Thoughts on the iPad

Since the iPad wasn’t available in Canada until late April, Nick Small and I drove down to New York to pick one up on day the iPad launched. After explaining to the border patrol why were crossing into America at 1am we finally arrived at the Apple store at 3am, only to find a line already 10 people long.

Apple gave us coffee and I even got to slur my way through a small local news interview after a night of no sleep.

The line up was very long (around 200 in the reserved line and about 150 in the non reserved) so getting there early was definitely worth it.

The experience of purchasing the iPad was incredible. The Apple store employees opened the store with a little song and dance and when an owner of a new 9.7″ inches of glass walked out the store the employees applauded. When people say Apple has a “cult following” they aren’t kidding.

The iPad itself is truly amazing. I took it to a party the next day and it was a hit. People were passing it around showing off their photos and watching yours truly on TV.

What do I use the iPad for? Other than it completely revolutionizing the way I eat breakfast, I have found a few practical uses for my new iPad…

1. It replaces my ebook reader when I read ui/design books
2. RSS reader
3. An excuse not to cuddle with the girlfriend
4. Something to use in the kitchen when waiting for things to cook
5. Showing clients mock ups and designs (which is way more intuitive than bringing a laptop)

There is a lot of negativity surrounding this device, since people aren’t focusing what the iPad is on a macro scale. The iPad is a blank slate computer where the applications define its purpose, not the hardware.

Unfortunately, the iPad’s user interface doesn’t feel polished and lacks Apple’s legendary attention to detail. I wish I could go more in depth into this issue, but I sold my iPad to keep the loan sharks off my back a little longer.

The glossy screen is also a major negative.

Overall, I love the iPad and am looking forward to waiting in line again to grab a replacement iPad when it comes to Canada. Kidding. Sort of.

10 rules for buying a web design LCD

The LCD is easily one of the most misunderstood pieces of tech simply because the manufacturer’s are rarely honest about their specs or what type of panel is in the LCD.

1. Make sure your LCD is a *VA or IPS. Avoid TN panels, they are unacceptable for professional level work.
2. Ensure you can return the LCD. Dead pixels, stuck pixels, and lit pixels are all common in present day LCDs, make sure you purchase from a company with a hassle free return policy.
3. The specs on the box are irrelevant. Contrast ratios, viewing angles, response time are all lies.
4. Avoid Wide Gamut. Wide gamut can be great if you are working in an aRGB color space (photographers) – but can be a nightmare for web designers who work in the sRGB color space.
5. Don’t buy from big box stores. In the last few years Best Buy and Futureshop have only sold crappy TN panels which are unacceptable from color critical work.
6. Avoid a high pixel pitch. Higher pixel pitches are less sharper, but better if you sit far away from you monitor or if you are myopic.
7. The manufacturer doesn’t matter. There are only a handful of manufactures of LCD panels.
8. Watch out for back light bleed. When watching a movie there is nothing more annoying than seeing blotches of white in the black areas.
9. Read “real” reviews. PC World, Cnet, etc don’t have a clue what a good LCD is, so make sure you read real reviews.
10. Not all LCDs are created equal. LCDs have the worst quality control of any product I know. Color reproduction, back light uniformity, screen coating, etc are rarely consistent.

Finding an LCD for web design is increasingly difficult and expensive. All the manufacturers are moving towards cheaper panels and gimmicks like glossy screens or wide gamut. If you need a good recommendation this forum thread will help a lot. Hardforum’s Display Forum, is another great resource.

As of summer 2009 in Canada, you are limited to a handful of choices. NEC LCD2490WUXI, Dell 2407 (non hc), BenQ FP241W, Samsung 245T, Apple 23″ ACD, maybe the Dell U2410 and there are a few more, but they are quite difficult to find or too expensive ( Apple’s 30″ ACD ).