2004:  I’d never owned any Apple product.

2005:  I bought my first Apple product, an iPod Classic.

2007:  I bought my first Apple computer, an iMac, through a friend of a friend’s Apple employee discount.

As of today, I’ve already owned and retired:

• That original iMac
• 2 iPod Classics
• An iPod Shuffle
• iPhone 3
• iPhone 3GS
• iPad

• MacBook Pro 13″
• Apple Cinema Display
• Apple Airport Extreme
• Apple Airport Express
• iPhone 4
• iPad 2
• Apple TV
• MacBook Air 13″ for personal use
• MacBook Air 11″ for work
• Apple Thunderbolt Display for work

Having carelessly left my iPad in a Southwest Airlines seat-back pocket in December, I’ve been waiting impatiently for this day to come for months!

I used TaskRabbit to arrange for a runner to wait in line on my behalf. If you haven’t used TaskRabbit yet, try it. Define just about any task — such as buy groceries, drop off donations at Goodwill, pick up dry-cleaning — or even wait in line at an Apple Store for 12 hours on iPad 2 launch day. Then, set a maximum price, and “rabbits” (runners) make offers for how much they’ll perform the task. If they bid under your maximum, you pay less. Pick a runner, and off you go.

Thanks to TaskRabbit, rabbit Katherine D. and her husband Brian lined up as first in line for me at the Apple Store in Los Gatos at 3:00 a.m. PT on the 11th. Which meant that I was first in line when I sauntered up to the store around 4:00 p.m. to join in the opening day spectacle. At the time I took pole position, the line stretched down and around several blocks and easily was 500 people long.

Apple’s launch day retail experience — especially for those first in line — was wonderfully warm, welcoming and whimsical. Just inside the window front, a black velvet curtain veiled the entire store. Waiting outside for that final hour, we heard repeated cheers from within as the retail staff psyched up for the opening. Minutes before the doors opened at 5:00 p.m., Apple folks spilled out the doors, asked those first in line which models they wanted and distributed small white reservation cards with specific SKUs written on them for inventory control. At 5:00 p.m., the curtain dropped, and Brian and I were greeted with a double line of 40 employees inside the store wildly clapping and cheering and high five-ing the first dozen customers permitted to enter the store. With classic Apple retail efficiency, a retail associate greeted me, hooked me up with a white 64GB wi-fi + 3G AT&T iPad 2 (plus another I bought for friend) and a navy Smart Cover, and I walked out the door 10 minutes later to the cheers and envy of the waiting crowd. Felt like Marky Mark in “Rock Star.”

The out-of-box was what we’ve come to expect from Apple: easy to open packaging, minimal contents (iPad, charger) and intuitive set up (plug in, connect to iTunes and follow the onscreen instructions). I haven’t activated the 3G service yet, but that looks to be very easy too.

So first impressions?
- As reported, it feels great. Thinner, lighter (although it’s only marginally so) and the tapered back is more comfortable to hold than the original’s.
- The white looks even better than I expected. From the images I’d seen online, the white looked too bright, and possibly cheap. On the contrary, the color is almost ivory and reminds me of Steinway piano keys. Gorgeous.
- So far, it does seem faster and the graphics look better thanks to the new dual-core processor. I’ve been playing Infinity Blade and Angry Birds on my iPhone 4 for months and didn’t realize what I’d been missing until yesterday. Fast switching is also faster than before and faster than my iPhone 4.
- Mixed feelings on the Smart Cover. Slick design and works great — but I don’t like that the back of the iPad is unprotected, and when using it to type on an uneven surface (my lap), the magnets and cover occasionally detach. I’m eyeing the bamboo and leather cover by Grove.
- The camera quality is noticeably poor as reported. It’ll serve for video calls, and I expect to continue to use my iPhone 4 for snapshots and short video clips.
- One note on FaceTime: Not sure about this, but it appears that if you’re already using FaceTime on one device, say a MacBook Pro, with one Apple ID, then you may need a separate, new Apple ID unique to your iPad. So far, I’ve been unable to verify my existing Apple ID to use FaceTime on this new iPad 2.

Overall, this is the day for which I’ve been waiting like a kid on Christmas morning, and I’m completely delighted with Apple’s latest offering. Fanboy I am.

But I’m not switching quite yet.  Here’s why:

• No simultaneous voice and data — This is a non-starter. I frequently access the Internet while on a call. AT&T allows it, Verizon doesn’t, because of the nature of CDMA.

• Limited international reach — GSM is the global standard, and just a few months ago I was in Korea making calls and going online with my iPhone. With Verizon instead of AT&T, this wouldn’t have been possible — and this is true in many more countries than not.

• Not an early adopter here — I won’t buy the first Verizon iPhone for the same reason I didn’t buy the original iPhone: First generation new products — and granted ostensibly only the CDMA antenna is new — rarely work as predicted.  I’d wait for the kinks to get worked out first.

• No guarantees of network superiority — I love Verizon’s network, especially in the Bay Area, and switched from it to AT&T only when I wanted a more global network for international travel. That said, no one can really predict at this point how the iPhone will perform on Verizon’s network. (Although it’s hard to imagine worse performance than we get with AT&T).

• Switching costs — Not a sole deciding factor, but given the other concerns, no reason to pay early contract termination fees to plunge into another unknown.

Will be very interested to see how Verizon’s network performs!

Without any intention of picking up the latest in consumer gadgetry, I found myself in the Apple Store in Palo Alto yesterday — hey, it’s across the street from where I get my hair cut.  I took a look at a display model; I saw the large, luminous display and the familiar multi-touch UI; and after that, everything became a big foggy.  While considering only the 64GB version, a shipment magically arrived (no inventory was available when I first walked in at 10:00 a.m.), my credit card slipped out of pocket quite of its own volition, and shortly thereafter I walked out with my 64GB WiFi iPad and a few accessories.

My first thoughts:

• The screen is gorgeous.  I look at my puny iPhone screen now with pity.
• It’s already replacing my laptop for checking email and surfing the Web while watching TV on the couch at home — this can’t be good for my health.
• Media, more than I expected, renders beautifully and is fun to use — music, photos, and videos.  I’m not a heavy media consumer, but this device may change my behavior.
• The manner in which the UI for primary apps like calendar and mail change from portrait to landscape orientation is interesting — I’m not sure it’s seamless enough or how much I like it yet.
• Absence of flash is glaring.
• Apps designed for the iPhone or iPod Touch just don’t work well.  The iPad renders them at what appears to be the same screen size as on the iPhone or iPod Touch.  An option to increase the size exists, but then the app resolution is too coarse.  It’s better to use Facebook through Safari, for example, than to use the acclaimed Facebook iPhone app.
• Lack of Korean language input support is disappointing.  I didn’t realize until after purchase that the iPad doesn’t support the full set of languages supported by the iPhone and iPod Touch.
• The ebook readers — iBook and Kindle — are designed great, but I still can’t see myself reading for long periods of time on the iPad.  Eye strain will be inevitable.
• Last, Plants v. Zombies is bigger and better.  I’m tempted to buy the HD version.

Overall, very happy with the purchase so far.  It’s a great show and tell piece when out and about, lots of fun.  I can see it replacing my laptop for short personal trips.  I hadn’t imagined I would have a use for it, and I was wrong and am pleasantly surprised.

Update:  Not missing 3G so far.  I’m only using the iPad where WiFi is present.  Any applications I need where WiFi isn’t I can get on my iPhone.  Plus, I happen to have a Verizon MiFi card to fill any gaps.

Last week, I was caught by captcha.  I couldn’t read and therefore failed a captcha challenge when trying to forward a blog post from within Google Reader to multiple recipients.

Just now the captcha death spiral happened again, but this time I think there’s a bug.  I passed the first captcha challenge and was presented a second, but, before I could type the second captcha challenge, it disappeared from the window and a new one appeared.  Ensuing was a fail spiral in which I was continuously presented with captcha challenges.  After each, the one I was never provided the opportunity to pass flashed briefly onscreen then disappeared.  Unable to attempt this elusive challenge, I was presented around 10 challenges in succession, interspersed with the one I wasn’t allowed to attempt.

I’m now locked out of my Google Account and cannot access Reader.  The last time, this lasted most of the day.

Fail.  :(

I’ve been forwarding a bunch of articles from my Google Account through Google Reader.  Subjected to captcha challenges, I failed to read a few properly and now am locked out of Google Reader (IP block) for an indeterminate amount of time.  Bummer.

The user experience here could have been better in two ways:

First, I knew I was having difficulty reading a few of the captchas — the text formatting was not clear to me — and I had no way to request a new captcha.  Nor did the challenge offer me different challenges — instead when I got one wrong it offered me another and then the same challenge I didn’t get right the first time.  These are best practices I’ve seen in other captcha programs that were missing (option to request a new captcha, presentation of a different one if one is entered incorrectly).

Second, the help page doesn’t set any clear timeframe for how long the IP block will persist, stating only:  ”Once the automated traffic has stopped, the ban on your IP address should be automatically lifted.”  As “network administrator,” I was given the option to submit a Web form to have the problem investigated.  I’ve done so and am now waiting . . . .

Luckily for me, I happen to know the head of product marketing for consumer products at Google and so have emailed her hoping for relief from this minor inconvenience.  :)

I’ve been very happy with my Amazon Kindle DX since I first received it in June 2009.  I love books and reading but was unhappy with the clutter of three double-stacked bookshelves and stacks of books everywhere in my apartment.  So space savings was the purchase trigger for an electronic reader for me.  And in 2009, Amazon had the best offering, with an attractive, easy-to-use/intuitive design and a seamlessly integrated ebook purchase process.  So far, I’ve loved it.

The one notable problem I experienced with it was last year, with the leather cover that Amazon markets hard with the Kindle DX.  The Kindle DX — and the Kindle 2 — has two slots on the left edge for purposes of attaching/fitting it onto two clasps on the leather cover.  It’s a little awkward at first, but doable.  The problem is that if you inadvertently open the Kindle from the rear, the top clasp acts a lever and pries wide the opening in the Kindle.  After doing this a few times, no matter how careful to avoid it, it results in unsightly cracks in the plastic right above the opening and can pry open the case, too.  I know from other Kindle owners that this can actually compromise the operation of the Kindle — it won’t work in some circumstances.

The cover clasp or latch will pry open the opening/slot on the Kindle if the cover is opened from the back.

Last year, a search quickly led to a number of discussion board threads in complaint.  In response to customer complaints and attempts to get exchanges or refunds, Amazon denied any product defect in the Kindle or the leather cover or the interaction between them, effectively asserting that any damage was customer fault.

Interestingly, they’ve now reversed this stance; I received this email today:

Now, Amazon is acknowledging that damage to either the cover or the Kindle are covered under warranty — a complete reversal of the prior stance.  I managed to keep the damage to mine minimal, so I’ll decide now whether to go through the hassle of getting a warranty exchange.

This doesn’t appear to be related to all the announcements these past few weeks — Kindle DX with global wireless, new royalty scheme for self-publishers, and Kindle developer program — but I do wonder if Amazon’s fearful anticipation of the impending Apple tablet announcement is driving the company to step up it’s game.

Competition is good, and consumers are the winners.

I’m tempted by the notion of assembling a silk-screening kit (make my own designer t-shirts instead of paying a fortune for Ed Hardy and a skull & crossbones design) and the Stanley thermos (I might want a hot water thermos to fill the mate gourd I picked up in Argentina).  And I already have the newly-released Kor One Personal Hydration Vessel and have been singing its praises around the office for the past several weeks.

But when I switched to the iPhone over the summer, I needed a new set of tools.  In my typical optimizer (read The Paradox of Choice) fashion, I went crazy with research trying to find the perfect application for my imagined needs.  None were perfect, but I settled on OmniFocus, which required a somewhat-tricky iMac-iPhone configuration to get the wireless sync to function.  OmniFocus had a great user interface, and it worked.  I paid the hefty $80 fee for the Mac application and the $20 fee for the iPhone application and the $99 MobileMe subscription fee that enabled sync — and I was mostly happy.  The only problem was:  I didn’t use it.  It lacked a PC or Web-based client, and it was too inconvenient to rely only on the small screen of my iPhone for my to-do list while at work.

So when Remember the Milk released its new iPhone application on the Apple Store (it already had a Web-based version optimized for the iPhone), I decided to reconsider.

Here are the features and functions I now realize I must have:

• GTD-system “projects” and “contexts” support
• Offline iPhone client (for airplanes and other places without Web access)
• Web-based application –> I realized I need a Web-based application more than a desktop client, because there are few circumstances in which I’d be using my PC at work or my Mac at home without Web access, and I could use my iPhone in those situations!
• Wireless syncing across devices and platforms
• iPhone-editable projects, contexts and text entries

Compare, contrast . . . Remember the Milk is the clear winner.  Lamenting my sunk cost in OmniFocus, I’ve ponied up the $25 for Remember the Milk Pro (which enables iPhone-Web sync) and switched, based on this absurd analysis (click to enlarge):

Yes, I’m a complete loon.

In sum:

• EasyTask Manager met most of my functional needs but was simply too hard to use, both the iPhone and the Web-based applications
• Evernote I consider more of a repository for storing information and isn’t suited for the GTD system and far too slow for an everyday to-do list
• Nozbe lacks an offline iPhone client – a deal-breaker for me
• OmniFocus is expensive and lacks a Web-based client
• Things looks great but didn’t have sync functionality when I last checked and has only a Mac client, no Web access

That left Remember the Milk, the award winning Web-based application now with an iPhone application, as the clear winner.  Most importantly, it works for me:  I’ve been using it daily.