it is too buggy. In the end, I ended up with Safari. Accessing these social website through Safari allows me to switch around from one page to another or from one app to another easier. Switching to Tweetdeck is annoying as it displays the logo and refresh all the columns every single time. And it takes too long to do this. For Facebook, at the time of this writing, there wasn't any Facebook app available.


In summary
By the end of my second week with the iPad, I was quite well adapted and adjusted. Me grabbing the iPad before tucking myself down on the couch become almost my second nature. However, if you read all of the above (I hope), you will notice one consistent frustration - an annoyance of switching between non Apple apps. Will I take iPad to my real professional work? Hmm. I will say it's almost there. Maybe, just maybe, iOS4 will complete this.


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