By Courtney Boyd
My love of new media and hate for all things Apple have finally collided. When the i-everything revolution began, I was somewhere under a rock, or may as well have been. I had no interest in joining the Apple cult in which Steve Jobs was the techno-Christ and where anything he touched became a poor techie's blessing. A simple desktop computer and sms-enabled phone were more luxuries than I needed to survive the demands of high school, and the pretty high price tags attached to Apple gadgets were simply more than my part-time job could afford. When I entered college, I upgraded to a Dell Inspiron laptop and a super-cool, media phone with a sliding keyboard. Hence, my need for an iPod or iMac was nonexistent.
An introductory journalism course piqued my interest in media forms, from traditional print to digital and beyond. I started blogging to keep up with current trends, and bought a point-and-shoot digital camera to learn about photography. As I became more involved in my degree program I realized that following technology trends is a fun-and expensive-hobby, so I stuck with what I knew and used what resources I had. Only when my laptop's AMD processor slowed to snail speeds did I trade it in for a dandy, handpurse-sized netbook, and only when seven megapixels were no longer enough did I purchase a nifty little compact DSLR camera.
So how did I wind up on the "iWant an iPad, too" express? Simple. I was swarmed away by all the buzz into an Apple store, and tried out the latest tablet, the iPad 2. Here are the pros for professional (and aspiring) journalists like me:
1. Size and portability. Thinner and lighter than the original iPad, the iPad 2 is less than an inch deep and weighs only 1.3 pounds, which makes it easier to tote than a laptop.
2. Infinite apps for productivitiy. A built-in word processor, camera, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity and cheap, downloadable editing applications allow journalists to report from virtually anywhere. GarageBand and iMovie, available for $4.99, are ideal for recording and editing interviews. The AP Stylebook and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are also available as iPad apps.
3. Ease of use. The iOS, or Apple's mobile operating system, is so easy to use that my four-year-old cousin is able to navigate her way around one with little to no adult assistance. The touch interface makes for smooth operation without difficult controls.
Sure, the iPad 2 has its downfalls, but for the price and functionality it's a must-have for many professionals. Are you interested in purchasing one?
