iShed

Two things entered my life today. an iPad2 and a shed. The are both very cool things, but in very different ways.

I thought it might be helpful to draw up a comparative chart:



As you can see, there are plusses and minuses for each product and I think they end up pretty much as good as each other on paper, however it's quite a subjective thing. A shed owner may require slightly different functionality to an iPad owner.

If, for example, you are looking for some sort of compatibility with people who use a different product, an iPad with it's proprietary Apple iOS is going to disappoint. The shed, however, comes with windows, which are widely used and supported.

The shed may let the user down with it's lack of connectivity: no wifi and no 3G. It's not even Bluetooth. But it's storage capacity is far superior. Try storing a lawn mower, garden chair and barbecue in your iPad!


The shed also shows a distinct advantage in it's durability. In tests, sheds have endured rain, wind and snow with no appreciable drop in usability. The iPad on the other hand is likely to be rendered unusable if you leave it outside in a snowdrift for a week.

The two devices sport very differing looks. The iPad is slender and shiny, while the shed adopts a more traditional wooden look. Both are very nice, and both can be customised to the users preferences in similarly limited ways - in the example of the iPad, one can purchase an official 'smart cover' in one of about 10 different colours. The shed can be painted pretty much any colour. The form factor of each, however cannot really be modified.

In conclusion, I would advise carefully weighing up what you need from your device. If you're looking for a garden storage solution, then the iPad is not for you. If however you are after a shiny media consumption device, then I simply cannot recommend the shed.