This is why I'd prefer something else than an iPad.. | #alteriPad

I guess the question boils down to: are you a passive absorber, or an active interpreter? Do you complacently accept, or do you critically question things?

If you are the kind of person who just browses through websites, or reads e-books passively absorbing its content, then by all means, the iPad is the thing for you.

I have liked Steve Jobs for many years since the Apple II, even, but the creation of the iPad seems to encourage people to be passive enjoyers of the content that others can produce, or maybe even meant as a peripheral device of Apple's App Store, a kind of vending machine that the consumers need to purchase to be able to make more purchases.

I have a feeling that Apple purposely want more people to more passive rather than becoming more interpretative and critical.

Sure, you can jot a few words using the touchscreen keyboard, but certainly it would be much easier just to tap "purchase" and buy things online.


Now if you are someone who constantly thinks and interprets, and like to express what you think and interpret, then clearly the iPad is not a device for you.

A few days ago I watched (on-line) Samsung's presentation of their new Galaxy Note, and realized that it was the thing for me. The premise of Samsung's Galaxy Note is exactly the fact that there are many people out there that likes to make notes and share them with others. Ideas often come in sketches and graphs rather than in typed words, and the Galaxy Note would allow people to do that on what ever they are browsing for, or e-reading.

As it turns out, HTC has earlier introduced something very similar (and actually maybe even more impressive, except for some features) to the Galaxy Note, which is the HTC Flyer. It is equipped with a very fancy pen that allows people to make multicolored and multitextural sketches and hand written notes.

About 15 years ago, Apple developed something very similar to the HTC Flyer, Apple's Newton, which unfortunately was a flop because it was conceived prematurely, before there was adequate "infrastructure to allow its performance. Its a great pity that Apple did not attempt to resurrect the old Newton, but perhaps they figured out that a Newton, which would make its users more critical and expressive, is not something that they wanted to produce and promote, as it would run counterproductively against their business.

I am an interpreter. When I read I like to jot down my interpretations of the read directly on the book. E-books have not allowed this until the HTC Flyer and the Samsung Galaxy Note.

I can search maps and scribble alternative road patterns on the new Android devices. That would be very useful for me to visualize some ideas about how to decrease traffic congestion in Jakarta, and I can send these scribbled notes on the fly, directly to my blog or email it to some official in the government who might be able to make a change to the chaos of our city.

I can cut out pictures from the web, and paste them onto other pages to visualize things and ideas. I have always liked the eclectic and visual quality of Gallimard guide books, and these two new Android devices seem like a cool way to create my own "Gallimard" pages.

So, if you are visual and yet like to interpret expressively, you should look into the two new devices, before buying even the latest of the iPads.