iPad, Entertainment, Comics...And Now? Issue #149

Last week I picked up the iPad, APPLE's new flagship product that fans of the company have been waiting for for a while now. Meant to be the love-child of an iPhone and a laptop, I've found it to be just that. Still I ask myself the question every other day since then...


What the hell am I going to use it for?


This is the question I've been asking myself since opening it up, and find myself answering that question more in the vein of what I HOPE I can use it for. Let me tell you what I love about it first. As always, the packaging when you first open it up is unbelievably gorgeous and screams quality even if they thing actually turned out to be a piece of junk. Presentation is something that Apple has always done extremely well and can be beat by no one at. That thing about looking like a giant iPhone? Yep, it does. The screen behaves the same with everything from the dock to the jiggling apps to the incredible touch response. The HD brilliance is very rich and creamy even to these tired eyes. Yep, once again Apple has brought the sexy like no one else. Even haters have to admit that...

Apps when made for iPad look amazing with the iPhone native apps still working but only at the size of the phone screen on which they were designed to run. Internet looks just like you thought it would with the senior convenient font size growth with just an outward pinch of the fingers, and the ability to open multiple windows just like you would expect on a normal browsing experience. Like I said, if you can do it on your iPhone and just want it bigger (everything from Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Maps) you'll know what to expect.



What does iPad do better? First off, photos look freaking incredible on the large glowing screen and you'll be ready to kick your digital frame out the window when comparing the two side-by-side. Album covers look crazy good as well when playing songs on the iPod app of course included in the software. Even though that feature is classically amazing and we're all spoiled it even exists, I won't be using it cause I don't see the sense on doubling up on two devices (if you have an iphone or an MP3 ready Blackberry/phone). Movies in HD look vivid and wonderful when rented from the iTunes store (aka The Devil), and I've yet to upload my own movies to test them out. Assuming they won't look as good of course as made for the iPad HD rentals, I can't imagine they'd be terrible. One of the coolest apps yet to come out for the device is that of the NETFLIX "Watch Instantly" feature that has been available on PC's and for Xbox live subscribers for about a year and a half now. Again, though not HD they look great and that feature in itself will be a big selling point for the movie buff in all of us. I chose to pick up the Wi-Fi only version mostly cause again, I don't want to be doubling up on devices nor want to be taking from AT&T for another $30 data plan. If I want to see who played "Blanche" on the Golden Girls, that's why I have my phone...


What do I HOPE it will have?


First you have to (if you care) understand why I got it. I do have an iPhone but have been getting by with a 500mhz laptop for sometime now and if you know how slow that is you understand why I say "getting by". That's also code for looking for a truck I could throw it under to see if that helps it move faster than my arthritic dog. I wanted something I could work on on road trips with Kirby Krackle/touring, and also something that could act as a reader/media player of some sort. Also, one of the main reasons I got it was for the way the comic book industry is changing in ways I'm excited about. As opposed to the music industry where people are freaking out still as the digital realm expands and not knowing where there next check will be coming from, I interpret the way digital comics are shifting as a fun thing that in general most people are excited about. Two great comic readers are available for the device in the form of an app called COMIXOLOGY, and the official MARVEL Comics app just recently released. Both are an incredible digital comics reading experience in which you can flip pages just like you would do on the included iBooks app, or by panel creating more of a cinematic user experience by using the iPads accelerometer (thing that lets it know when you're tipping it sideways) to make wide panels take up the whole screen horizontally. Bascically, it's BADASS. Beautiful images demand a beautiful presentation and again the HD screen does just that. So exciting and fun...



What I really hope will happen with the iPad is that companies like MARVEL, major magazine monthly publications, and the like will do is come up with some sort of subscription service in a sort of "all you can eat" way of business. What I want to do is to be able to read and watch anything I want whenever I want. Asking to much? I don't think so. With out the cost of retailers needing to mark up to make a profit (understandably) and shipping pricing (of course), creating a digital subscription service is a match made in heaven with the iPad. I don't want to keep everything I read (new purging thing going on) but instead just want to know about everything my favorite companies put out and be able to enjoy it for a fair price (maybe $60 a month?) and then give it back. See, there was this thing called a library kids...

"But wait, what about your friends who own comic shops and retailers all over getting screwed?"

Of course I wouldn't want that to happen, and I don't think it would at at all. In fact, I think it may drive more business to the stores and retailers in a way we don't anticipate as of yet. How would I know to go and buy a collected stories about a series I would otherwise know nothing about if not for being able to explore a brands archives? I wouldn't, but if I had the access to under advertised products/books/artists under the monthly subscription umbrella, everyone would have wide access to anything they wanted to read and dig on art wise. As always, there's no replacement for the touch/feel/smell of a book. That's not going away and I won't stop buying physical media other than taking fewer risks in purchasing titles I'm not sure I would spend $3.99 on without reading first. If anything, a new ease in finding more quality art/work by writers and companies would get me to see more of what I couldn't live without. Getting a little off topic here I realize, but before I fully lose anyone let me just say that it could be thought of the way RHAPSODY is monetized for the all-you-can-eat digital music experience.


Ok, let me try to wrap this up. If I could say anything to sum up the device it would be that it is a device of consumption and after consuming you usually dispose (especially after bad Indian). Do I like the iPad? Hell yes I do. Is it going to change the way I interact with my entertainment they way the iPhone did and make me want to keep it more than a few months? Hmmmmm, not sure. If any of the above mentioned ways I dream of using it happen then probably yes, but if that ever is to become a reality remains to be seen. Guaranteed, Apple once again killed the game on their marketing genius in convincing all of us (more than just me for sure) that we "need" it, but seeing how that plays out in daily life is another thing entirely. If you were to tell it would get that spider running across my floor for me then I'd say to go buy it right now. (checking iTunes store)....It DOES?!

GO GETZ IT NOW!!!



Possibly in time my precious (we wants it my prrreeeccciiiooouusss)...

KS