| Author | Message | ||
     Etennuly |
I have been looking at them for business use on the road. Are they faster than the I Phone at internet searching? Can you find and watch select TV programs or movies without signing up for some extra fees? Are they pretty much a large 3G I Phone? What extra parts and bits are must have stuff? | ||
| Danger_dave |
Depends on the business. I looked seriously at one, evaluated, tested, listed what I wanted it to achieve - and bought a macbook. | ||
| Phelan |
I'm thinking of getting one as well. They are a lot faster than an iPhone 3G, 3GS. Processor is the same 1 GHz unit as the one used in the iPhone 4 (I have one of those too). The iPhone 3G has a 600 MHz processor declocked to 433 MHz, and the 3GS has an 800 MHz unit declocked to 600 MHz. As far as movies and TV, most of it is ran from iTunes and will cost extra. There are ways around this but it's a bit of work (jailbreak). I'm thinking of getting one (and will jailbreak it like I have my iPhones) for the larger screen so I can play my playstation and n64 games (with emulators). | ||
| Daggar |
I have a WiFi one for work. It's great for taking notes in meetings. I'm not sure if it's any faster than an iPhone, for internet searching, but it's easier to use since the screen is so much bigger. You can watch Netflix on them, but I don't know about TV programs. The ZaggMate case looks neat, but I haven't used one yet. | ||
| Etennuly |
Would I be able to down load pictures from my camera(nikon) and set up a portable printer/scanner for documents? Is this thing a usable computer stand-in, or just a super phone? Thanks for the help, I R Tarded wif putr stuffs,  and it is a waste of time for me to listen to a specialist who doesn't understand that I don't understand what they are saying.  | ||
| Danger_dave |
I think the answer is yes to all - but you'll have to buy connector kits. Question is how high a value do you put on the funkiness and compact nature of it. For the same $ as the top spec pad I got a laptop with considerably more functionality for broadcasting and blogging on the road. Larger, heavier the off sets. | ||
| Rcf2 |
I bought one, used for 3 weeks and sold. It's very nice, a real pleasure to hold and surf at sofa but for real use I find it limited. No USB ports, c'mom... To download pictures from my camera I had to buy the camera kit and export the files from the SD card. Does not fit the bill for my needs but I understand that is another one coming which will be more powerful. Or maybe look for the new Mac air, 11"? Seems a great tool for me. | ||
| Strokizator |
I bought one earlier this year for my wife. She does online bill paying, e-mail, downloads books and surfs the web. Does all that stuff well enough. We haven't downloaded any pictures yet because there's no slot for an SDI card and haven't gone back to the store for a cable of some sort. Youtube videos don't show well but that could have a fix I don't know about. Certain websites have adobe content of require a video player that isn't available for the iPad. All the shortcomings I see could be a problem with me and not the iPad. I'm as computer illiterate as they come. Overall, it's a pretty handy device but it doesn't replace a computer. | ||
| Etennuly |
That is the essence of my question, is a lap top a better machine for my intended purposes. I'm thinking yes. My wife has fun with her iPhone and won't be without it, but most of the times we can drive fifteen miles to a movie theater to see what is on by the time she is able to read and compare viewing times and so forth. | ||
| Toona |
When I used to fix appliances, I just took a laptop along with me for invoicing. I bought a small power inverter to power my household printer and charge the laptop when necessary. I'm not sure if your intent is to invoice at the customer's work place, but if it is, is the software you plan on using available for an iPad? Using the laptop saved sooo much time. No double entry (at work place, then back at the office) and the customer liked the professional appearance-as opposed to a Staples/Avery invoice booklet. Plus I let the laptop do all the "remembering" for me for part prices, past repairs and tax amounts. | ||
| Toona |
My wife has fun with her iPhone and won't be without it, but most of the times we can drive fifteen miles to a movie theater to see what is on by the time she is able to read and compare viewing times and so forth. Have her get the Fandango movie app. Problem solved. | ||
| Greg_e |
Archos 101, take a look as it may do many of the things you want without the restrictions. | ||
| Yamahammer490 |
I just looked at one and purchased a traditional laptop. For me the lack of USB ports and external VGA connector were huge drawbacks. (I do a lot of presenting with a projector.) There are a TON of tablet PCs being introduced in the next year and, like most tech things, I think next year we will look at the current crop as toys compared to what is on the market then. The Acer Iconia seems particularly interesting to me. Just my opinion. (Typed on my new laptop...) | ||
| Cyclonedon |
I play with one everytime I'm at the Verizon store but I'm waiting until Verizon gets the 4G modem for those. | ||
| Brinnutz |
Tablet PC. That's where it's at. | ||
| Sayitaintso |
We tested them at work and we were in general agreement that it was not much more than an over-sized iPhone. They were cool, but NOT a laptop replacement. | ||
| Court |
I love it. It's not a laptop replacement, it's not a desktop replacement, it's not an iPhone replacement . . . but at the things it does well it leaves all those in the dust. I laughed when they came out . . . then I played with Mike's and bought one the next day. It rocks . . . but it's no replacement for a new Lenovo running Windows 7 or a MacBook Pro   P,S, - it's REALLY great if you are a grandparent getting pics of the kidlet during the day.  | ||
| Xl1200r |
Or maybe look for the new Mac air, 11"? Seems a great tool for me. The 11" Air doesn't have an SD slot either, but the 13" does. At the point, a 13" MacBook Pro is the same price and the same size in all dimensions but thickness, and is 3 times the computer. That's what made up my mind when I was looking just a few months ago. I'm with Court - it does do some things very well. If you only needed a tool to view content and do very limited creating, it's perfect. I played with iPhoto on one and it seemed to do pretty much everything (from an editing standpoint) that it does on my Mac. The lack of a keyboard is a drawback but easily fixed with any number of options. My uncle uses one for his work - he's a commercial carpet salesman and the software they use is all internet-based, so as long he has a browser he's good to go. He loves it. | ||
| Court |
The trick setup . . . at this moment and in my mind . . . is the MacBook Pro with the 13" screen. I don't need "Panavision" when I'm mobile and I'd rather put the $$$ into maxing out the memory and HD. But . . . . particularly for things like driving and flying cross country . . the iPad is tough to beat . . instant mapping, I watched movies all the way from LA to NYC for 5+ hours and barely dented the battery. I always carry a spare batter charger (HyperMac) with me . . one for my phone and one for the iPad (note the one for the IPhone (Duracell) will not charge the Mac but the HypeCharger will. The Apple stuff rocks . . . but I do confess that I fell prey to Dell's "black Friday" specials and bought a new PC machine with all the monitors, memory and HD I could cram into it . . . it will not even be connected to the internet . . . simply for research, writing, spreadsheets and cyphering. | ||
| Danger_dave |
Yeah - I think it's a great entertainment device - I use my iPod touch all the time - games are a buck to five bucks too. | ||
| Aeholton |
games are a buck to five bucks too. I bet Angry Birds would be fun on the iPad. | ||
| Danger_dave |
I also use it when travelling. The free (mac) you tube downloader here: http://www.wondershare.com/video-dvd-software-mac. html works great. I have several series of my favourite shows on my ipod - I never use the inflight entertainment - pack my own. Only issue is laughing like a looney at 'Whose Line is it Anyway' on the plane. | ||
| Iman501 |
i just picked up a pro a few months ago as well, i considered a ipad, but honestly i knew i'd rather have a laptop, and if i ended up with an ipad, it would turn into a a toy full of games and silly apps for me haha | ||
| Midknyte |
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| Geforce |
"The Apple stuff rocks . . . but I do confess that I fell prey to Dell's "black Friday" specials and bought a new PC machine with all the monitors, memory and HD I could cram into it . . . it will not even be connected to the internet . . . simply for research, writing, spreadsheets and cyphering." Ditto Court. I went all out on a new XPS 9100. 960 i7 Processor, 12 GB DDR3 Ram, ATI Radeon 5870, 2 TB HDD, Blue Ray Burner, DVD Burner, 24'' 1920x1080 resolution monitor.... I love this thing, been snatching up cheap Dells for a year now and while some of the components are hit and miss, the service contract is AWESOME! I really like the concept behind the tablets but I am going to wait for the price to drop and the tech to improve and see what happens. Court, I would suggest hooking your PC up to the internet for a while only to snatch up the Windows 7 hotfixes and new drivers. Let me know if you need help with the display drivers if you bought a high end card. ATI cards can... be finicky on driver removal at times. | ||
| Danger_dave |
>>1920x1080 << I hate small monitors :-p | ||
| Rwven |
The iPad is great for sofa surfing or reading a book or using in the kitchen or bar to follow a recipe. The 2 things I don't like about it are the lack of being able to send a print job directly from it (unless you have one of the few HP wireless printers that are compatible with it) and the fact that Adobe Flash doesn't run on it. | ||
| Loki |
have had mine for a bit now. it has become my good sidekick and goes just about anywhere i go. the wife(to be) finds it easier to use for those quick net searches. i read a lot on it, both books and magazines. almost a perfect travel companion | ||
| Maximum |
I purchased an iPad back in July and love it. People ask me all the time..."is that an iPad...how do you like it?". My short answer is always that they are expensive (I have the $829 model), but I would do it again. I just flew back home for my 2 week R&R from Iraq...all in all about 18 hours on the plane...and I used it for most of the non-sleeping time with only an hour or so of recharging while on the ground in Germany. I still had 40 percent battery when I landed in Denver. Like Court said...it does not replace a laptop...but It does so much of what I need that I left the laptop in Iraq for these two weeks. I really love the changes with the OS 4.2 upgrade. One of the few things that I can't seem to do is post pictures on Badweb. Somebody needs to write a Badweb application for the IPad. | ||
| Johnnymceldoo |
Are there any competing non apple android tablets on the market worth the money? I think apple makes nice stuff but the proprietary plugs and locked down nature of their devices keep mme from buying their products. Not to mention their marketing. | ||
| Brinnutz |
Samsung Galaxy Tab... CES2011 Motorola is releasing theirs...should be pretty sweet. | ||
| Nattyx1 |
I got one for Christmas. I don't have an iphone because I don't like typing on that non-keyboard. Same thing here. I don't have an iphone because I hate att's crappy coverage in LA. Same thing here. I don't have an iphone because I don't need to waste time getting sucked into 4000 apps and games when I can be on badweb wasting time talking about them. Same thing here. I have an older 40gb ipod (U2 edition) that is cool because it's black and red like my 1125cr AND it still works perfectly after who knows how many vibratory miles on motorcycles. I don't need the ipad to play music. I have the macbook 15" HD screen to watch movies (I edit em on it). So I don't need the ipad for that. But on a recent trip with the fam, I saw how much use she got out of hers, and added some apps for her and... she saw me having fun with it. So now I have one and my wife had it engraved because she's sick of me returning the gifts she gets me. And I can't tell her I wish we had put the $ toward two track days and a rear tire. Well, I COULD tell her that, but then we'd find out that the warranty for the iPad doesn't cover bashing someone in the head with it :-) | ||
| Doon |
angry birds on the ipad is great. We have a family one that sits near the couch. Not a laptop/computer replacement but fun to have around. AS for Etennuly question on camera/printer/scanner. Camera (sure), printer(as long as it is on the very small supported list of airprint (or a third party hack), but I not sure how that would work with portable ones, and no idea on scanner, but I would guess probably not.. | ||
| Johnnymceldoo |
I have angry birds for my droidx. Stay away from this game if you have things that need to get done. |
