iPad Primer

[sammyyummy]

hi
im not tech savvy
i got an ipad and hope to use it primarily to read pdf documents.
but im not sure how, read a bunch on google but unsure which one is the best and easiest.

Also, anyone can teach me:
1) the best free apps to get
2) tips and tricks on how to use it

thanks

tech challenged - sam

 

[Fuzzy1]

If you know how to use the internet browser on the ipad or regular computer which you obviously do otherwise you wouldn't have been able to post your request here, check out youtube, search what things you want to do with your ipad and there will probably be a video showing you how to do it, same with apps.

 

[miaedu]

if you're in the US Apple offers free workshops.

http://www.apple.com/retail/workshops/

 

[trawler69]

iPad opens PDFs natively in safari. You then have the option to import them into iBooks which has a separate library for PDF files. I use mine for storing manuals for my work and for accessing others stored on my server.

 

[sammyyummy]

thank you.
but i read that epub has a better "reading experience" to them
any recommendations on the best way to convert (free) pdf to epub? also i read something about goodreader. the pdf files i read (academic journals) have graphics in them (tables, charts) that apparently goodreader doesnt handle to well (text flow only and not text-image flow)

any recommendations?

 

[maxpowr9]

.pdf is an Adobe product and Apple hates flash because they are money grubbing whores due to iTunes.

Get the photon browser in the app store. It will cost you $4 but it is so worth it as it bypasses Apple and allows you to view flash on websites on the ipad.

 

[Kyle3000]

Youtube is your friend

 

[andysayshi]

You can view online PDFs directly in your web browser. You can also forward those PDFs to iBooks to store for reading later.

There are tons of document-reader apps available. iBooks is the one included, but other good free ones include Kindle and Stanza. For these other readers, you can get documents/books online, or you can add documents to the apps from iTunes on your computer.

Personally, I tend to read documents in the DropBox app. DropBox is a free service that gives you 2GB of online storage. The DropBox app reads most document formats itself, so you can use it as a Reader and as a document manager. The great thing about that is that you can also access those documents from any web-connected device, not just your iPad. You can place a Word document or Excel spreadsheet into your DropBox folder while you're at work, for example, then open it in your iPad when you get home. You can move documents from DropBox into other iPad apps like iBooks or Photos with two taps. Because everything is managed over the "Cloud", you don't need to worry about using iTunes.

You can use a free application on your computer called Calibre to convert PDFs to ePub and vice versa, if you really want to. Personally, I wouldn't bother - the viewing experience is not much different.