iPhone vs iPad

I have had my iPad WiFi for a little over three months. And, now I've had the iPhone 4 for just over a month. It begs the question, which is a better device?

There are plenty of ways to consider the issue. Which one do I use more? Which one has changed my life more? Which one enables things I didn't have before?

I haven't been traveling much over the past month and thus have not had that much need for much of the iPhone ultra-portability. However, I have used my iPad for literally hours each day and for a wide variety of functions. I find myself using the iPad for games, to read books, browse the Internet and check email from the comfort of the sofa rather than at my desk. 

The iPad form-factor, while heavy for normal book reading is far more portable than the lightest laptops -- all with tremendous battery life. It is a delightful travel companion and doesn't even need to be removed from my carry-on bag like a laptop would. It is safe to say that the iPad significantly increased my appetite for media of all types. 

The iPhone 4 has, however has a great deal more utility than its older siblings. When I had both the 3G and the iPad, I felt horribly limited whenever using the iPhone. It felt tiny, slow and... well, reduced. As a result, upgrading from the iPhone 3G and to iPhone 4 was a tremendous difference. Reception issues aside, the camera is great and the screen is stunning. I can and have read a few chapters of a book on the screen and it is very easy to do so.

However, the biggest difference is the speed. The 4 is much faster than the 3G and is on par with the iPad. They are difficult to compare directly though because they are running different OS levels. (Sadly, iOS 4 isn't due on the iPad until November.) Nonetheless, launch applications is much quickly, the applications themselves are more responsible and it does save time over the old unit doing just about anything.

So where does this leave the question? The iPhone has unbeatable portability as it fits in your pocket. It allows you to create media with updated camera and it always knows where you are for a variety of location based services. But, ultimately, if I had to choose one over the other, I would choose the iPad. It is the device that I have used the most over the past three months - hands down. It allows me to have a lot more of my cake and eat it too. However, clearly the best of both world is having both. It is hard to get by without a smart phone these days and the iPhone 4 is a pretty good one.  It still is a steep price tag to get there, but ultimately becomes rather transformative to your life.