As I sat finishing breakfast at our kitchen table yesterday morning with the Colorado sun filling the back yard and the kids enjoying their last few days of “freedom” before they head back to school next week, I caught up on my news reading using my iPad. I use Feeddler, an RSS (Real Simple Syndication) reader for iOS together with the Wall Street Journal and Guardian Eyewitness apps to stay current with news and insights from my favorite content sites. I thought about how this was so different than it has been for me until just recently. I no longer need to go to my desktop computer or pull out my notebook computer to check my favorite web sites; I just pull out my iPad.
Not only that, but because Feeddler uses Google Reader to sync what I’ve read, I can use Feeddler on my iPhone and my iPad or Google Reader or one of the Google Reader compatible applications to stay up-to-date throughout the day.
Of course, I also use the iPad to stay current with email, some web browsing, and my eBooks, too (mostly using the Kindle app). I even use it for a bit of Bible reading and study using Logos.
As a result, what I have noticed is that my iPad, this small, lightweight device, has become the center of my reading world. It’s like I’m carrying my entire stack of books, magazines, newspapers and websites with me all the time. I am beginning to see very clearly just how much the iPad has simplified my life. And this from a guy who definitely wasn’t sold on the idea of an iPad for my own personal productivity.
Pretty interesting…
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I just won an iPad about a week ago. I can see how this would work for me. Perhaps give me more morning time with the family around the kitchen and breakfast area as I keep up with the news, rather than on my desktop in my office…. I can also see how my iPad may be found in my kids rooms as they have taken a liking to my iPod Touch for some late night gaming.
A bit more on how owners are using the iPad in this article from TechCrunch.