For almost two years now, I’ve started nearly every morning by reaching for my iPad. Before I even get out of bed, I check email, catch up on Twitter, read some comics, and surf some websites. However, when it’s time for work, I put down the iPad and get out my Mac.
But as the iPad’s hardware and software have developed since its launch in 2010, and especially since the recent release of iOS 5, I’ve been wondering whether that handoff is really necessary. Can the iPad replace a Mac for work? Or, more accurately, what kinds of work can it do now? What kinds of sacrifices are still required? Can you actually get things done with it?
Since I was the one who, not so long ago, wrote that iOS 5 makes the iPad a better computer than ever before, I volunteered to be the guinea pig for a little experiment. For three days, I vowed to go Mac-less, using my iPad instead of my laptop for everything. Here’s how it went.