I Bought A New Ipad

[Cassandra]

I disagree. I think for the average user, an iPad could easily replace a laptop. Outside of being able to store large amounts of data, there's not much a laptop can do that an iPad can't for a casual user.

I use an iPad for everyday use instead of a laptop and I'd be lost with-out it. It's light and easy for me to handle, I use some great apps like Evernote to keep scripts for different projects on-hand and I even have all of my Dungeons and Dragons rulebooks books saved as .pdfs that I take with me to D&D sessions. (Makes it so much easier than carrying a bag full of books.) I've also just bought myself a blue tooth keyboard so I can use it more as a laptop when I'm at my desk or away from home.

That being said I do believe that the iPad suits my very specialized needs, I have a huge PC that I play my games on so don't require a laptop able to play games. I also read most of my comics these days on my iPad because they're cheaper than buying them in the store and I don't need to worry about the store not having them.

[The Funketeer]

I teach computers at an elementary school where we have a couple hundred iPads floating around the building that I'm partially responsible for managing and I'm starting to figure out more and more just how powerful these things are. It's true that you won't be able to do any kinds of specialized or high end work on them now but for the average user who only needs to check email, surf the web and write in a word processor it's just fine. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's better. I can open up a document either in Google Docs or in a word processing app so much faster than I can on Word on my MacBook (or Pages). The lack of Flash support is a little annoying but most of the sites I visit are creating mobile friendly versions so it's not that big of a problem. The inclusion of a camera in the iPad was what really pushed it over the top for me though. I can take a picture and post it to Facebook or my blog in under a minute whereas something like that used to require a number of inconvenient steps.

But what I'm noticing the most is that my students (K-4th grade) don't struggle with it at all whereas my teachers do. I used to think it was because kids learn and absorb new ideas faster than adults do but I've come to realize it's because they don't have a preconception of what a computer is. To us, it's a monitor a keyboard and a mouse. That's the way it's been since the 80s and unless we were using Apple IIs (I was) it's the only way it's ever been. We see an iPad and it means re-learning how to do things. Even though they take less time, tasks seem inconvenient because they're unfamiliar whereas my students pick it up and go to town, often showing us how to do things.

[AndrewCrossett]

I'm sure the day will come that I get myself an iPad or something similar... but not until I can do so without it seeming like a downgrade from a laptop. I do a lot of web-surfing. I watch some video, but not a ton. For that, a tablet would be fine. But I also do a large amount of word processing, HTML coding, and image and video editing. I guess I don't qualify as a "casual user." In any case, right now from where I'm sitting an iPad costs almost as much as a laptop and does less. I'll wait until they catch up.

[Impulse]

I am NOT an Apple fan. I don't like the closed ecosystem for the App/iTunes store, I don't like the unneccessary price premium of the company's products, I don't like their lack of support for numerous video codecs, I don't like Mac OS, I don't like the top-down morality espoused by Jobs (his infamous "freedom from porn" statement) and I really don't like the almost cult-like obsession its more devoted followers have for the brand.

That said, I bought an iPad 3 while I was in Las Vegas recently. A couple of caveats - with the £-$ exchange rate, the 32GB WiFi model worked out about £110 cheaper than buying it at home. I had about $350 in cash on me, which I'd have lost some of the value of when I converted it back to Pounds Sterling. In the end, only £180ish went on my card, so I'm happy having paid that much for it.

And, despite all my Apple hatred, I do think it's a great product. The screen is amazing, and there are several apps that have seriously boosted my productivity. I'm quickly becoming addicted to Comixology, to the point I'm considering ditching my back issues and rebuying digitally.

Some of the things I dislike about Apple hold true though - only having the home button is a pain, and I find myself wanting a menu button like Android devices have. I would prefer being able to connect it to my computer as an external hard drive and transfer content, rather than having to use iTunes. Looking for a cover, I ended up having to buy a third-party case/smart cover combo online, since Apple stores only seem to stock the front-only smart covers which offer no protection for the back of the iPad or the device as a whole - another case of "use what we say". Not ideal by any stretch.

If I'd had to pay full price for it - especially British full price - I definitely wouldn't have bought it. At the almost-impulse purchase price I paid though, I'm glad I got it.

[zemo]

I heard a while back that the iPad is the computer of choice for older people, as it is very easy to use (you point your finger at what you want on the screen, and such). Anybody got any experience with that?

Also, I was wondering how well the iPad works as a drawing tablet. I once sat behind a guy in a lecture, and he was drawing a pretty badass portrait of the lecturer on his iPad, just using his fingers.

[Weeto]

Is it just me or do other people find the capacity of the iPad tiny? I have a 64GB model and I keep having to erase unimportant apps to save space.

I've erased things I would like to keep because I just don't have much space at all left.

[Gail Simone]

The iPad is fine for content consumption: net surfing, watching video, playing games that aren't resource-intensive. It's no good for actual work: large-scale word processing, coding, graphic design, etc., or for playing higher-end games.

It doesn't have enough power, the screen isn't big enough, and it doesn't have a keyboard separate from the screen. All those things keep it from replacing laptops or desktops as a serious work machine. I have no doubt that eventually they will evolve to be able to do all of that stuff, but that day isn't here yet.

I don't think most people WANT all that stuff in an ipad, I certainly don't. And to be fair, a lot of laptops don't have some of those things, either.


I use mine non-stop, every day. The reason it is worth it is that it frees me to do a ton of my work (taking notes, doing email, making art corrections, editing, doing proposals),
away from my little office. I don't have to sit in the same chair for ten hours a day anymore.

Also, I'm on planes a lot, next year I have six trips with flights in the 12-18 hour range each way. I can't tell you what a lifesaver the ipad is for those reasons.

I do have a bluetooth keyboard and it works quite nicely, it's not my preference, I admit, but it does work in a pinch.

[Cassandra]

Is it just me or do other people find the capacity of the iPad tiny? I have a 64GB model and I keep having to erase unimportant apps to save space.

I've erased things I would like to keep because I just don't have much space at all left.

I think that's also by design, because of the ability to constantly swap out the files you need I think the general idea is to only keep on your iPad what you want to use for a short period of time. There are a couple of things I keep on my iPad all the time but I'm constantly swapping out music playlists, music, books, etc. etc.

[Tom Stillwell]

I teach computers at an elementary school where we have a couple hundred iPads floating around the building that I'm partially responsible for managing and I'm starting to figure out more and more just how powerful these things are. It's true that you won't be able to do any kinds of specialized or high end work on them now but for the average user who only needs to check email, surf the web and write in a word processor it's just fine. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's better. I can open up a document either in Google Docs or in a word processing app so much faster than I can on Word on my MacBook (or Pages). The lack of Flash support is a little annoying but most of the sites I visit are creating mobile friendly versions so it's not that big of a problem. The inclusion of a camera in the iPad was what really pushed it over the top for me though. I can take a picture and post it to Facebook or my blog in under a minute whereas something like that used to require a number of inconvenient steps.

But what I'm noticing the most is that my students (K-4th grade) don't struggle with it at all whereas my teachers do. I used to think it was because kids learn and absorb new ideas faster than adults do but I've come to realize it's because they don't have a preconception of what a computer is. To us, it's a monitor a keyboard and a mouse. That's the way it's been since the 80s and unless we were using Apple IIs (I was) it's the only way it's ever been. We see an iPad and it means re-learning how to do things. Even though they take less time, tasks seem inconvenient because they're unfamiliar whereas my students pick it up and go to town, often showing us how to do things.

Funk, you can get the Rover app that allows you to use Flash on the iPad. My wife just started to use it and says Rover works well.

[The Funketeer]

Funk, you can get the Rover app that allows you to use Flash on the iPad. My wife just started to use it and says Rover works well.

I've played with Rover a little bit here at school but it's been really slow for me and the new swiping gestures seem a little awkward. I like the idea though, and I'm glad the app store hasn't killed it yet.