iPads - what are they good for

[kimmer]

First, for those who have an iPad ... what do you do with them that you can't do with either a laptop or desktop Mac (other then the obvious of take it with you anywhere)? I've not paid much attention, so I am seriously asking what you find so spiffy, neat, etc and why would you not want to be without your iPad?

Second: is this a bargain? A trusted friend is selling her 1st gen iPad for $220. The Apple store shows them at $279 (out of stock at present). We trust this gal, she takes good care of her "toys", she's also an IT person so we know she's not messed up the iPad. It's not something we would have gone out of our way to look for, but we're willing to help her out if this is a decent deal.

Are 1st gen iPads still usable, or is it like buying a powerpc when the world only works on 10.8? Are apps still available? Does it do fun stuff? Work stuff? Anyone have a 1st gen? If so, do you like or not like it?

[RNKIII]

Kim,
HAD a first gen.and really liked it, UNTIL I got a current/4th gen for Christmas...
 
I use it primarily as a book reader, quick emailer, and web browser, from any where we get wi-fi.
Your comparison to a PowerPC vs. Intel is quite accurate.  It will be stuck with version 5 of the OS, while the more current versions are on to vs 6.

The current version has front and rear facing cameras for picture taking and chat capabilities. The older ones will run all current app, except those that specifically require the newer OS. (Haven't run into any yet)

Price... Usually based on memory and wi-fi vs data plan capabilities.  I got $135 for my 1st gen when I sold it to a reseller. Not sure what price they resold it for... Gazelle.com

My .02
Bob K.  rnkiii

[Paddy]

Kimmer, do NOT buy a first generation iPad, no matter what the price. They cannot load the latest iOS and they therefore cannot use quite a bit of software that is out there that requires the new iOS. A friend who has the first gen is quite annoyed about this, and finds it very frustrating. It will only get worse as apps are updated.

I've got a 4th generation that I got for Christmas. I love it. I use it to do email (I now have everything on IMAP and therefore synced with desktop, laptop and iPhone), some web browsing, games (Whirlyword is my latest addiction...) and reading books. I'm currently reading our book group's latest choice, The Sea Captain's Wife. I plan to load it up with a few more books when we head to Eleuthera at the end of this week for March break. I can also get at least some of my magazines on it, so again - for portability, it's a win. I don't think I'll take it to the beach though...for that, we'll revert to the analog edition of the reading material!!

I've even updated Wordpress web sites on it, though probably won't do that a lot, as typing without a real keyboard is much slower for me. Of course, if you buy a keyboard for it, then it's much easier and you can do lots of things you might otherwise turn to a laptop for. It takes quite decent pictures too - I've used it when I wanted to catch something that I would have missed if I'd gone to find my camera. However, I don't think I'd consider it a true camera substitute as it's not as easy to handle as a camera physically. If you have people to Skype with, it would be great.

Mine is wifi only since I have the iPhone - if I really need the bigger screen, I can always use the iPhone as a hotspot and get online that way.

There are lots and lots of great apps out there - I feel like I've only scratched the surface. I'm intending to take it to a board meeting on Wednesday for which I am the designated minute-taker, and am going to try recording the meeting using the iPad, just in case I miss anything in my note-taking.

Anyway - it's a fun thing. But get one of the newer ones. We got my Dad a 3rd generation one from the refurb store for Christmas/his birthday. It's his first ever computing device at the age of 92. I'd love to report that it's been a roaring success, but unfortunately, he's still "too busy" to spend much time with it!! (He's been playing a lot of snooker at his retirement home lately - which, considering it gets him out of his suite and socializing, is probably better!) It has both wifi and cellular; we just added it to my plan and share the data, which is working just fine, since he isn't using any most of the time! While it's supposed to be slower than mine, we haven't noticed any particular slowness, so you might want to consider one of them from the refurb store. Don't know when the next generation will appear - the buyers guide at Macrumors.com lists the iPad as "neutral - mid-product cycle."

[Xairbusdriver]

My wife just returned from several days in several places with her MBP. She could have taken her iPad and had a much lighter bag! I think the only thing she couldn't do on the iPad is use the keyboard that's stuck to the MBP! I do need to check/buy Pages, possibly, however... she gets .doc files and uses Pages to edit/modify and send back as .docs. I need to see if the iPad version of Pages has that capability...

[Paddy]

Here you go, Jim:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4088?viewloc...mp;locale=en_US

(the answer is "yes"...)

[kimmer]

Thanks all for the info. I think we'll pass on the whole thing.

QUOTE(Paddy @ Mar 4 2013, 03:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm currently reading our book group's latest choice, The Sea Captain's Wife.

Ohhhh, looks like a great book. Let me know your thoughts when done, please.

[Paddy]

So far, I'm really enjoying it - it's very interesting historically (what a difference 150 years makes!!!) and a good story. One of the women who has finished it said she really liked it too.

[Xairbusdriver]

Thanks, Paddy, this is 'Pledge Week on the local PBS station, so I'm catching up on TED Talks! Looks like I'll be downloading Pages for Judy tomorrow!

[Frances144]

I have a first gen iPad.  I love it but am becoming more and more aware of just how limiting it is due to some software not being downward compatible.

Having said that,I am sure I don't use it's for anything exotic more than FB input, playing a few games and reading a book, watching videos.

I can't offer a suggestion about price.

[Thomas S. England]

I use my iPad in conjunction with Dropbox, especially while traveling. First, Dropbox is the easiest way to move anything to the iPad.
I will save maps, websites, ticket receipts as PDFs & put them into Dropbox.
That way I can pull them up on the iPad, which is so much more portable than a laptop (or I can have them on my iPhone at the same time).
If you think you will be without an internet connection, access the documents while you are still connected in Dropbox, then "Star" them. That way you can access your documents w/o a connection.

[Frances144]

How does that work? without an internet connection?

[Thomas S. England]

QUOTE(Frances144 @ Mar 5 2013, 03:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How does that work? without an internet connection?

My understanding is that it actually places the item in question onto the drive of the iPad. That means it will take up what limited space you have available on the iPad.

If you don't "star" it then it has to use the internet to  refer back to the copy on the DropBox mothership.

For many of my items, I only need them accessible for the duration of my trip, so I will later delete them, freeing up space.

[Paddy]

Nice tip, Thomas. I didn't know about the offline-on-the-iPad options for Dropbox! Also a great idea for keeping airline ticket info etc.

[LR827]

iPad 2 (mine, wifi only -- hubby has iPad 4) is wonderful for reading in awkward places, like at the gym. The iPhone screen is not big enough, or you have to make the font too big. My husband has iPad 4 with 4G and wifi. If I need data on my iPad I can use my iPhone personal hotspot -- although I found that to be very slow. When we travel we only take the iPads. (You don't have to take them out to pass through airport security, another plus). I also discovered the option to download selected newspaper articles that I can access and read offline through the newspaper's app. They can be deleted from there. Some newspapers have the option to download articles, some require a subscription. I :heart: my iPad!

Lorraine

[Xairbusdriver]

kimmer, might I suggest that the title of your thread could just as well have been, "Kindle(s)/Nook(s)/any tablet: what are they good for?" They are all basically similar in many capabilities. The differences are in the apps available and those can be huge. If you don't use any of the iWorks apps, if you don't use any of the media available only from Apple, if what is offered for other tablets is sufficient for your current needs AND you already own some model of (listed tablets), then there is no reason to buy a different model tablet.

The same applies to one brand of computer and any other.

That's not to say that there are significant user experience differences between one brand and another, be it a computer or a tablet/smart phone/automobile/refrigerator/hair spray/fly swatter/etc. But those differences may not be subjectively justifiable to the buyer. This is what I call 'convergence of technology.' 30 years ago, there were huge differences between different categories of technology. Now there are many technologies combined into new categories we never even thought about back then. One current day device may do what took multiple devices back then, or even 10 years ago.

The major reason to buy a device, however, has not changed that much; Buy what you need unless you can afford to buy what you simply want.