Friday Takeaway: The iPad Vacation

For the first time in a long time, I'm taking a lengthy vacation. And by vacation, I don't mean a sight-seeing extravaganza that will leave me breathless and worn-out by the time I return. I'm retreating up to a cabin on a lake in Canada: just me, my wife, and the iPad. Here's how I've prepared my little tablet for the big trip.

As this will be a trip with the goal of relaxing, there will be plenty of time time spent in the great outdoors, but I'll also be enjoying some much needed down time. Catching up on reading, watching movies, and playing games will be the order of the day. And, of course, I'll still be writing for Padvance. Thankfully, the iPad allows me to do all of these without having to tote around a bunch of extra materials.

For reading, I've already stocked up on some novels in iBooks and Kindle (sadly, some that I wanted were not available via iBooks, which I perhaps unwittingly prefer). I am concerned about reading outside (which I want to do) with the iPad, both because it doesn't view that great in direct sunlight and because I don't want it to overheat. I will attempt it, though. I'm curious to see how prolonged reading will actually go with the iPad: Will I get eye strain? Will it feel more like work than recreation? Having not spent a lot of time reading on the tablet, it's hard to say. Perhaps I should take a few bound books as a backup.

I have several digital copies of movies already in my collection, and I may rip some DVDs to take on the trip. I'll be in Canada, so some of my Internet viewing will be limited. Hulu, for instance, won't work there. Netflix, I'm fairly certain, will. If I'm wrong about that, please let me know to help ease my suffering before I get there. My hope is that the iPad will supply me with plenty of hours of catching up on my overextended Netflix queue and watching some movies I own that I haven't had time to watch in forever.

On the play side, I'm well stocked with games. Now that I'll actually have time, mostly I'll be playing action and adventure games, perhaps with some light role-playing on the side. Thankfully, the iPad delivers on all these fronts. Sam and Max, Wallace and Gromit, and Guybrush Threepwood will be my adventuring companions when I'm not out adventuring on the lake.

And as for work, thanks to Pages and Safari, I'm good to go for publishing on Padvance. I will unfortunately be driving all day during the big Apple announcements next Wednesday, but that's why we have 3G access, after all.

So, when I'm not playing in the water or hiking through the woods, the iPad should supply me with all the entertainment I need. All of this and I don't have to tote around a laptop. Thanks, Apple, for having my back.