[geeks] iPad - NOT a 'Miss' for me I'm afraid

[Nadine Miller]

On Feb 2, 2010, at 11:59 AM, Mike Meredith wrote:

> On Tue, 2 Feb 2010 08:25:59 -0500 (EST), der Mouse wrote:
>>> So lets be straight. People on the bus and train watch video on
>>> their cell phones, iPhones, etc. all the time.  These hand-held
>>
>> This...umm, disagrees with my experience.
>>
>> I've taken two train rides a week for most of the last year.  My
>> laptop (which _is_ a real laptop, not a dinky little "netbook" or
>> some such) works fine.  And, watching the people around me, I would
>> call laptop use "common" - it would surprise me if under 10% of the
>
> My experience of train journeys is a mixture of both. Trains that are
> likely to be used for chiefly small journeys (30m or less) will have a
> very low usage rate; trains with a mixture of long (2h) and short will
> have usage rates approaching 50%. Trains for longer distances (4h or
> more) have usage rates getting up to 90% ... I've once felt 'odd' for
> not having a laptop out !
>
> Mind you much of the laptop use I see is for working on documents
> rather than watching video.

In DC, I saw more people "working" on laptops than watching video, etc, and
relatively few that did so.  I did see a lot of iPod usage, as well as
Blackberrys (games as well as email).  Saw quite a few PSPs on Metro, too.
This was pre-iPhone.  Taking pub trans in SF area, I saw more iPod/iPhone
usage than laptop usage.  Of course on BART, you have to change trains 80% of
the time if your commute is >1hr, so people are much less likely to get out
the laptop b/c of the hassle involved.  Of the laptops I did see out, more
were for homeward entertainment than work.