We have discussed the success of Steve Jobs previously and how the iPad will bring success to Steve, but will the device be useful to freelancers? Is it something which is needed or just something to waste your money on? Amber Weinberg (a reputable freelancer) thinks that it is useful for freelancers, but I’m having second thoughts as to how useful the iPad is for freelancers.
The Good Points
When I first watched the iPad advert I felt like screaming “Mummy, I want one” – the iPad has specifics to be proud of. Something which everyone loves is the fact that it’s HD, so viewing photos/videos is a great experience. Although the screen is smaller than your TV and isn’t the greatest place to watch a movie, it is still excellent. The screen quality is hardly affected by varying viewing angles and this adds to the experience of being able to enjoy things communally. More importantly for freelance web developers, its a great tool you can use to showcase your designs especially to a group of clients, as the iPad will really help to enhance the quality of your work and service as a whole.
The battery lasts absolutely ages (10 hours) so you can work on a flight from London to Beijing without having to recharge during the flight. Apple claims it lasts 10 hours and for once the advert is wrong for the right reason, it can actually last longer than 10 hours, so your in for a treat. If that isn’t awesome enough then surely this will be music to any freelancer’s ears: it doesn’t get very hot.
Apple built up a reputation with its MacBook Pro of a melting people’s genitalia being a “lap”top. The iPad will not burn anything, so you can catch that flight to Beijing without a charger and work all the way there without having to worry about it overheating.
The iPad has apps for freelancers too. “Markup” is a coding app which is obviously great for developers - so now you can code on your way to Beijing while enjoying the fabulous screen. Finally, it is generally cheaper than was expected as you can get one for as little as $499 (US) or £429 (UK).
The Bad Points
FLASH! There I said it!
Safari doesn’t support flash which, I am sure you have heard about in almost every review, but the problems with the iPad go deeper than the flash “problems”. People question where the iPad lies, if its a phone, it doesn’t have a camera, and if its a laptop its shitter than every other laptop out there. So what function does it serve?
The 4:3 viewing ratio gets rid of any HD advantage it did have because a film is only enjoyable in wide-screen. You may be thinking that since you are a freelancer who only wants to work on it and not watch films. If so, you need to look at the fact that one of the biggest selling points given by Apple was that viewing movies on the iPad was to be amazing and “the best way” to view videos and it was unable to live up to that claim. The best way – try a widescreen HD screen - that’s better.
Multi-tasking is also an issue. If you multi task without third party apps then your fine, but if you want to, you can’t. That means you can’t listen to a Youtube video while you work and more importantly can’t run other programs.
The cheapest version of the iPad is £429 but with the additional features and memory which it costs more (you need to pay extra for 3G connectivity). It is cheaper than a laptop…which has diamonds in it (some people are trying to claim that the iPad is cheaper than the average laptop, which is totally silly to assume). A freelancer does not need to pay more than a laptop for something which is neither a laptop nor a phone.
I mentioned Amber Weinberg at the beggining of the post, she said:
“I never had time or the desire really to play more than a couple of games or watch movies (except when I’m working out now). However, I watch a ton of video and play games on the iPad”
The fact remains Amber, that if you weren’t watching movies before and you are now it’s because of this large expensive toy. It doesn’t really help with productivity then, does it? As a freelancer you will already be worrying about the hundreds of things which kill your time and the iPad will open up a Narnia of time wasting activities.
Look at what Google’s Eric Schmidt had to say about it:
“You might want to tell me the difference between a large phone and a tablet”
Nintendo’s President Satoru Iwata recently said that Apple only announced a bigger iPod touch and he said he found the iPad “unimpressive”.
The “Good” Rebuttal
So what if it doesn’t support flash? HTML5 is about to put the last nail in that coffin. If it doesn’t have a camera you can just plug one in or in fact plug in any peripheral. OK, there are procrastination issues, but isn’t that the case with the iPhone or any other gadget with entertainment functions? Finally, Google and Nintendo are likely to become competition to the iPad in the near future, so their reviews can’t be trusted.
The “Bad” Rebuttal
It is still neither a laptop, nor a phone. Plugging in peripherals to the iPad is weird because you need an adaptor and it ruins the entire experience. The final point is that it is something which is not needed. You have a laptop to do your work and a phone to do your calling/checking emails. The iPad will help your procrastination habits sink in, since the only additional feature of the iPad is the entertainment selling point. Freelancers don’t need it because it costs a lot for something which is doesn’t serve any special, or unique function – it’s just a nice portfolio viewer. Obviously, I’m totally wrong if Adobe decide to release Photoshop on the iPad – then I’ll recommend it to everyone.
Conclusion
There are strong arguments on either side, but the deciding factor is this: What does it mean to you? Tell us by commenting below.
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Places To Find Work For All Types of Freelancers
Elance – They have over 30,000 jobs posted. They also cover many different categories, almost any type of freelancer can find work here.
oDesk – With almost any set of skills you have, you should be able to find freelance work here. They have a wide variety of categories. This is a heavily posted website.
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