“I was an iPad skeptic”

It's hard to believe that the iPad and the hundreds of tablets that arrived in its wake have been around for only three years. On April 3, 2010, Apple released the original iPad to the public, kicking off a whirlwind of innovation in a space that was previously known only for niche, experimental, and downright odd products. One could still argue that the iPad—and other tablets like it—are meant for a niche audience, but it's clear that tablets as we know them today have struck a chord with the masses. Apple alone has sold 100 million iPads as of October 2012.

It feels like modern tablets have been around a lot longer, but three years is still nothing to sneeze at. Reflecting upon the last three years of tablet mania, the Ars staff and contributors began to share stories about how our iPads or other tablets have changed how we interact with our devices and the Internet. Most of us were heavy tablet skeptics when the iPad was first announced, and some of us still are. So in honor of the three-year anniversary of the iPad, we decided to share some of our experiences with you on how our lives have changed—or how they haven't, depending the case.

Tablets have earned a place in our lives

Nate Anderson, Deputy Editor:

I was definitely a tablet skeptic—I can use my laptop to do anything a tablet can do! What a waste to get an extra device! But I eventually picked up an iPad anyway and learned four lessons. First, the utility of technology isn't simply about end results but about the process of obtaining them. My three-year-old can barely use a mouse, much less open a laptop and launch programs—but she has no problem swiping her way through the unlock screen, flipping through screens of apps, launching her educational games, playing them, quitting them, launching other games, and shutting off the device when finished. Sure, many of the same programs could run on the laptop as well, but even so, they would remain inaccessible to her for a few a more years. My kids are tablet power users who already understand concepts like code updates ("Dad, see if there are any new levels out for Cut the Rope!") and crashes ("This program is broken. I'm going to try another one").

Second, the power of tablets exceeded my expectations. Tablets looked at first like decent consumption devices for books, music, and video—and indeed they were often described in those terms. But even the imprecision of a touch interface was soon put to use for more creative ends. While few creation apps on tablets can match pro tools on computers, they can at least throw open creative possibilities to millions of amateurs—and for just a few bucks an app. When I watch a five-year-old and her friend create their own princess cartoon, complete with hand-drawn backgrounds, animation, music, and narrative voiceover—all without any help—I think back to all the things I wanted to try when I was kid (claymation stop-motion animation of giant monsters!) and marvel at just how powerful creative tools now are.

Third, many people actually prefer locked-down computing environments. My parents have both picked up iPads in their retirement and use them constantly, even shooting video and sending it to relatives. This never once happened when doing so required using a camera, hooking that camera up to the computer, uploading footage, compressing it, and e-mailing it out. And they are largely free of worries about malware or the complications of the Windows desktop. For people who largely need consumption apps and a Web browser, the security advantages and simplicity of tablets are features, not bugs.

Finally, I find using the tablet a more soothing experience. This is unlikely to be a universal feeling, but as someone who spends my entire day at a computer using a mouse-and-keyboard, my hands welcome a chance to do something different and my back welcomes a chance to recline on the couch. But there's a mental component, too. Cracking open my laptop in the evening presents me with windows holding to-do lists, open browser tabs for in-progress stories, instant messages, e-mail, and book projects. In short, I feel like I've just returned to the office. Using a tablet feels, however illogically, like being at home.

Eric Bangeman, Managing Editor:

Laptop neglect. That's the best way to describe how the iPad has changed my computing habits since its introduction three years ago. Before the iPad, my MacBook was an all-purpose device, used all over the house for all sorts of tasks. Since I purchased my first iPad, my MacBook is now a single-purpose machine, used only for work. If I was sitting on the couch, I'd have my laptop with me maybe a quarter of the time. Now, I've got my iPad 100 percent of the time.

In addition to displacing my laptop, the iPad has also been chasing paper out of my house. I buy and read books on the iPad. I'm an avid magazine reader, and as Sports Illustrated, The Economist, Rugby World, and The Atlantic have come out with full-featured digital editions, I've let my print subscriptions lapse. I'm also much happier reading The New York Times via its iOS app than manipulating large pieces of paper. And the apps leave more room in the recycling bin for things like empty beer cans and wine bottles.

Has it revolutionized my life? No, it's just a tablet. But it has made content consumption a lot more convenient for me. Watching TV with my iPad, I can answer nagging questions like which season of 30 Rock David Schwimmer appeared in, and then browse Facebook during a commercial break. It's also a way to take little mental vacations: I can zone out for a few minutes and play a mindless iOS game or browse the 730-page funny pictures thread in the Lounge.

I could live without it, but I would rather not.

Sean Gallagher, IT Editor:

My home is now a three iPad household: Me, the technologist/early adopter/occasional hacker; my wife, the librarian and mediavore; and my 18-year-old son, the musician and recording engineer. My daughter, the 12-year old, uses a second-hand Samsung Galaxy Tab for texting and games.

The Galaxy Tab gets used more than all the iPads combined. That may say more about the user than the devices, but it also has to do with form factor.

As an early adopter (well, not too early—I waited for the iPad 2), I tried to push the boundaries of what the iPad could do. I often used it instead of a notebook for distinctly notebook-like things, courtesy of a Bluetooth keyboard. Using Mail, the iWork apps, Skype, and a couple of other apps, it was my mobile office. Its size was more amenable to use on an airplane with the Belkin keyboard and folio than my aging Toshiba Satellite. But since I've gotten the MacBook Air, I use it a lot less for those things, and I use my iPhone more because of its size. Now my iPad is more of an e-reader and a Netflix platform than work station. I've considered handing it down to my daughter because it spends more time in a drawer than anywhere else.

My wife uses her iPad to read e-galleys—early reader e-editions of upcoming books. It has reduced the clutter of books around the house. Her library system has started to try to get librarians to use the iPad as a reference tool, allowing them to wander the floor and help patrons find the books they want. That effort still has some kinks in it, since the iPads only have access to the public Wi-Fi and thus the same catalog system as patrons use. (Sadly, it's one that can't tell them the circulation status of a book as well as the computers on their desks.)

My 18-year old uses the iPad and GarageBand to do rough compositions of songs, to play with ideas, and as a personal practice amp for electric guitar. The iPad has become a staple of live sound, with apps that allow an engineer to adjust board levels wirelessly from anywhere within a venue. He also uses it for social media and to check his e-mail. But his needs exceed the iPad's grasp; he would rather lug the iMac I handed down to him around because it runs ProTools.

My daughter is the most tablet-focused of all of us. She takes her Galaxy Tab to school, collects video for reports, plays games, watches videos, and uses a program called Text + to send friends SMS messages. Her school uses Google Apps, so she collaborates on Google Drive docs for her projects. The Galaxy Tab is her constant companion, largely because she doesn't have a smartphone or a dedicated personal computer like the rest of us—and because the Galaxy Tab is more portable than the iPad.

Florence Ion, Reviews Editor:

The iPad first debuted when I was working at an Apple-centric publication, but back then I was incredibly skeptical. I had just invested in a MacBook Pro and was kind of irked at the idea that I had to switch up my lifestyle to accommodate this new… thing. Now tablets are as ubiquitous as smartphones, and although it’s not necessary to have one, it’s certainly feels essential. I now have three in my household: a third-generation iPad, a 32GB Nexus 7, and a Microsoft Surface with Windows RT. One is always within arm’s reach, but it’s usually the iPad that I pick up when I’m in the mood to consume content.

I started my career in the world of print and continue to be a huge evangelist of the medium. But as technology progresses, I’ve realized that I have to change the way I consume it, too. So far, only the iPad has been able to deliver the kind of magazine experience I’d expect in this new “digital age.” New issues are delivered to me via Newsstand, and I can easily flip through pages, click on interactive content, and navigate to the websites offering the products I’m interested in. I also appreciate that some publishers offer both print and digital subscriptions so that I can access those issues but still have the actual magazine at home to collage and snip from. Adobe has even made it easier for publishers to push their issues through to the iPad. For the most part, I no longer have to store any physical magazines. I have access to every issue I’ve ever paid for, as it’s all linked to my iTunes account.

It’s also my primping and cooking companion: I’ll use it to stream Spotify while I’m getting ready for a night out, and refer to Evernote while I’m trying out a new recipe in the kitchen. While it hasn’t replaced my Kindle for reading e-books (the E Ink is easier on my eyes), I’m not sure I ever want to live without it again, even if I only mostly use it to read magazines.

Jon Brodkin, Senior IT Reporter:

I've been using tablets regularly since the iPad 2 came out, and it has completely changed my "leisure-time" computing—and it has even had some small influence on my work computing. While I'm still attached to a traditional computer during regular business hours, I now use a tablet for the majority of my time spent browsing the Web or writing short e-mails at night and on the weekends.

This holds true for both personal and work things, which can often feel like one and the same. Being tech-obsessed, I'm constantly reading news or Twitter on a tablet. (I do the same on my phone, but only if I am out of the house and thus not near my tablet.) If I find something newsworthy, I'll make a note to myself or e-mail colleagues who might be interested. Still, I have no desire to make the leap to writing articles on a tablet. If I hit the point where I'm writing an e-mail longer than a couple of sentences or am writing something for publication, I shift to a laptop or desktop. Physical keyboards are awesome!

I still see tablet holdouts argue that they don't need tablets, and that's absolutely true. Almost no one "needs" a tablet. But lots of us want them, and that's a perfectly good reason to buy one. Tablets can both replace some of the time otherwise spent on "real" computers and increase the amount of time spent computing in general. For example, I am now more likely to read long form articles, because if I see something during the day that I don't have time to read, I save it to read on my tablet at night. There are more pros than cons, but the expansion of time spent computing can be both good and bad. Even when I'm trying to read a book (on my e-reader) that tablet is right there, beckoning me, and that's not always a good thing.

Andrew Cunningham, Associate Writer:

I didn't initially see the appeal of the original iPad, which my then-employer bought for me in the pre-multitasking, pre-Notification Center, pre-multiple-Exchange-accounts dark days of iOS 3.2. When it finally arrived, iOS 4.2 helped bring the tablet into its own, and subsequent hardware and software updates (as well as a steady stream of tablet-ready apps) further convinced me that tablets could fill a niche that smartphones couldn't. However, the advent of lightweight and powerful Ultrabooks and MacBooks Air that didn't weigh much more than the iPad happened at about the same time, so if I'm traveling I typically choose the computer over the tablet.

Smaller tablets like the Nexus 7 and iPad mini change this equation. They're large enough to be good at tablet-y things, but small enough to ride shotgun in your laptop bag when you're on long trips. The Nexus 7 in particular has been a constant companion on the road in the last six months, primarily because it's a near-perfect e-reader while also being a pretty good device for checking e-mail, managing calendars, and doing general Web browsing. It would probably be hyperbole to say that tablets have changed my life, but the smaller ones at least have found a very comfortable niche in between my laptop and my smartphone that I'd hate to see unfilled.

Jonathan Gitlin, Contributing Writer:

I won't deny it—when Apple announced the iPod, and later the iPhone, I was a skeptic. I didn't see the point, and I didn't want to be the first on the block to own either of the shiny new gadgets. The iPad, though, was different. PDFs no longer needed printing out. It had the perfect form factor for reading comics. Ten-hour battery life meant that needing a laptop on a plane for entertainment was a thing of the past. Those first few months saw me use it for note-taking in meetings, a task made slightly harder due to the constant stream of questions from colleagues about the new device: "Is that an iPad?" "Can you really type on it?" "Are you from the future?" A work-issued MacBook Air means I don't use it for meetings as much anymore, although with double the battery life and built-in connectivity thanks to LTE, I still break out the iPad from time to time.

Primarily though, it's a content consumption device for me. It keeps me occupied on my daily WMATA commute, and it streams familiar NPR stations in unfamiliar hotels. A transition to digital magazines means I no longer need to wait five or six weeks to get the most recent issue from the UK, and the only physical books I buy any more are coffee table sized. An upgrade to an iPad 3, with its retina display, has made reading comics or scientific papers a joy, and streaming Netflix or DirecTV in bed is a breeze. Yes, the keyboard is a pain to type with. Yes, it can be a little bit heavy when reading one-handed, but no more so than a hardback. Trying to read outside in the sun doesn't always work well, but when it's 2am and the lights are off it's a different story.

Happy Birthday, iPad. I can't wait to see what the next three years will bring.