Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

I was hoping Steve Jobs – that’s him in the photo – was going to announce that the iPhone would now be available through Verizon. And better yet, service would be offered on their 4G network. No such luck. I have a Blackberry now and while it’s a useful device, I almost prefer to go back to a “regular” flip phone. I over did it on the e-mails, apps and do-dads and right now the “thing” is more stressful than useful. Upgrading to a Droid or Nexus 1, really wouldn’t be beneficial to me. They represent kind of a technology overkill as far as I’m concerned. Whatever cell phone I use shares prime importance with a GPS as far as tools I must have as a trucker. The IPad is not on that list.

So, this past week, Apple announces the iPad. Some folks like the name, I hear many women hate it. I have no opinion. What I do want to say is that I personally don’t need another device that does something while not eliminating something else. What I mean is that unless you’re a true first adapter or techno geek that must have the latest thing Apple or Google comes out with, I can’t get rid of my camera, Blue Tooth and laptop by spending $499 on the IPad. There is no built in SSB CB on the iPad. That’s a joke, but supports my point. The $499 model has 16 gigs of memory + WiFi – there is also a $899 model with 64 gigs of memory, Wifi and 3G cellular, through AT&T, which I detest. Those latest AT&T commercials by the way are outright lies, if you believe what just about everyone says about AT&T’s horrible service, specifically all the drop-calls. If I wasn’t an OTR trucker and had a much higher disposal income, then I’d say whatever, sure, the iPad’s a fun thing to have, I’ll pick one up on the way home from my salaried suit job and be the first guy at the club to have one.  Be advised folks, there are still truckers that don’t have a cell phone or a laptop and sit in those old wooden public telephone booths at the Flying J.

I was listening to the Tech Guy – Leo Laporte – on Sirius/XM today and this is his take on the whole iPad phenomenon. He says the iPad is the new Kindle or a Kindle Plus. Kindle, if you don’t already know is the electronic book reader that some people seem to love and others hate. I don’t have a Kindle and wasn’t planning on buying one. Kindle is black and white – the iPad offers a color screen. Laporte calls the iPad a “content consumption device. It’s not a phone, not a computer, not a movie player – it’s an “appliance” – great for reading books but without Flash and 720p not much else.” Laporte plans on buying one, but then that his business. He was, by the way, present at the Apple iPad launch and had the opportunity to actually “touchy-feely” the new “revolutionary” device.

According to The New York Times, “The half-inch thick, 1.5-pound device will feature a 9.7-inch multi-touch screen and is powered by a customized Apple microchip, which it has dubbed A4. The iPad will have the same operating system as the iPhone and access to its 140,000 applications. The device lacks a camera, the ability to make phone calls and does not work with the ubiquitous Flash software that runs many Web sites.

David Pouge, the Times’ tech guru/reporter says: “Overall, the iPad seems like a dream screen for reading and watching-at some loss of convenience in creating. True, there’s an on-screen keyboard, big enough to type on with both hands in the usual way. And Apple will offer a specialized multitouch word processor, spreadsheet and presentation app for $10 each. But I’m guessing that, with no mouse and no physical keys to feel, writing and editing will be more effort than on a laptop. Apple will also sell an external keyboard that holds the iPad upright as you type. Then again, if you need to carry all that around, maybe a laptop would make more sense.”

I agree. If I want to read something – a book – I’ll just buy one. I don’t need an electronic reading device. I prefer to buy a “hard-copy” of The New York Times – reading it “on-line” is just not the same. And I do a tremendous amount of typing. I need a keyboard. The iPad just doesn’t offer me anything that is going to make my trucker or writer life more productive or more efficient. Just having something that would let me watch a YouTube 6 minute vid in less than 30 minutes would be great. There are many truckers that do the audio tape book thing and an iPad wouldn’t make any sense. Besides, and at some point soon I’ll need to “invest” that $499 in a new laptop – one that will, in fact, make me more efficient and productive. The iPad to me is a pricey toy – a gadget – and I’ll wait until it does more for less or just ignore it.