Anyone have an Ipad yet?

[MercuryJones]

Bought my 3G version last night. (And one for my partner too.)

Just getting the hang of it. The apps optimized for iPad look and work beautifully. I'm only using it with WiFi now and it's as fast as I could want it to be.

I loaded a slew of work spreadsheets, word docs and pdfs, and they all look great, even my most monstrous spreadsheets. Also loaded a bunch of comic books and I'm looking forward to reading them in bed!

My partner has some books loaded and is very happy.

Now to pick up some cases...

 

[Muskox]

The ipad is a really nice device for some things and not very good at others. We got a 3G model the day they came out and like it a lot. I'll never use it for word processing. It will never replace a laptop because the virtual keyboard on the screen will never be as good a physical one. The ibook app is great for what it is, but I will probably still do most of my book reading with the library model. We drove from Detroit to Chicago last week and, with the 3G feature, got maps we could zoom in on for details and back out for the big picture, check emails and look up items of interest along the way, all with a screen big enough to really see. We downloaded a movie before we flew out of O'Hare and watched our movie in-flight. Wonderful resolution and, again, big enough to see well. I don't buy much music online; most of my stuff is from CD's and I also get recorded books on CD from the library and load them on my ipod. This isn't possible with the ipad unless you load them onto itunes on your computer and then transfer them to the ipad. I probably won't bother -- the ipod is so compact I'll just have both with me. One advantage with the 3G ipad is that you can subscribe to the 3G service on a month-to-month basis instead of the 2-year contract with ATT that the iphone requires.

The portability, the big screen, ability to enlarge and scroll with your fingers, and the movie and TV show download are the big plusses. Like all this technology, it's simply a matter of what you want to do. No one device is going to have everything you want.

 

[GhostPhoenix]

I try hard not to be judgmental, but I unfriended someone on facebook because they bought an ipad the day it was released and posted like a billion status updates about it.

Doesn't sound like you were being judgmental, sounds more like you dumped a spammer.

 

[syntax]

I don't own an Ipod/phone. The screen is too small and the service is too expensive.

The Ipad screen is sized so that I can cradle the Internet in my hand.

I leave for Europe in July. Looking forward to leaving the laptop at home and traveling light with the Ipad.

For me, this is a primo device.

 

[MercuryJones]

I leave for Europe in July. Looking forward to leaving the laptop at home and traveling light with the Ipad.

That's one of my main draws to the iPad. And I have two trips this month.

I've always traveled with my laptop but hate the hassle of opening it on planes, to say nothing of the battery limitations. Even smaller netbooks aren't much better.

 

[Corny]

the hassle of doing one movement? wow.

and as for battery life .. i don't know what kind of netbooks you guys all have that need so long to boot up or have a shorter battery life than the iPad, but I can't complain about neither.

 

[Corny]

that will depend on the airline. most big airlines allow wifi and mobile phones nowadays, just not during take-off and landind.

 

[MercuryJones]

I can't imagine why the iPad would be treated different for in-flight use than an iPhone or a laptop.

I do know with certainty that unlike a laptop it does not need to be removed from your bag during the security screening. An exceedingly minor, but nice, perk.

I love travel but hate the trip, so this will be a huge improvement for me, in terms of ease of use for reading, working, movie. I typically end up buying one or two wifi usages at the hotel for as many days as I'm there. I look forward to instead just activating a month of 3G services during travel times, which will be a lot more service for the same expense I would have paid the hotel.

 

[syntax]

Anyone know if the Ipad is approved for in-flight use. It does generate RF right and if it does it interferes potentially with the plane's navigation????

My understanding is that it has an "airplane" mode that shuts off the wifi.

I can't find it, however.

 

[MercuryJones]

^^

Just go to Settings. Airplane mode is the first item in the list of settings on the side.

 

[Purplebic]

that will depend on the airline. most big airlines allow wifi and mobile phones nowadays, just not during take-off and landind.

I can see the headlines now: News of The World: Plane crashes during takeoff as idiot logs into Grindr too find hookup in economy class
lol

 

[MercuryJones]

I can see the headlines now: News of The World: Plane crashes during takeoff as idiot logs into Grindr too find hookup in economy class

When you refer to others as idiots, it might be worth understanding the difference between "to" and "too".

Likewise, it's helpful to understand that questions end with question marks.

 

[Purplebic]

it's obviously a typo lol. Though you wasting time pointing it out speaks volumes about you.

btw, shouldn't you be out buying matching iDouche cases?

 

[MercuryJones]

btw, shouldn't you be out buying matching iDouche cases?

I would, but I'm putting all my free $ into your cognitive therapy charity account.

 

[MercuryJones]

I would like to be able to use a stylus of some kind to write notes with in meetings though. Do you have a voice memo app that you could use for recording in class?

This isn't a new question, but:

There is a 3rd party stylus you can buy, and there are apps for use with such a stylus, or (of course) your finger - which makes for pretty BIG writing. There is one app that condenses your "finger writing" on the page. I do believe there are voice memo apps but I haven't investigated.

What about the other apps? How are they to use?

If you're still interested, there are several like quite a bit. Pages and Numbers provide basic work functionality, and they are optimized for the iPad and perform well.

The iBook app is quite nice, and you can also use Amazon's Kindle which for the moment has a better selection. I haven't transitioned from print books yet, but my partner has and likes it quite a bit.

There's a comic reading app that I like very much, and some that are just neat in iPad scale, even though I have them in iPhone version as well.

One thing I don't like is that you still can't TRY an app without buying it.

One thing that's still missing for me is a good meeting-app in which I can take notes AND assign tasks to a to-do list all in one app. There are to-do apps that are nice and cost little to nothing, and there are note apps. But I don't want to have to do double entry.

I'm optimistic that something combining the two will be out soon.

I'm still very happy with the product. It's form is ideal for my needs, and the function only slightly less so.

 

[Purplebic]

I would, but I'm putting all my free $ into your cognitive therapy charity account.

You're very good at being a douche but being a bitch is going to take a little more work hun

 

[MollyontheShore]

No, I haven't spent $600-$800 to buy an over-sized iPod Touch that has less computing power than the average low-end laptop.

 

[MercuryJones]

Anyone know if the Ipad is approved for in-flight use. It does generate RF right and if it does it interferes potentially with the plane's navigation????

Interestingly, it appears the iPad is popular with pilots. Not being one I don't understand the particular appeal, but it's there, and there are pilot-specific cases being sold for use in the cockpit.

 

[3nipples]

I assume it has the same "Airplane Mode" setting as the iPhone has, which allows you to turn off all the network connections. Then you can use it to play games, movies or music or to read eBooks and magazines or any other app that doesn't need a connection.