[Air-L] why iPad

Whitney Quesenbery whitneyq at gmail.com
Sun Jul 18 05:38:51 PDT 2010


I've looked for a tablet for the form factor, but all the ones I've
found so far are heavy and a bit cumbersome.

I don't have an iPad, but when I've used one, the "wow" factor for me
was how light and easy to handle it felt. Apple (or perhaps we should
say IDEO) is a master of getting feel right, so the device not only
looks good but makes you want to touch it.

The Kindle (which I have owned from the very beginning and love) looks
industrial, but has an OK feel -- but not that over-the-top attention
to detail, and so has several usability issues in key placement and
size.

Perhaps that is part of why there is so much outrage over the iPhone
4: holding it in the way the device asks to be held triggers the
antenna error. So, it's a double betrayal.

In a similar experience, I have a Logitech device for advancing
Powerpoint slides. It's not a clunky air mouse - all it does it let me
move forward and back through a PPT or Keynote presentation. But what
I love is the way it feels in my hand: discreet, soft, with a good
tactile feel on the keys. Others just feel like a mechanical clicker.

PS. I don't own an iPAD, as I can't quite justify it yet. And, I don't
want a Windows device, so I'm waiting for an Android tablet with
industrial design that comes close.


On Sun, Jul 18, 2010 at 1:28 AM, live <human.factor.one at gmail.com> wrote:
> I just want to point out that the *pad* factor is not specific to only iPads
> - all tablets, regardless of brand are like this.
>
> *Unobtrusive
> *Flat against table
> *cradled in arm
>
> All tablets are like this, not just the iPad.
>
>
> On Jul 17, 2010, at 3:21 PM, Sarah Roberts wrote:
>
>> A few observations:
>>
>> I think the form factor, and wow factor, of the iPad is central to the
>> choice made to put them in the field.  I have a netbook, a laptop, and a
>> million other devices, and the _pad_ nature of the iPad would be an
>> intriguing tool for use for the reasons elucidated by boyd: for its
>> unobtrusiveness, in some cases (e.g., flat against a table surface; cradled
>> in arm like a legal pad; when screen viewing is paramount, as opposed to
>> keyboarding or data entry).
>>
>> Further, Duke has a long history of both a relationship with Apple as well
>> as a desire to be on the fore of implementing new technology in academia;
>> about this I can speak firsthand, due to my association with Duke and with
>> such projects in a previous life.  Perhaps most importantly, they frequently
>> have the means to do it when not all others can.
>>
>> Is there a cool factor in jumping onto iPod, iMovie, iPad, and iWhatever's
>> next at Duke and elsewhere for use in research?  Undeniably, yes.  But who
>> ever said that the tools researchers use, aside from being utilitarian,
>> can't also have a bonus of being fun for them to handle and use, too?  Why
>> iPad?  Why not?
>>
>> --Sarah
>>
>> ---
>>
>> S a r a h  T.  R o b e r t s
>> Doctoral Student and Fellow, Information in Society
>> Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS)
>> http://www.lis.illinois.edu/people/students/sarah-roberts-phd-student
>>
>> University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
>> http://www.lis.illinois.edu/programs/phd/infosociety/
>>
>>>
>>> Message: 7
>>> Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2010 23:11:39 -0400
>>> From: danah boyd <aoir.z3z at danah.org>
>>> To: Barry Wellman <wellman at CHASS.UTORONTO.CA>
>>> Cc: aoir list <air-l at aoir.org>
>>> Subject: Re: [Air-L] why iPad
>>> Message-ID: <0BD11815-B485-4C43-A43B-3097B7583BEC at danah.org>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>>>
>>> Personally, I bought an iPad for field research and it's been great so
>>> far.  What I needed was a reliable web browser that I could show to people I
>>> interview.  And the AT&T plan - as evil as it is - was a lot cheaper than
>>> any of the laptop aircards and required much less commitment.
>>>
>>> In the process, I learned something important.  When I put a computer in
>>> front of someone, people face the screen. I can watch them OR I can watch
>>> the screen.  Watching both is awkward and creates odd social dynamics
>>> because I have to sit next to the person. With the iPad, I could put it down
>>> on a table between us and watch the person's face while watching where they
>>> browse, albeit upside-down, but that's easy when I'm not trying to read the
>>> exact content.  Shared browsing is very easy to accommodate and it's quite
>>> easy to go through sites with someone.
>>>
>>> I'm not using it for taking notes or other text-heavy processes.  I'm
>>> looking to browse. And not to mimic browsing that one does on a computer.
>>>  Just outright stare-at-screen browsing while in the midst of an interview.
>>> And I'm very happy with it.
>>>
>>> danah
>>>
>>>
>>> On Jul 15, 2010, at 6:07 PM, Barry Wellman wrote:
>>>
>>>> After all the hype, I can't figger out why someone (even at Duke) would
>>>> use an iPad rather than a netbook for their research. Sounds like kewl won
>>>> over functionality. If I'm taking notes, I'd rather have a real keyboard. If
>>>> I'm doing other stuff, I'd rather have the plethora of applications running
>>>> on Win7/XP or MacOX than on the little apps running on iPods and iPhones
>>>> with their baby OS. -- I've been using the iPhone 3GS for months now as a
>>>> pocket phone etc and am continually frustrated on what it can't do.
>>>> End iRant. End PodHype
>>>>
>>>> Barry Wellman
>>>> _______________________________________________________________________
>>>>
>>>> S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC               NetLab Director
>>>> Department of Sociology                  725 Spadina Avenue, Room 388
>>>> University of Toronto   Toronto Canada M5S 2J4   twitter:barrywellman
>>>> http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman             fax:+1-416-978-3963
>>>> Updating history:      http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php
>>
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-- 
Whitney Quesenbery
www.wqusability.com

Storytelling for User Experience
www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/storytelling



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