On occasion, while listening to a podcast or reading an article, I cannot help but wonder if the orator or author is actually hearing what it is they are saying. I am astonished at how far they sink into their own perspective that give the appearance they have lost all sense of objectivity. The most distressing aspect to all of this is that they actually believe what they are saying is the truth.
To illustrate, let us conduct a little experiment. Open up your web browser and head on over to your favorite search engine to have a look at the sites that come up when you search on "ipad too heavy". For your convenience, I'll provide you with a few of the quotes I found which I am simply presenting in alphabetical order sorted by the author's last name.
The iPad is also too heavy to comfortably hold in most ways for long periods, and its wide range of software capabilities can be distracting.
Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper
Unveiled Tuesday, the 9-inch HD Nook is 20% lighter than the iPad, a difference that is instantly noticeable after lifting the two tablets, but feels even more pronounced when holding either device in one hand for prolonged periods. The iPad feels overweight by comparison, experts say.
Quentin Fottrell, MarketWatch
This thing is neat, they think, but isn't it kind of heavy? Yep! Heavier than a book, heavier than a Kindle. Too heavy to hold with one hand for more than a few minutes.
John Herman, BuzzFeed
For a device that attempts to change the way we consume content, the new iPad is far too heavy and thick.
Brandon Miniman, pocketnow
The iPad Mini is half the weight of the big iPad (0.7 pounds versus 1.4), thinner (. 28 inches versus .37), shorter (7.9 inches versus 9.5) and narrower (5.3 inches versus 7.3). Those specs add up to one towering meta-change: you can comfortably hold this iPad in one hand.
David Pogue, The New York Times
The iPad is just too heavy for reading for extended periods, I find.
Danny Sullivan, c|Net
I already had a great iPad. It's big and heavy, and hurts my arm to read in bed. It's my primary bed computer, and also the second screen when I'm watching TV. When I read in bed it leaves impressions on my arm where it rests. I can't imagine this is good for the circulation in my arm.
Dave Winer, Gizmodo
For the first time, Apple has been focusing on the wrong problems: how to cram 4x more pixels and a better antenna. Worst, this came at a cost that is impacting the 3 points above; The device is heavier.
Xavier Damman, the co-founder and CEO of Storify
After reading through these missives, I found myself wondering if any of the authors recall what it was like to read BEFORE the proliferation of the World Wide Web. The humble beginnings of the modern book started with the discovery of papyrus back in the third century BC.[1] For millennia, the sum of human knowledge has been handed down from generation to generation on sheets of paper bound together into books. After reading these authors lament about the weight of the iPad, I begin to marvel at how I was able to survive a college education.
Given you have made it to this point in the article, I am certain this admission will come as no surprise - I am not a writer by trade. Neither, as you will see, am I a photographer. But as the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words and by now I am certain you would appreciate some brevity.
iPad mini - 10.7 oz
iPad 2 - 1 lb 5.5 oz
Given you have made it to this point in the article, I am certain this admission will come as no surprise - I am not a writer by trade. Neither, as you will see, am I a photographer. But as the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words and by now I am certain you would appreciate some brevity.
iPad mini - 10.7 oz
iPad 2 - 1 lb 5.5 oz
"LINUX Server Hacks" by Rob Flickenger (222 pages) - 11.5 oz
"Component Development for the Java Platform" by S. Halloway (222 pages) - 1 lb 10.3 oz
"Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture" by M. Fowler (533 pages) - 2 lbs 2.7 oz
"SOA Design Patterns" by T. Erl (814 pages) - 3 lbs 15.2 oz
How were those who bemoan the weight of the iPad as oppressive able to muster the stamina long enough to read anything before the inception of the iPad mini, Kindle or Nook?
I have loaded the same collection of 556 books and magazines in ePub, Kindle Format or PDF format on my iPad 2 and iPad mini. I can comfortably hold a device in each hand simultaneously. I feel like Hercules.
References
Arment, Marco. "The Kindle update". http://www.marco.org/2010/07/29/the-kindle-update 29 Jul 2010. 1 Dec 2012.
Fottrell, Quentin. "Is the iPad too Heavy?" http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-the-ipad-too-heavy-2012-09-26. 26 Sep 2012. 1 Dec 2012.
Herman, John. "Why Isn't The iPad Getting Thinner?" http://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/why-isnt-the-ipad-getting-thinner Mar 2012. 1 Dec 2012.
Pogue, David. "This Year, Gift Ideas in Triplicate" http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/technology/personaltech/presenting-the-nook-hd-ipad-mini-and-windows-phone-8-review.html 30 Oct 2012. 1 Dec 2012.
Sullivan, Danny. "iPad Mini or iPod Touch Maxi -- it may not matter" http://news.cnet.com/8301-33620_3-57487078-278/ipad-mini-or-ipod-touch-maxi-it-may-not-matter/. 6 AUg 2012. 1 Dec 2012.
Winer, Dave. "Is the iPad Mini the Beginning of Apple's Decline?" http://gizmodo.com/5959770/is-the-ipad-mini-the-beginning-of-apples-decline 12 Nov 2012. 1 Dec 2012.
Damman, Xavier. "Why the iPad3 is a step backward" http://storify.com/xdamman/why-the-ipad3-is-a-step-backward. March 2012. 1 Dec 2012.
