Law Students and the iPad

I will be the first to admit I want an iPad. I will also be the first to admit that I do not need an iPad. I’ve gone back and forth on this quite a bit and I’ve come up a few conclusive arguments for why I do not need an iPad.

1. I’m too much of a power user. While many people use their laptops for mere web surfing, emails and the occasional document, I push my laptop to the edge. I use my laptop to upload things to websites and maintain them. I use CS3 to edit and create images. I rely heavily on text input to create large documents and spreadsheets and I do these things on a regular basis. Touchscreen input is fine for the occasional email or web form but you just CANNOT make a large document on that keyboard. I know that you can use an external keyboard but right now the other options preclude that idea.
2. I can’t stand being locked down. I think I would always want the flexibility of my laptop and being able to download open source options for almost anything. The other day, I needed to do a teeny bit of audio editing and BAM I just downloaded Audacity and I was in business. With the iPad, this would not have been possible.
3. I don’t do presentations and I don’t travel much. I’ll admit that if I start traveling a lot I would really consider it. I don’t think there can be a better entertainment option when stuck in airports, planes, hotel lobbies and hotel rooms. I just don’t currently spend much time on the road.
4. My media consumption is all over the place. I listen to pandora, music on my iTunes, Last FM, and *gasp* CD’s. In terms of video, I kinda do whatever is there, usually being Hulu or a TV network’s website. However, I love free codes, so I’ve watched amazon.com rentals and other things of that sort. I also still pop a good, old DVD in the optical drive after a stop by the RedBox.  It’s pretty difficult to manage all those types on the iPad.

So there you go. The iPad is a really cool toy but it’s not for my needs.