Has iPad ownership changed your internet habits?

[Prasius]

On a forum that deals with wider A/V type kit with a primarily UK membership, it appears that iPad ownership has made some changes to how owners use aspects of the net; I'm curious if thats a common occurrence or just the result of a small sample!

Some examples of what I mean - I have been using Twitter for the first time with a combination of Twitterific and Flipboard. For reasons I can't fully explain, I never saw the point of Twitter when using my other computers; but, perhaps due to the immediate nature of the iPad, I've found myself really drawn to Twitter as a really useful newsfeed type service. I'm aware that RSS forfills a similar job; but the ease of management Twitter provides has won me over. Other people have just started to use Facebook for what seems the same reasons.

"Cloud" storage is something else. Why have I been carrying around a portable HD around with me, when I can just store all my files somewhere that I can access them on any device with an internet connection?!

Streaming TV - I've streamed TV on a regular basis for the first time. A UK website allows you to access all UK digital Freeview channels via an iPad webapp. This basically has meant I can watch TV, anywhere and anyhow, I want to, with a device I don't need to be tied to a power socket with.

What, if any, changes have you seen to your internet usage on the iPad?

 

[iPadCharlie]

It does seem to be another device in this "paradigm shift" from actually having your data with you as opposed to just having access to it somewhere on some "cloud".

Banks have done this for years, first with ATM cards and now with debit cards. Because of this, I usually carry no more that $15-20 at any given time because I can use my debit card almost anywhere. My money is just like data and my bank is the cloud. I don't actually have to have money in my wallet (or my data on my hard drive), all I need is a way to have access to it.

Other than that, the iPad has not had a huge impact on my life other than the ability to read books in a larger format than on an iPod Touch (which was my whole reason for getting one in the first place).

I think it may be having a lesser impact on me because I have the WiFi-only version. My company issues us BlackBerry phones and if I am on "walkabout" and simply must get online, I have a way to do that without hunting down a hot spot. If I did not have a web-enabled phone, I probably would have bought a 3g version and that may have been a whole 'nuther ball game... maybe.

It could also be because I am 53 and have somehow managed to come this far in life without the ability to be "connected" 24/7/365 and that wasn't what I was looking for with the iPad anyway.

Of course, YMMV!

 

[iVan]

It has changed my Internet use. It's tripled it because of how fast I can now access it. At this moment there has been no power in our neighborhood for the last two hours. iPad's autonomy and 3G beat it.

I used to read a lot more on my Sony Reader. When I read on the iPad, there is always an immediate purpose for me to leave the ebook and do something else on the iPad. Reading now requires some discipline.