The release of the CR-48 by Google – even if it’s a year late and a dollar short – is making me take another look at my portable computing situation. Over the course of the year, I’ve moved from iPhone 3G to netbook to iPad to iPhone 4 and round and round, and it’s cleared up a few thoughts, which I cite below for the sake of the record and so I have something to compare to in, say, six months:<\/p>\n
* Right now, the iPad is unsuitable for work, as is the netbook\/ChromeOS device, for one simple reason: ARD. I cannot work without Apple Remote Desktop, which means that for professional purposes, the low end of my mobility prospects is the 11″ MacBook Air. However, it’s got a legit 720p-type display, which puts it on par with the machines I used for ARD for years. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but it would be doable.<\/p>\n
* The biggest obstacle to using the netbook, for me, was having everything in a web interface. Setting work aside altogether, there were serious negative implications for blogging, media management, some of my email that doesn’t have a web interface, or just the practicality of a separate window for IM and Twitter (neither of which offered a particularly polished Linux client, even relative to the iPhone). Since 90% of what I did consisted of opening Chrome and running a bunch of tabs, I have no reason to suspect there would be a material difference for me in running the CR-48 (although the Gabriel Hounds approach to hardware design is attractive as all hell). Also, Flash video is basically unusable – Hulu was more a slideshow than a streaming video service. I suspect that HTML5 streaming might make a slight difference, but I haven’t had an opportunity to investigate.<\/p>\n
* The iPad’s size is a feature, not a bug, relative to the iPhone. Reading alone makes a world of difference; the iPad destroys the iPhone as a media-consumption device. While it has *a* multitasking model, it’s not a PC multitasking model, you could use Notification Services to handle interrupts for something like IM or Twitter but it’s going to be a bit of a pain in the ass with the modal approach to apps that iOS enforces. (Again, I would LOVE to get hold of something like an Android iPod Touch for $200 and no contract, but the non-phone devices so far all tend to be 7″ and that’s kind of a sour spot for a portable.)<\/p>\n
* Which brings us back to the MacBook Air 11″, which starts at $950 on an EDU discount and can go as high as $1330 if you go for 4 GB of RAM and the fastest processor. Let’s not mince words: this thing ain’t half shaggin’ FAST. Yes it’s only a Core2Duo processor, but coupling it with an SSD makes it perform at least as well as last year’s MacBook Pro with a regular spinner. And naturally, as a full-on Mac OS X device, it means I can do everything I would do on my current 15″ MBP work laptop: run Flock or Chrome or Firefox in addition to Safari, have a real keyboard to input for Ecto or Evernote, do actual video chat or secure work IM, run ARD and RDC, etc etc etc…<\/p>\n
* …but in a laptop form factor. If I don’t use this notional thing for work at all, that eliminates the need for three or four key functions including VPN and ARD. So then what? A laptop, we have proven, is far less convenient than an iOS device for reading text on the run, or just pulling out to check mail or look at a link real quick-like. And if you really need long-form text, you can always pack a Bluetooth keyboard for traveling…<\/p>\n
* Not knowing what the new iPad will be like (because come on, that’s how Apple rolls, there ought to be SOMETHING by April), I can only compare the current model to the iPhone 4 – and the latter gives you everything the former does plus phone calls, video calling, GPS, a 5MP camera with HD video at 30fps, and of course fits in your pocket. The iPad only gives you a bigger display – but reading and websurfing become FAR more practical – and enough room to plausibly type with other than your thumbs, possibly negating the need for said keyboard.<\/p>\n
* But the 11″ MBA is only two inches longer than the iPad, and is almost identical in width and thickness – and weighs only a half-pound more. But at the high end, it’s almost double the price (although the cheapest MBA is only $300 more than the most expensive iPad). And do you need the most expensive iPad? If you want to carry a lot of media around, probably, but the OS itself only occupies less than 1 GB of storage – whereas a full install of OS X Snow Leopard, even pared of extraneous apps and cruft, will set you back 7 or 8 GB all by its lonesome. Given the different processors, different RAM, different operating systems and different relative loads, it’s hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison.<\/p>\n
* There is no substitute for the iPhone from a walking-around standpoint. As soon as you carry anything bigger, you’re looking at a bag. Question then is what goes in the bag. I would say that by and large, iPhone + MBA11 is a much more flexible and powerful combination than iPhone + iPad.<\/p>\n
* Biggest problem is that my media content alone is pushing 200GB. It’s starting to get to the point where a portable device is not going to be able to carry everything – thus the Mac Mini at home acting as the central repository, against the day that I no longer keep all the goods on my laptop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The release of the CR-48 by Google – even if it’s a year late and a dollar short – is making me take another look at my portable computing situation. Over the course of the year, I’ve moved from iPhone 3G to netbook to iPad to iPhone 4 and round and round, and it’s cleared … <\/p>\n