Hi there!

I’ve been using the iPad for a couple of weeks now, and I’m liking it more now than when I first got it.  I’m writing a review of the iPad that focuses on my personal experience with it, which I’ll be posting in the coming days/weeks.

That said, I have a bigger question that I’m wrestling with.  You may have seen the Jeff Jarvis re-boxing video where he decided to return his iPad.  His argument is with all the other gadgets he has, the iPad doesn’t fit in his lifestyle.  I completely understand that argument.

However, I have a different take on the iPad.  I think it actually fits really well with my lifestyle.  The problem is that I have a LOT of computers and devices in my house, and I really need to focus on simplifying.  Here’s a rundown:

• iPhone – This has no AT&T service, so I basically use it as an iPod Touch
• Droid – This is my only mobile phone.  I love the Android OS, and it’s a bit of a hackers playground which really appeals to me
• iPad – For me, this is the ideal instant-on, take a note, instant-off experience.  I use it at work and home for many things but I’ll go into more detail in my review of iPad coming soon.
• Netbook – Asus EEPC 1005HA running Windows 7.  This thing has terrific battery life, is a real computer with a video camera.  I have an external DVD burner that goes along with it.  This is a 1.6GHZ Atom processor with 2GB ram and a 160GB HDD.  It’s light and small.
• MacBook  – This is an older MacBook.  It’s a 1.8GHZ system with 2GB and a 320GB HDD.  It also has a camera.  I just bought a new battery for it (old one died) and it gets about 3-ish hours.
• iMac – Aluminum, 2-ish GHZ system with a 640GB HDD and 4GB ram.  It’s a great reliable system.  This is usually the computer my wife uses.
• PC – Home built, fast, dual monitor, lots of memory, the fans are really loud, runs Windows 7, yada yada.  This is my primary computer but I sometimes wonder why I need it.  Usually if I’m playing games I’ll just use my Xbox 360, Wii or PS3.

So my dilemma is that I need to get rid of something because I have so many redundant devices.  I think I’ve narrowed it down but I can’t make a decision on which device to shed myself of.  I feel that an iPad, a Netbook and a MacBook is just too much technology to have to solve the ‘computing-on-the-go’ problem.

The MacBook is great.  It runs OSX, I can reboot into Windows (or use Parallels).  It’s a little heavy, but it’s actually a completely capable computer.

The Netbook is also great.  I like that it’s really light and small, has terrific battery life (~10 hours), it’s got a video camera and runs reasonably fast.  It is a small computer so it’s not great for writing long mails and the screen is a bit small for me.

The iPad solves a lot of issues that the Netbook solves, but it doesn’t have a camera and runs a closed OS (meaning it’s difficult to view/edit Word and Excel docs for example).  However, the iPad is super-light, is instant on, and is great for meetings, sitting on the couch, etc.  I have the Wi-Fi-only version, so it’s not something I can take anywhere and use, but the Netbook is wi-fi only as well.

So there you have it.  I either need to get rid of the MacBook or the Netbook.  I’m leaning toward getting rid of the Netbook because the iPad is becoming my daily use computer and I could use the MacBook when I need a larger screen and a ‘real’ computer.

Or I could just keep them all and eventually they will end up in my ‘pile of unused electronics.’  I’ll keep you posted!

Robert.