I have a rooted nook color (a great option for people looking for an inexpensive but functional tablet, though it does require quite a bit of work to get it functioning well), and I use it mostly for playing games, reading email and chatting through IM/skype. It’s nice to have for grocery lists, BigOven is a nice app that helps me figure out something to buy at the grocery story. I use it to listen to music, watch Netflix and Youtube, and even do some simple document editing. I have a program that lets me use my regular PC keyboard through wifi when I need it. I also have an app that lets me use a wiimote to play old emulated video games. And of course, I use it as an e-reader. The 7’’ tablet market reallly hits the sweet spot nicely, and I’d be surprised if Apple doesn’t release a 7’’ tablet within a year or two.
Work got me a 2nd Gen iPad with 3G, and I’m really surprised how much I’ve ended up using it. I also have my own laptop, and a desktop at work. I have successfully worked from home for two days on short notice using nothing but the iPad (I’d left the laptop in my office)–including having a conference call, responding to customer emails, responding to internal emails, working on some pre-existing documents, etc.
If you use Dropbox and Google Docs, which are both free, you can do almost anything you’d normally do in an office job, if you’re not a specialist. If you write a lot, you’d want an external keyboard. I don’t generally mind weird keyboards, but the iPad one is tricky and just annoying for long-term use. Actually, I’d probably not even find that so annoying were it not for Apple’s un-turn-off-able autocorrect!
I have a toddler, and the iPad is pretty much perfect for getting stuff done while parenting. He can get his sticky little kid fingers on it and no harm done (I got a minimal silicone cover for it). I can take it with me anywhere in the house without preparation. I can grab it and pull up some YouTube thing in a few seconds to distract him if he hurts himself or doesn’t want to sit still to eat, without needing to save what I was working on. The video quality is beautiful. Some of the apps are outstanding – most of the ones I use are even free. I did pay for one especially groovy customizable weather app that has barometric pressure tracking, so I’ve been able to confirm that fast, sharp drops in pressure are among my migraine triggers, but gradual ones are not, even if they’re extreme readings, like the low during the hurricane. We went on a family trip last month and I found out how nice 3G is when there’s no WiFi for a hundred miles, and how handy having both Google search and a GPS maps app can be when you’re sort of lost and definitely hungry somewhere in that 100 miles.
It is a luxury item, not a necessity, though if you have one I think you could do without another computer, with some tradeoffs. But it’s a very very nice luxury to have.
A tablet device is not a substitute for a desktop computer or even a laptop, but it is much better than a smartphone for accessing information. You just can’t put it in your pocket.
I use my iPad at home when I’m not at my desk, and I use it when I travel on personal trips. (For business trips, I still take my laptop.)
I use it to look up information on Wikipedia, Google Maps, IMDB, and Wolfram Alpha, all of which have apps that are specifically designed for the iPad, and that, in some ways, are better than the desktop versions.
I often use the iPad while I’m watching TV, especially if what’s on is light and doesn’t require my full attention. I might be checking my calendar for upcoming appointments (or recurring events like birthdays) or reviewing my outstanding tasks. Also, it’s quick and easy to look up something about the movie or TV show, the actors, and the music.
I sometimes check my email on the iPad, but, although the interface is great and it links seamlessly with my corporate email, I don’t like it for composing long, detailed responses. I do that on my computer. Nice though for firing off quick replies and for cleaning up old email so that my inbox doesn’t get out of control.
The iPad is great for viewing photos, and it’s especially nice if I’m sharing them with one or two friends. It’s cool to see how quickly people pick up on the pinching gesture (for zooming in and out) and the swipe gesture to move through the photos. For larger groups of people, I use the iPad and Apple TV. I can even view Flickr photos and videos. Also, I use my iPad to backup photos and videos while on vacation.
I often view movie trailers and YouTube videos, but for longer videos (like Vimeo and TED), I’ll view them on my TV through the iPad.
I sometimes listen to music on the iPad using the built-in speakers (which are not bad, considering the size), and sometimes I use the iPad to connect to iTunes and play the music through Apple TV and my AV system, but usually I use my iPhone.
I read books using the Kindle app, magazines using Zinio, and large PDF files using an app called Good Reader. I have several other apps I use occasionally, including some games.
I’m sure that I would use the iPad more often if it was lighter and had a screen with a higher resolution screen that’s less reflective.
My wife uses her ipad for email, Chinese lessons, TV (through our cable provider), and Netflix. My 8 yo girls use my Nook color mainly for games and I use it for a few games and reading. The browser’s not so great so I’ll only use it in a pinch.
I love my tablet, which is a Xoom on the Android platform. I use it daily.
In the car, I can listen to podcasts (mostly history lectures), which I never got into before, or music that I don’t have on CD.
I can take pictures of random stuff and post directly to FB if I want, which I don’t do a lot but it’s handy. My actual camera is a digital dinosaur.
I can listen to Pandora or my own stuff while I’m doing things around the house–mostly sewing or sometimes cooking. Sometimes I watch Netflix, though not often–but I was staying at my SILs house and after they went to bed early I watched half a Bollywood movie. Like that.
I have five different reading apps! I have a bunch of e-books, all of which have been free (I have yet to buy anything, but I might soon). It’s especially great for older books that the library doesn’t have. So I can read Victorian novels for free, and do it in bed without waking up my husband (who recently started a new job and now has to leave the house at 6am). I can even take it to church and use it for reading scriptures, and if I’m bored I have a collection of appropriately devout essays.
Handy for web browsing on the spot while doing something else. Like if an actor looks familiar I can look it right up without stopping the movie. Yesterday I took it to the Banned Books Week readout and used it to look up the exact reason that Khalil Gibran’s book was banned in Turkey in 1908 when a student wanted to know.
I can even show the kids where Daddy is on his drive home in the evening.
Soon I want to get a bluetooth keyboard and blog while I hang out in the living room.
Oh, and I do Khan Academy math exercises on it. All sorts of stuff really.
This all reminds me of the prediction, now legendarily wrong, that the only reason anyone would need a home computer would be to store recipes. It may not be the only reason, but it sounds like it wasn’t as foolish as some people think.
I myself never saw a need for a tablet, but I recently realized to my surprise that I have no software on my laptop other than a browser. I never really thought about it until I was going to type up a document, and realized that not only don’t I have a word processor, I have never used my laptop for anything other than web browsing and viewing media. I think that would make me the perfect candidate for a tablet, because I’m sure that anything I’ve ever used my laptop for could be done on a tablet.
My wife has had an iPad now for about six months. I also wasn’t sure how she was going to use it. But she uses it all the time, and now I see why.
The thing is that it’s really better than a laptop OR a smartphone for anything that doesn’t involve extensive typing. And that’s 95% of what she, and I would expect most people, do on computers nowadays. It boots instantly, the apps generally work well, it gets you the information or entertainment you want without a hassle. And it’s much lighter than any laptop, which is a surprisingly important consideration.
Also, we discovered almost by accident that there are a lot of apps for children available. Even very young children. So now my 21 month old son can manipulate the iPad like an expert. He can flip to the app he likes, open it himself, and start playing. He uses it probably 1/3 of the time.
My bought a Samsung Tablet 7" WiFi and loves it.
She is a psychotherapist and loves thar she can use it in her chair between patients. She can read her e-mail (she’s also got a blackberry), check Facebook, read the newspaper and play the silly games yo can get.
There are also a couple of nice medical apps she uses.
Now, she almost never asks for our laptop.
I meant “My wife bought…”
The iPad is wonderful for travel. I have maps downloaded for the areas I expect to visit, translation apps for languages I don’t speak, travel guides for areas, email, web browser, books to read, games to play, photos to show (and can download and upload), notes that I’ve made, currency converters, movies to watch, spread sheets, PowerPoint equivalent, and so forth.
By choosing the right apps, and a bit of forethought, my iPad is extremely usable. It is easily carried in my carry on backpack while traveling, and I can recharge it anywhere if I take the proper currency converters.
The large screen allows me to read and type, which I can’t do on a phone sized machine.
This plus my desktop is all I need…but I expect that the desktop will be replaced with a laptop someday if trends continue. For now my old HP pavilion and my new iMac fill in for the times that both my wife and I want to use the computer at home.
IMHP, tablets are going to occupy a strong position in the future, with the desktop fading away. I’m an old geezer, and expect to fade away at about the same time as desktops.
I use mine to play Spotify (music) all over the house, watch movies, watch tv shows on Netflix, surf the web, watch videos on airplanes, read books while I am traveling. It’s a good consumption device. My husband surfs the internet on the couch most nights.
Read books and when between books, go online. I do have a chess application that I keep telling myself I’ll use and so far haven’t.
Surf the net, watch youtube, watch videos… play silly games. Everything that I used to use my laptop for, except I no longer have to boot it up, I can bring it to bed with me, I can bring it in the bath…
It’s great!
Since I got my laptop, it’s basically become my quick surf device for when I’m already packed up for the night! And to check the weather and read the newspaper, and read my books when I don’t have my Kobo handy.