Why I’m Glad I Didn’t Wait for iPad 2

The last few days have been busy with opinions on the new iPad 2. I watched Engadget’s live stream as Steve Jobs demoed the device on stage and was actually a bit nervous. I was afraid I would feel I made a mistake buying the first iPad only a few months before.

iPad 1 was finally released in Sweden towards the end of 2010. I had decided to wait for version 2, since it’s generally a prudent idea to wait out the first iteration of new hardware. However, last November the therapist I’m seeing as a part of my training in psychiatry gave me an assignment, being trained in CBT and all. She wanted me to buy an iPad¹.

So I got one and it was magical.

I’ve been using if for reading, surfing, emailing, twittering and—much to my surprise—for composing text. I’ve found iA Writer in landscape mode an excellent text editor—even when typing on glass.

When I last had to write a scientific paper I had hundreds of printed papers laying around in heaps. Now I keep everything in Mekentosj’s Papers and read them on the screen. It’s good for the environment and it’s good for my marriage.

The one thing that bugged me about the iPad—being an iPhone 4 owner—was the screen resolution. My worst fear was that iPad 2 was to ship with a retina display. Applied physics made this unlikely, but I was still relieved when it was official.

While the iPad 2 looks really nice, while I would really like more memory and a thinner device, I’m glad I didn’t wait for it. Apple has a history of releasing major upgrades every other year. This means my two-year upgrade cycle now is sync. When Apple brings out the big guns in 2012 I’ll be ready. Perhaps we’ll se the retina display then.