The following self conducted interview was inspired by The Brooks Review’s iPad Life.

"For me this is the most tantalizing aspect of the iPad, unlike most other devices it was not put in our hands with a purpose already defined, it was given to us with no preconceived notions at all."

This is my iPad life.

Tell me a little about yourself, what do you do, where do you live?

My name is Thomas Brand. I started my professional training as a graphic artist, found I had a greater knack for the technical side of design, and dropped out of art school to work for Apple. After working my way up to Lead Mac Genius I left Apple retail to join the Radiology IT team at Children’s Hospital Boston. I am currently a PACS Analyst assisting with the setup and configuration of PACS workstations used to view medical images.

In my spare time you can find me coding websites, writing my blog EggFreckles.net, shooting pictures, or running long distance races.

What was your reaction when the iPad was launched?

Fantastic rumors of an Apple tablet had been going strong for more than a decade. After the introduction of the iPhone I had high hopes that these rumors would materialize and Apple would over turn laptops in the same way they revolutionized mobile phones. I knew in my gut that my hopes were too ambitious, and I watched the iPad introduction with mixed feelings. Disappointed the iPad would not immediately be the laptop killer I had hoped, but surprised by the potential of Apple’s first multi-touch tablet.

For some the iPad was only going to be a large screen iPod Touch, but for others the iPad will be their only computer. Maybe that group won’t be large, but as the iPad matures it may replace most people’s laptop or even desktop computers. I remember feeling frustrated at the end of the iPad announcement thinking Apple has done it again. Just like the iPod, the iPad will be a smash hit, but I will have to wait before it can be everything for me.

Which model did you order and why?

I played it safe and bought the middle of the road 32GB wifi model. Despite the fact the iPad wasn’t ready to replace my computer I couldn’t wait long enough for the 3G model to be released and bought my iPad the very first day it was available. I don’t regret purchasing the wifi only model, but could have taken a risk and picked up the 16GB model instead. I rarely play music from my iPad, and only optimistically load my iPad full of videos I never watch.

How are you using the iPad on a daily basis?

Although the iPad eventually replaced a mobile computer I do not take it with me everywhere. Instead I use my iPad mostly at home to read, check email, tweet, and play a few simple games. When I am out of the house, and the iPad is my only computer, media watching and long form writing are added to my list of activities.

Can you give me a quick run down of the apps that you use the most?

It just so happens that the apps I use most are the one’s I keep in my iPad’s dock.

• Mail for email, both personal and professional.
• Reeder for RSS Feeds and sending content to colleagues and Instapaper.
• Twitter because I love its layered approach to user interaction.
• Instapaper for reading most anything more than a few paragraphs in lengh.
• PlanText for writing blog entries and syncing my notes effortlessly to my Mac.
• Dropbox for bringing the files from my Mac with me wherever I go.

Honorable mentions include…

• Flipboard for finding even more content to pad my Instapaper reading list.
• Gusto for those times I need to edit a website or post to Egg Freckles from my iPad.
• The Incident, Flight Control, and Canabault for taking a break from everything else.

Which app is your favorite?

Instapaper is my favorite iPad task, but Twitter is my favorite iPad interface. PlainText solves the problem of getting my thoughts on and off my iPad. But if I had to pick just one, Instapaper alone is the reason I could not give up my iPad.

Do you have any bag/stand/case recommendations for people?

I know it is not much to look at, and it can get just as grimy as the iPad’s screen, but the Apple Case gives me the protection I require without taking away from the iPad’s portability. With the Apple Case access to my iPad is just as easy as opening a book, and its cover can be used to prompt up my iPad in at least three different configurations.

What features do you want to see in a future iPad?

I don’t really think of my iPad as needing any hardware improvements, but if Apple is set on making iOS the application centric operating system of the future there needs to be a better way of sharing information between apps. One of my favorite features from Android is the ability to share content between apps and services without having to do a dance with copy and paste. I don’t think a filesystem suits iOS, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a centralized method for retrieving content like iLife’s media browser.