I know there have been millions of articles about the iPad. But you haven’t heard my perspective. So, here goes… As soon as I saw the iPad announcement I was of two minds. On the one hand I thought “Why would I want to pay $500 for a glowing screen version of the Kindle?” On the other hand, it was hard to deny a big touch screen device that gives you immediate access to all your content wherever you are is pretty interesting.

Lucky for me, the release of the iPad was relatively close to my birthday. I circled the wagons and let everyone who might be thinking about giving me a gift to give me some money to go towards an iPad. It worked so well that I don’t think that I received any other gifts besides this iPad.

In the first few days of owning any gadget, it is hard not to love it simply due to the novelty. The real test to any gadget is if you still use it on a daily basis a month or two months or a year later. So far, the iPad seems to have staying power. It is a great toy, but it is much more. It is now a part of my work day as well.

iPad as Toy

Here is the thing. We are officially in the future. Think about this. Go back just ten years. Thin TVs existed, but they were pretty expensive. Most people still had those big tube-type TVs. TiVos were around but not very prevalent. If someone handed you a thin screen that you could hold in your hand that connected to the Internet, played movies, played TV shows, played music, let you purchase and read books, you would have lost your mind. This thing is a game changer.

Now that I am using an iPad on a daily basis, it has completely changed how and why I use my laptop. My MacBook has now been relegated to content creation only. All the content consumption has been off loaded to the iPad for me. It is great. When I want to relax, I get out my iPad and browse around all the different types of content at my finger tips until I find something that seems interesting whether it is a movie, podcast, website, book, or whatever.

iPad as Tool

I don’t go to a meeting without my iPad. I have downloaded a killer app that is simply called Todo. All it does is help you create a todo list. But man, the way it does that simple job is worth the $4.99 I paid for it. I can track all my projects. I can see all the tasks that are relevant to where I am at the time. And, the user interface is beautiful. When was the last time you were passionate about a todo application?

The iPad also gives you a quick and elegant interface to manage you email and calendar. It makes the management of your life clean and simple, which for me is a good thing. It makes me a better manager of my life because it is just more fun now.

The iPad is too big to take everywhere, but because nearly everything syncs back to the cloud, I have access to all my data on my iPhone. When it is inappropriate to carry the iPad, I have the iPhone in my pocket. I hate to sound like such a fanboy, but I love it.

The Negatives

The iPad isn’t the panacea for all problems. It is not a great content creation device. I am typing this blog entry on the iPad right now and nearly all the muscles in the upper half of body are starting to hurt as I lean forward trying to type on this thing. It is not a replacement for your main computer which means it is an expensive accessory. In a world where people go to bed hungry or thirsty, there are probably better places to spend your money.

Final Thoughts

I figured that I was going to like the iPad as a toy but I am continually surprised by how useful this thing is in other areas. If you are wondering whether or not to get an iPad because it seems expensive for a toy, rest assured it is much more…

Here is some video hot off the presses from Andy Ihnatko from the brand new iPhone 3Gs. It looks better than I expected it would…

Hey, if you are an iPhone user then do I ever have some life-changing news. I have added an iPhone theme so that when you look at this site on your iPhone it will be formatted to look right on the smaller interface.

I know, I know… You’re WELCOME!

Today may be a banner day in finding the perfect todo list option for me and my iPhone. Enter Google Chrome. For those of you who haven’t heard, Google has released a browser called Chrome.  It is clean, fast, and has some very interesting features that are growing more and more compelling to me all the time.

Google Chrome gives you the option of creating virtual applications out of online applications.  In reality, it is pretty simple, Google Chrome will open an online app in its own window that has the forward, back, URL, and other standard browser buttons removed.  It makes online apps feel more like apps that live on your harddrive.

Here is how Chrome and Toodledo have collided to give me a more interesting and integrated todo option. Toodledo has a very clean interface for the iPhone but their standard interface leaves a little to be desired. The great thing about Toodledo’s iPhone interface is that you can access it in a standard browser on your PC or Mac.  Here is where my head exploded…

I opened the iPhone interface of Toodledo in Google Chrome and turned it into a virtual app.  The Chrome virtual apps remember how they were sized and where they were in the window when you last closed them.

Long story short, I now have a todo widget that lives on the far left part of my workspace that stays out of the way that is always synced on my iPhone.  In other words, it is possible to use chrome to create iPhone app widgets that have their own window and live on your computer.

Toodledo :: A to-do list to organize your tasks.

I think I have posted something here to the effect that I am looking into the best to do list creator for me, if not here is the short version. I have an iPhone. iPhone doesn’t have a to do list, (I know, crazy right?). iPhone now supports applications. I want the best third-party to do list for me.

There are a number of options out there from the ultra lifestyle changing options like the GTD Model and OmniFocus, to simple to do list apps in the iPhone store that simply make a list on your phone and that is it. I got a number of ideas from people about what they use, but more on that later.

My needs for a to do list fall somewhere in between those extremes. I want a to do list that is synced to the web and is accessible whether I have my phone or not.

Toodlelo: What I like

Right now, I am in week two of using Toodledo almost exclusively. I haven’t bought the paid version which will unlock some extra functionality, but so far its free version does a lot to address my needs.

The list lives on the web which means I have access to my to do list wherever I am as long as there is an Internet connection. Toodledo has a fairly serviceable web app page that makes using it pretty good on the iPhone. It is a little sluggish on the phone, but I suspect that that will be dealt with in firmware updates to the iPhone.

Toodledo allows me to categorize my to do list in folders, contexts, and with tags. All of these are handy because they open up uses for toodledo lists that the creators didn’t even think of. That also means that it is flexible enough to meet the needs of different users.

Here is how I am using the folders, contexts, and tags. I have created a folder for each stakeholder to whom I owe something. In other words, all the jobs that need to get done for Jim (Jim is a fictional character, any similarities to existing Jims is purely coincidental.) goes in a folder called Jim.

I use contexts to establish the where. Everyone has to do lists for work or school and home, and very possibly more. Right now I have two contexts. Work and home, although I see adding more in the very near future. Having contexts allows you to focus on what is important at that time, where you are while back-burnering things that don’t make sense in the current context. In other words, I can’t mow the lawn while I am sitting at my desk at work.

As for the tags, here is where you can really get creative. Last week I was needing to be able to classify whether a job was in process or not. There were some jobs that weren’t going to be finished, but I needed to signify that there was work being done, but were waiting on contingencies. Toodledo didn’t have that function baked in, but then it occurred to me that I could use tags. On all the jobs that were in process, I used the tag ‘in process’, I know, clever right? That way, I could do a search for ‘in progress’ and see all those jobs. Tags open up a whole world of flexibility.

Toodledo has another interesting trick. It allows you to print your to do list and using a pair of scissors and some origami, create a neat little business card sized booklet of your to do list. One section is devoted to all the to dos in your list, and the back is devoted to what it calls the Hotlist. Those are the to dos that are due soon or are rated as very very important. It is a cool trick even if it is a little confusing to fold the booklet the first time. For those of you out there who have an affinity for paper and it flexibility, this is a cool option.

Things I don’t like

I know this is picky, and highly subjective, but I would love for there to be a site redesign. I don’t love the current look of the main site. It gets very cluttered when you have everything open. The site gives you the option of hiding notes, and that helps, but honestly, I need to see those. I wish that the interface had a more cohesive, app-like appearance that wasn’t overly colorful. There are color options, but those don’t address the clutter issue.

This is a small nit-picky issue that isn’t driving me a way from the site, but a slick experience would be a big draw for me.

What’s Next?

Thankfully for me, the user, switching costs are low when it comes to to do lists. I plan on giving Toodledo another couple of weeks and then look at the options again and see if there is something out there that works better. I bet using an online to do list for an entire month will illuminate issues I need to take into account when finding my final to do list choice.

I just found the greatest trick to redeem some space on you iPhone without having to dock your iPhone. I use it to delete video podcasts once I am finished watching. Also, it works when you are perusing your email and you want to delete an email without opening it… I’m looking at you spam. I may have been living my life under a rock for the last year, but I haven’t anyone talk about the delete function that is baked right into your iPhone.

Here is how you do it.

1. As you are looking at the list of your email, find one that you want to delete.
2. Place both thumbs over that message and then spread them apart. Think of a reverse pinch.
3. A red ‘Delete’ button will appear.
4. Hit that button and voila, that email disappears!

That same action works in you podcast library, and I am sure in a lot more places.  Explore and let me know what other places it works.

My contract finally ended with AT&T which means that now can and do have a brand new iPhone. I am very excited. I wasn’t eligible to buy one last year. I have had to sit on the sideline and wish. Well now baby, I am in the game.

I have only had it for a couple of days so I don’t know how I will feel about later, but right now it is super fun.

I am still getting used to the keyboard. My hope is that I will get faster at typing on it.

Gotta run… But more to come.

I am in line in Rogers Arkansas at one of the AT&T stores waiting for the new iPhones. I didn’t spend the night because I am not so crazy about getting one which has put me a long way back in line.

Now that Apple and AT&T have dropped the price and the uber-geeks have had one for a year now, the nature of the line has changed. This new phone with its lower costs marks a change in the nature of the common iPhone owner.

My prediction is that this version of the iPhone will be the next Razr. You know, the phone that you see everywhere. That does take away some of the cachet of owning one, but who cares, I am still excited about getting one, though I may not be able to get one today.

Stay tuned, and you can see a picture of the line on flickr. My flickr username is murdog. Sorry I don’t have the address to the pic itself, but I am uploading this post using my Blackjack…ironic

UPDATE:———
Well, if you were following me on Twitter then you no doubt know that I didn’t end up getting an iPhone. Some people on the Internet are speculating that AT&T is rationing its supply of iPhones so that they will have stock throughout the weekend. From what I heard from the people at the AT&T store I was at, I can’t find any proof that they are wrong.

There was something fishy in how cagey the managers were at AT&T. They were pretty “sure” that there would be more iPhones available in the morning. If this is true and they are rationing the phones and thus screwing the people who took the time to line up on the first day that the phone came out just so they could have some to sell on Saturday…that is not ok.

Obviously there is no proof unless someone from AT&T spills the beans on this, but there were striking similarities in experiences across the nation today as I scanned the blogs.

Apple stores had around a thousand iPhones on hand while AT&T stores had from 50 to 75. That is a big difference in numbers. The closest Apple store is two hours away. It would be ridiculous to drive that far for a phone that will miraculously appear on the shelves of our local AT&T store tomorrow morning.

I don’t know. I don’t know why this has made me so mad, but it has. Come on AT&T this looks terrible for your customer service. Quit assuming that customers will put up with your shenanigans forever. We won’t. Stop being ridiculous…

Apple has just upgraded the iPhone to 3G and really upgraded the price to a low $199. That sounds pretty good to me. The new phone also sports GPS and longer battery life. I would like one please.