Tuesday, March 8, 2011

iPad 2

Thinner, lighter, whiter. Do I need the iPad2?

The answer of course is yes! But not for the reasons listed above. Nor is it for the dual core processor, or even the new smart cover (even though I do want a smart cover). No, the reason to choose iPad 2 is for the camera(s) and Facetime.
The camera allows the iPad to be used as a data gathering device. This could be shots of a whiteboard, a page of a textbook, a photo of something from the lab, a short video clip etc. The fact that Apple are now making  iPad versions of iMovie and Garage Band suggests this is something they see the iPad as useful for too. And then there's Facetime. On a WiFi networked campus, Facetime will enable real collaboration among faculty/students at different physical locations - forget complicated video conferencing setups.
Of course this will bring problems too - bandwidth for one, if enough people are using Facetime simultaneously. And within a medical teaching environment there are all kinds of privacy issues around the use of cameras. If the iPads belong to the institution it's not so bad because the cameras can be locked down if necessary, but that isn't possible if the iPad is student owned.
Still I am looking forward to trying one and will post a review once I have had a chance to try one out.

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