Is the iPad 2 a toy?

Is the iPad just a big, expensive toy?

I suppose that it could be. However, with hundreds of useful productivity and design apps and new iOS5 features, the iPad 2 is certainly much more than a toy.

There are a lot of games for iOS, but they represent only a fraction of what iDevices can do. The iPhone 4, for instance, is a powerful point-and-click camera in addition to being the best 3G smartphone. There are tools to keep in touch with friends and family, find the best restaurants and the lowest gas prices. Notification Center keeps tasks, weather, stocks and calendars one convenient, downward swipe away from whatever you're doing. And the iPhone 4S? Well, there's an 8 megapixel camera, and most importantly, Siri.

But about the iPad itself, specifically the iPad 2...

The iPad 2 is much more than a "big iPhone."

When the first iPad was announced, I bought the hype — I thought of the iPad as a big iPod touch, nothing more. Of course, everything changed when I actually used one. If you're thinking about buying one (and can afford it), do it. If you're skeptical, try to get to an Apple store to spend a few minutes to test an iPad.

There are features and apps that just wouldn't work well on the smaller screen of the iPhone, even with the retina display. There may be a lot of small pixels on the iPhone 4, but that doesn't just change the size of your fingers. Organization and writing tools are much more natural on the iPad, and there are apps that allow you to draw and write as you could on paper that just aren't practical on a small screen — you'd either have to write/draw smaller, or constantly zoom in/out and scroll. Typing is much nicer and quicker on the iPad, and iOS5 has a new split keyboard feature.

Popplet is a good example of the iPad's wonderful abilities. This organization app, a mind mapping tool, has been around since the first iPad, and I still use it to organize thoughts quickly and to share ideas. Popplet takes advantage of the large screen; you can drop text, images and drawings into the popples (the boxes), resize them, connect them, and move them around, while still seeing the bigger picture. There are mind mapping tools for the iPhone, but I haven't found one as useful. And I do constantly keep an eye out for new apps.

Bringing me to something else, worth mentioning...

You don't need to empty your wallet on apps.

Check out AppShopper, a universal app that keeps track of new and popular apps, as well as your favorites, and notifies you of price changes and updates. I've snagged hundreds of apps, usually in the $1.99-9.99 price range, for free — many of them I wouldn't have known about in time if not for AppShopper. This tool keeps track of the many holiday sales and discounts, so you can get that $4.99 app you've been eyeing for $0.99 when the developers decide to have a special 24 hour sale.

There may be over one million reasons to get an iPad or use it for more than gaming. I could go on for hours about it. I love my iPad 2. But here is what you really need to know: as Steve Jobs said, it's magical. The iPad is revolutionary, and the device can change your life if you let it. (Also, for the disabled/handicapped, the iPad is the greatest computer, ever. Essential.)

This review of sorts may sound like a sales pitch, but it's not... Apple doesn't need my help to sell iPads. I'm sharing, because I've gained so much from this device, the one I'm writing this blog entry from, and I hope to encourage others to give the iPad a chance. I'll try to share more tips, tricks, and reviews... and hopefully, Apple will release Siri for the iPad 2. That'd be a wonderful treat for me. And hey, I'm helping them sell iPads! Apple should do something nice for me.

:-)