Ben's Talk3G Blog

I've been away for a while. A holiday, if you will.

Some of us don't have the luxury of being able to escape work entirely, but avoiding the computer as much as possible is a start. It will come as no surprise, then, that I've been using the iPad a lot. Even my iPhone has been left in the safe.

Now there's a great deal that the iPad can't do. I haven't exactly done a great deal of work on it. But for reading, both books and websites, and email it's fantastic. That's not all I've done, though - the VPN is invaluable for work and, of course, all my bookmarks are right here via MobileMe. I've also bought tickets on Ticketmaster with no issues at all (that surprised me) and done a large forex transaction (even more surprised). Now I'm flopped over the sun lounger writing this.

I've seen a couple of netbooks around the pool, but a LOT of iPads. Looks like a lot of people have had the same idea as me. Laptops are great when you're sat comfortably in a practical environment, but the tablet form factor and massive battery life makes the iPad a no-brainer in places like this. That, and a touch screen of this size just feels like a holiday!

The uses people are putting them to seem diverse. A fair amount of reading is taking place I'd say, with a few keeping an eye on their stocks and email while others have palmed their kids off onto uncle iPad while they sunbathe. My own iPad screen is smeared with oily suncream marks, but wiping them off is a toddle compared to trying to clean up a laptop.

Even the heat doesn't seem to be an issue. I remember when I first got my iPad last year it would readily overheat in the garden. What changed I don't know; maybe software updates have addressed issue but now it goes on and on.

And so iPad 2 is upon us, and the family of iPad owners is about to get a lot bigger. Is this really the post-PC era? I think, just maybe, it is - but it could take iOS 5 and free, inclusive, cloud-crazy MobileMe to make it a mainstream reality. Apple would do well to keep their iOS momentum going.