Five days with just a tablet

Can you use a tablet as the replacement for a notebook? We decided to find out if it's possible by taking away one writer's trusty laptop and replacing it with an iPad, then we sent him on a five-day business trip to see how he coped
Mitch Wagner

After the hugely successful launch of the iPad in 2010, many industry analysts expect the tablet market to explode, with some reports suggesting that sales of the devices could hit SO million in the next 12 months.And several manufacturers are hoping to cash in by launching a multitude of devices in different sizes with different functionality.

With so many tablets launching into what is still a very young market, many users are still finding their feet with the devices' capabilities with some taking them into the workplace with the idea that they could replace their notebook computer. So could you do week's worth of work on a tablet?

Theoretically, you should be able to use it as your only computer for a short time, with a tablet capable of performing 90% of your daily computing tasks, such as surfing the web, checking emails, using Twitter and Facebook and, most importantly, writing reports. As an experiment, we took away technology journalist Mitch Wagner's notebook and replaced it with an iPad to find out how he got on during a five-day business trip.This is his account of how a tablet coped as his main computer while travelling around the US for five days.

Off To Stumbling Start

While the idea of using my iPad on my business trip was an exciting prospect, it didn't take me long to hit some stumbling blocks.The first problem I encountered as document incompatibility. My client had asked me to put together a PowerPoint presentation for a meeting that I'd be attending while on the business trip. In theory, that should have been no problem: presentation application Keynote is available for the iPad, and it is supposed to work with PowerPoint slide shows. I should have been able to connect the iPad to a projector using the iPad VGA adapter and then given my presentation.

That's the theory. In practice, it didn't quite work out. My client sent me a PowerPoint file to use as a template, asking me to design my presentation using the colours, fonts and formats that were contained in it. However, the template proved to be incompatible with Keynote on the iPad.

 Keynote enables you to create presentations on the iPad.

 The PowerPoint template used the Dingbats font for some graphics, but the iPad doesn't support that font.To preserve the formatting, I had to create the presentation using Keynote on my iMac and then borrow a laptop while at my destination to give the actual presentation.

I found out about the PowerPoint problem one business day before my trip started. So the iPad experiment felt a failure before it began. Before I even got on the plane, I knew that I'd have to use a laptop some tasks during my business trip.

Internet Incompatibility

The client company and I used Google Wave as a backchannel discussion tool during our all-day meetings.That was fun, and productive too. But Wave doesn't run on the iPad; it requires Chrome, Firefox or desktop version of the Safari web browser. So I had to use my borrowed laptop to participate in the Wave.
 

" The PowerPoint template used the Dingbats font for some graphics/ but the iPad doesn't support that font"

The iPad's lack of Flash support also proved to be a bit of a problem. Normally, I wouldn't have expected this to be a problem. Sure, the lack of Flash support prevents me from playing a lot of online games and watching many online videos, but there are plenty of other games and videos that are iPad-compatible. However, the lack of Flash support was a problem on this trip, because I needed to post a blog that used Flash, which contains a Flash-based embedded MP3 player. And I needed to make sure that the MP3 player worked after I had published the blog.As that task couldn't be performed by the IPad, I had to go down to my hotel business centre and pay for five minutes to check the blog on one of the its computers. And, frustratingly, when I got back to my home office the following week, I discovered the Flash on that blog still didn't work.

Strange Tool, Missing Apps

Beyond the lack of Flash and the PowerPoint difficulty, the only trouble I had with the iPad was that it wasn't the tool I'm accustomed to using. I kept getting tripped up while performing everyday tasks, such as the iPad doesn't have a file system where you save documents from different applications in a single pile. Instead,on

 The on-screen keyboard is usable for typing short notes or amending text in documents.

 the iPad you mostly save documents inside the particular app that created them -Pages documents in Pages, for example - with some limited sharing between apps. It's a completely different way of working, and it takes some getting used to for people who are accustomed to doing things on a desktop computer.

In a tablet's web browser, you can't open a whole folder of bookmarks all at once like you can with desktop browsers. When I do online banking or shopping, I like to save PDFs of receipts to my desktop, and you can't save PDFs.

More important, I have about a dozen applications on my computer that I use all day, every day, to get things done. Many, like TextMate, simply aren't available on the iPad. Others, like Things, are available but they work differently. I do most of my work in plain text files, however, before my trip, I wasn't able to find a decent text editor for the iPad.Although there are several available, such as Simplenote and Writer for iPad, I had to hunt these down.

Most users have similarly indispensable tools that they use every day on their main computer that they will have to replace on a tablet.All five days I was relying on the iPad, I found myself reaching for programs and keyboard shortcuts that didn't exist on that machine.

I used Dropbox and a thumb drive to make sure I had all the documents I needed with me. Getting all of that configured took hours before I left.

That's a one-time effort - next time I go on a trip, all of that will have already been configured.There's a lot of that when you first use a tablet; you need to factor in time to set everything up.

The i Pad's Strengths

Using a tablet as my main computer wasn't all that bad, however.The device has its strengths too. It's ideal for travelling through airports due to it weight and size - the iPad weighs about 680g and is smaller than an A4 notepad. In comparison, my I 5in MacBook Pro is 3.75 times heavier than the iPad.and it's bigger and bulkier too.
     

 "After 11 hours of hard (but not continuous) use on the trip out, including watching quite a bit of video, my i Pad's battery still had a 36% charge on it"

Because it's so small and light, and starts up immediately, it's easy to just whip it out and do a little work when you have a few minutes of downtime, such as while waiting in the departure lounge for your flight.With a laptop computer, you have to find a place to sit and wait for it to boot up, but with a tablet, you're good to go in seconds.

For serious typists, a physical keyboard is recommended such as this Bluetooth device from Apple.

The iPad is also more comfortable than a laptop to use at the airport. I've never really liked balancing a notebook on my lap, but with a tablet, it seems natural. It also fits on the tray table at your aeroplane seat much more easily than a full-size laptop does.

Fantastic Battery Life

My business trip took me halfway across the US, from San Diego to Iowa. After I I hours of hard (but not continuous) use on the trip out, including watching quite a bit of video, my iPad's battery still had a 36% charge on it, A laptop computer would have been completely dead in half that time.

Although 1 don't have 3G connectivity on my iPad - 1 didn't find connectivity to be a problem. I spent most of my time using the iPad on the trip in offices, hotels and airports, where you can count on finding a Wi-Fi connection. Amazingly, I was able to watch an entire streaming film from the online movie service Netflix during the plane ride home, using the on-board Wi-Fi. It was a Delta flight, and the 90 minute movie paused only twice,for a few seconds each time.

The iPad is much more comfortable than a laptop to use in a hotel room. I've always hated working at hotel desks as it's always the wrong height. With the iPad, it was easy to work sitting on the hotel room couch or propped up in bed. I think I was more productive because I was more comfortable.

The on-screen keyboard on the iPad was fine for tapping out a paragraph or so, but I also used the Apple Wireless Keyboard a couple of times for longer writing stretches. It's worth making room in your suitcase for this Bluetooth keyboard - it's small and light and it worked great.

And the iPad really shone late at night, when it was time to read an eBook or watch some videos before retiring.



Conclusions

On the plus side, the iPad proved to be a lightweight powerhouse, useful in situations where a notebook computer is impractical. On the minus side, it simply lacked the tools and versatility I needed to be able to rely on it as my only computer. The (Pad is no substitute for a laptop for even a few days - although I'm optimistic I can get by with just the iPad on short trips of one night or just a day.

I don't blame the iPad for the problems. I was trying to use it in a way it isn't meant to be used. It's not a standalone computer - it's a companion to your main computer. If you want to do any serious work done, you still need a laptop or a desktop machine.

But a tablet is great for what it is - a tool to be used when accessing a laptop or desktop is impossible or inconvenient; or if you don't have any serious work to be done. In those circumstances the laptop shines.