A conundrum — MacBook Air vs iPad

I've been lightly using the new MacBook Air 11.6 inch for nearly 3 weeks now.  I like it. For a laptop, it has the speed and performance which was lacking on my old MacBook. Seeing how I also have the 3rd generation iPad, it's been a case of working out when I use the MBA and when I use the iPad.

I have 2 distinct use cases across all of my devices. Reading and light written updates (Consuming) and then Writing and administrator stuff (Creating).  The day job is separate and is Wintel PC based and is not included here.

Consuming
The iPad (and iPhone) are now my most used tools keeping up to date with news and managing transactions on a daily basis. iOS apps represent the easiest and more enjoyable experience in dealing with the web via my staple of daily apps; for example - Tweetbot, Reeder, FlipBoard, The Times, Guardian for iPad, FT, alongside Safari and Sparrow. Mobile banking across the main UK banks now can be done through their iOS apps dependent on how comfortable you are with a) the respective banks 2-factor authentication and application security and b) where you are in terms of connectivity (tip - I never bank on a non-authenticated Wifi spot. Even then, I'll use a VPN connection for more security). Jumsoft Money rounds off a finance application for keeping an eye on bills, spending & investments. In terms of managing the range of tasks and projects, Due and OmniFocus are now the apps of choice. Entertainment is  covered by IMDB, BBC iPlayer and of SkyGo.  Out of reach is Hulu Plus which I leave to the desktop.  Of course, as an app addict, there are countless others which I use and am not mentioning here.

Also in this use case are the lighter types of updates which involve typing. These are mainly tweets and small documents using DocsToGo for DropBox files and the iWork set for iCloud files. Nothing complex, just general stuff to knock out. Comms-wise, this is rounded off by FaceTime and Skype video calls. WebEx will be added soon, since the office is adding this facility.  Blogsy is a new app which I will be be trying out for blogging creation fairly soon.

Creating
On the MBA (and iMac in the office) tweeting is taken care of by Osfoora.  Sparrow for mail.  Chrome for browsing,  Reeder for RSS feeds and office stuff through an array of apps such as Office 2011 for Mac, Evernote, Mindjet MindManager, OmniFocus, Due and ConceptDraw.

In this use case, I feel most confident on the MBA in getting stuff done when I'm on the move.  All key document creation is saved for the MBA. Key system admin tasks also are saved for the MBA or the iMac if I'm at the home office.  Again, there's a myriad of apps I occasionally use which I'm not mentioning.

Video streaming (particularly Flash based services such as FoxSoccer.TV, Hulu and Vudu) happen in this space.  It will be even more interesting when we get Airplay mirroring via the Mountain Lion this summer.

Conundrum
So why the conundrum? Since by use cases, it seems pretty clear cut. Essentially, it's about the gap in experience between the products.  I recognise it's always easier to be coloured by the newer product.

On the one hand, the MBA is a pure delight to use and the best laptop I've ever used.. The illuminated keyboard is great. It's essentially narrowed the gap on the better parts of the iOS world, with SSD performance to provide instant on capability with a battery that covers about 5 hours worth of juice.  It has a solid 16:9 display. It boots within a minute or so and is portable enough to slip into the man-bag or whatever you want to call it nowadays.  I'm writing this post on it right now.

However, the new iPad as I shared previously, has set a new standard for display quality and UI performance. It feels strange to say how iOSification from the mobile world, is now affecting the perceptions and expectations of the traditional laptop - no matter how perfectly formed and great to use the MBA is right now.

I now view the ability to do some level of direct screen gesturing on the MBA as a must have. I want voice Siri voice control of apps and common tasks. I want to see the iOSification of apps via my Pad and Phone data available on my MBA. Dare I say it, the lack of Retina display leaves the MBA somewhat lower in value in my perception of things.

On the iPad side, a better access to a Mac-like keyboard is required to be better able to handle the more full-fledged document creation side of things. Of course, the apps and cloud integration aspects need to compatible with each other to allow the user to choose where to access their stuff, regardless of device (read Dropbox and iCloud need to talk to each other).

Apple are clearly working on this. As OSX and iOS are distinct and separate, their experience must be unifying for the user.  Mountain Lion is a clear enabler of this direction.  Additionally, it got me thinking, perhaps an Apple execution of the hybrid PC & tablet is really where Apple and other hardware makers are ultimately going with the same mobile chipset and OS across all form factors in portfolio. The first to market have been Lenovo and Asus with Android and Windows variants, but as we know this is never just about the hardware.  From an Apple standpoint, it's the sort of story that gets the usual  rumour & speculation. Strategically it would make sense for Apple to combine its OS and applications platforms across multiple mobile devices as a longer term goal. Each of them with emphasis on voice, touch and typing for either consumption or creation. It may also pave the way for other utility devices and applications to be added into the ecosystem in order to strengthen it. Windows 8/SOA anyone?

For now, my distinct use cases, I think I'm fine to swap between the MBA and iPad, dependent on what I need to do at that moment, where I am and what kind of connectivity I'll have.  I'm sure Apple wouldn't have it any other way :)

Moving a MacBook on — doing it right

In taking on the MacBook Air, I needed to shift the older black MacBook from late 2008. A solid  performer, but it was heavy and could not be expanded any further without considerable expense. And with SSDs and Intel Core i5 or i7 processors now widely available, it was starting look long in the tooth. Ordinarily, that was all fine, but when Apple says that many features of Mountain Lion will not make the cut for a machine which is less than 4 years old, you know it's time to reach for the resale door.

Of course, the laptop was always carefully looked after to maximise future resale value.  It actually sold for 55% less than I paid for it, which in itself if amazing given the rate of technology change in general. In preparing for its sale, there were 2 things I wanted to ensure:

1. It handed down to the next Mac user still imputing quality by providing them a brand new Mac experience
2. My data and applications were wiped in the process

In the past, based on Leopard or Snow Leopard, this would be easier to do with the install and wipe options on the OSX DVDs. In this case of Lion, not so as there is no longer any install media supplied. A quick search around identified a range of articles to achieve the goals in mind. I used this one since it had the fewest number of Terminal steps to follow.

Voila - all worked nicely. Thanks to Mark for his checks and observations on the Terminal commands.

The upshot is that while the data on the hard drive has not truly been securely trashed to full disposal standards, the terminal commands pretty much delete the admin user data while avoiding having to do a full reinstall of Lion. Of course, there is a chance that the data could be recovered through the likes of DiskWarrior, but I would say that a) new MacBook user would be unlikely to do that, b) I have the buyers address anyway ;-) and, c) if the buyer lost it to an expert user, then perhaps there's a data loss issue. A risk I'm willing to accept.

Sparrow for iOS and Mac

Like many of us, I'd always used webmail on a desktop and iOS mail client on both the iPhone and iPad. The Gmail clients which essentially have been the web client with an iOS overlay were basically poor in comparison and quickly deleted from my devices.

I've been using Sparrow for iPhone and OSX for a number of weeks now and I must say, they are solid apps.  Using a universal UI across both platforms shows the quality of the development in terms of the design and user experience they are aiming at. The UI reminds me of a cross between the Facebook in its swipe from the right to reveal the side panel and Tweetbots, in terms of a left swipe to reveal mail management task icons. Very nice.

Downsides?  In the iPhone app, there's no push notification yet.  Sparrow have blogged that they are working on it, with out without Apple's help given some of the policies Apple have on allowing developer to create a duplicate iOS functional app which Apple already provide.  Similarly, the Mac app needs this additional functionality to sit and notify of new mail on the OSX menu bar. Kind of deal-breakers really, particularly on the iOS side. But the app is so nice, you're willing to give the Sparrow guys a chance to get it in at a later date.

Sparrow is the sort of app that at £2.99 in the UK for a iPhone app and £6.99 for the Mac OSX app is expensive, given what is bundled for free on both platforms. However, we're all lovers of the journey of great design and experience, so you're bound to get in and have a look aren't you? And no, I don't get a kick-back on this either.

Lastly, Sparrow guys - let's get that iPad app version out as quick as possible, eh? Doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise you must be working on it...

Nearly a month with the new iPad

It's amazing how our perceptions and expectations of technology and gadgets change so quickly.  I had an iPad 1 on the day it was launched in the UK.  That was May  2010. I sold it on March 2012. During that time, it had been at my side as my trusted tool when I attended seminars and conferences as part of my job. It had been my bathroom and couch companion on a daily basis (Confirmed - I am a guy).

The first iPad got through 2 major iOS releases during that time.  It started at iOS3 before the iPhone 4 came out. I finished using at iOS5. Apple are very clever with their design and of devices. They future proof the device to a certain extent (2-3 years) to ensure it can run a number of future software releases before obsolescence starts to show up by virtue of new iOS features which will no longer be supported.  We saw this on the iPhone 3G when you upgraded to iOS4. Glenn Fleishman's argument on Apple's incremental improvement approach talks to that point.

That said, I had grown tired of my iPad 1. It started with the zippier performance seen with the iPad 2 with the dual core graphics chip and doubling in memory to 512Mb. My daily apps started creaking such as Guardian, The Times, dJay, FlipBoard and others.  I saw app crashes a bit too often. I would kill open apps sometimes just to reduce the chances of a large app launch going wrong (even though iOS memory management is completely seamless). Then I upgraded my phone to the 4S, which I posted previously. It became very apparent that in less than 2 years, I would want to upgrade to the new iPad as soon as I could.

For an iPad 1 user, it's like going from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 4 for the first time. Read the reviews from Gruber, Dalrymple, and Anandtech  on what feels like a huge jump in performance. There's been enough said on the Retina display, so all I will say is that this device has the potential to take publishing and new PC displays to a whole new level.  It's that good and most of all satisfying to use. I suspect it narrows the value add of the Kindle e-Ink displays, such is its clarity and brightness.

[FAO - owners of the Guardian and The Times apps. I'm sure you have it in hand. But please upgrade your iPad apps to Retina as soon as possible.  Right now and in places, they look terrible.]

On a day to day basis, the old irritants on the iPad 1 are gone. Apps like the ones I mentioned strangely do not crash any more (at least very rarely). I suppose this is because the new chipsets and the 1Gb RAM on board can cope with everything thrown at it and still have room to manoeuvre. I do understand that the 1Gb is not purely dedicated to the apps, but in part for the retina display. Of course, all this may change when iOS6 comes out and can do more on newer hardware which we will see in the fullness of time.

Typing on the new iPad is much, much more responsive. Fast typists like me now feel the new iPad keeps up with their speed, allowing for anyone being accustomed to typing on the iPad in the first place.  I've taken the new iPad on a couple of business trips, preferably over my 11" MacBook Air and I've been surprised at how fast I can do my surfing, social, document management, mail and calendaring and task management. I'll be sharing more on my comparisons with the MBA in a coming post. One of the themes coming out of this is that iOS apps on the new iPad seem to more often have an edge over the OSX counterpart.  Take OmniFocus for example, an application I have been looking at for task management. The UI experience on the iPad is miles superior to the OSX version, which is ok, but cumbersome in places. Of course, the OSX app will see another upgrade and for that matter, so will Lion, starting this summer.

Watching HD movies is simply fantastic. The detail is eye-popping on the Retina and very satisfying when on a plane.

The other big surprise was pairing the new iPad with the 3rd generation Apple TV. Airplay Mirroring has the possibility of becoming a staple device is most enterprises for presentation and learning and development. Great little device.

Downers? Possible LTE this time next year, since it won't work on the planned UK 4G frequencies. But if the incremental improvements for iPad (4) have anything to go by, this new one will be back on the market in no time :)

Delivery and Value

March was a very busy month for me. On the day job side, there was a lot on. I had customer visits from three European countries, one which was on site at my company in London. During this time, I've been unable to add any further posts since ordering the new iPad.  This is partly because, being a one man blog band, it takes time to get new stuff, play with it enough and then form a view to be able to share something interesting about it.

It brought me back to stating my aims of this blog. It's about two things. Delivery and Value.

Delivery. It's about more than reviews and technical talk on the innards of any product. Yes, they are parts of what is commented on in blog or tweet form, but for me it's about a consistent stream of updates your general geek is doing or experimenting with at home, starting with my own stuff.  

Value comes in two forms.  Insight and Sharing.

Insight

We all have common yet unique ways at looking at technology and perceiving value in the numerous combinations of how we use it.  My aim is to talk in these aspects around what us useful around 3 main areas:

• Ease or obviousness in terms of  the products use
• Integration into all of my other technology items and solutions
• That it works all of the time

Sharing

We all see what we're aware of. It's great to scour rss feeds, tweets and sites which share their own solutions or ways to do or build something useful. In that sense, the contribution of this blog (and tweets) is the same. To be part of a wider whole and contribute to it.

Coming up

I have a few days off from work, with a few articles I'd like to share on things I've been playing with recently.  March was an expensive month :)