Its been out for a little bit now and I was wondering how do you feel if you own one?
If you have owned one since the get go, do you still use it? I feel like purchasing one right now might be a mistake as a new version with camera’s / flash support could be just around the corner. However each day I grow more tempted to buy one to entertain my self while at work and hopefully get in to reading books via the kindle feature.
So what is the verdict? Worth the 500 bucks + however much the cover is going to cost?
I will have access to wifi at all times, so the 3G is not necessary. I also don’t see a reason to get the 32gb over the 16gb but perhaps someone here will change my mind.
Mr. Athena and I got one in November, primarily as a business thing (we’re programmers, getting into mobile app development.) I already have an iPhone, but wanted to see what all the hype was about for the iPad. I figured we’d use it occasionally but it was mainly so we had something to test iPad apps with.
Holy crap, was I wrong. We use the hell out of the thing, to the point that we’re considering buying another one so we don’t have to pass it back and forth so often. I use it to store recipes, and I’ve got more than one cooking-related app. It’s a big Tivo remote, using the Tivo app. Mr. Athena uses it to read the newspaper in the morning over coffee. We both use it to look up stuff that comes up in conversation (“What was that actor’s name again?” kinds of questions.) We listen to music and podcasts on it.
I really had no idea it would be so handy, but it is.
We got the 32GB version, and I’m glad we did - I find I use far more apps on it than on the iPhone.
My dad has an iPad which he got through his workplace (he’s the head computer tech at the local college). He mostly uses it to check his email and show off vacation photos. I fiddle around with it every once in a while, downloading free apps to try out, and it’s a highly entertaining diversion. I’ve thought about getting one myself, but I’m holding off until the next generation of the hardware comes out (which I had hoped was gonna happen at the MacWorld Expo this week, but it seems I was wrong…).
If I do get an iPad, I’ll be getting one of these to go with it, since you can’t touch-type worth a damn with the onscreen keyboard.
My husband and I each have a 64 gig WiFi only. We. Love. Them! I use mine to watch movies and surf the web in bed; he uses it as an eReader. He likes the Nook app the best. We just took them on an extended vacation instead of the laptops. They were lighter to carry than our laptops, and you can get adaptors from the Apple Store that lets you download pictures from your digital camera or SD card directly into your iPad. We packed an Airport express for wireless access if needed. And Angry Birds kept him happy on the flights home! Mine was a life saver when my MacBook went out to be repaired, as I could pay bills and keep up with my email.
I own one, but I’m probably in the minority as I don’t love it. It’s not a terrible device by any means; it’s just that I have no real use for it.
My Kindle is a better eReader. It’s cumbersome to type emails with because you really have to pay attention, and look at the keys as you type, which is frustrating and takes more than twice as long than with a standard keyboard. The screen also hurts my eyes after a while.
It’s a neat little device, but I go for weeks without touching the thing.
What do you want to use the USB port for? It does have a port that ends with a USB plug, so you can plug it into your computer for syncs/data transfers.
Other than that, I don’t think there’s any native iPad USB devices, so… why do you need one?
We have an Ipad, my wife uses it mostly, its a very nice device. Actually, when we play competitive trivia or eat out on nights out, we play Words With Friends (scrabble where you do pickup games over the Internet via wifi) on the Ipad, propping it up with the keyboard we got for it (different from the one shown earlier, but does hold the screen upright so we can all see the screen). We have the WiFi only model, which saves a lot on monthly charges, and also makes us look for restaurants/bars that have free wifi. Which is a lot of them, nowadays, though the quality of the wifi at such places can be really, really spotty.
I have an Itouch, I have a number of apps I use, the notepad (I have a keyboard for it) and web browsing and playing music while working out. I also have a number of public domain books, am currnetly working my way through “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” and “Life on the Mississippi.” Except for the workout music, the Ipad is a better device all round cause the big screen is MUCH easier to use. But the small size and portability of the Itouch has a lot to say for it.
I want to data transfer directly from flash drives and external hard drives and I want to plug my digital camera directly into the Ipad and transfer images. If I have to have an intermediary laptop to do those things, then I just need a laptop, not an Ipad.
Also very handy for file transfers is Dropbox. Maybe not for direct-from-camera, but for any other file, just drop it in the dropbox folder and it’s on your iPad, iPhone, any other computer, etc.
Yeah, but that’s exactly what I hate about Apple, there is something that should be standard (cough Flash cough) and they won’t do it, but they will let you buy something overpriced to do half of what I want to do (connect camera), but not the other half (connect flash drives or external hard drives).
I use mine every single day. My husband and I both bought 3G versions as soon as they were released in Canada. I’ve already made back the cost of it by billing hours to my clients while sitting on the subway or bus while communting. I manage my email, compose documents, review documents, read books and magazines, watch TV and movies, play games surf the web. I have a 90 min commute each way 5 days a week and this device and a set of noise cancelling headphones has saved my sanity and the lives of untold numbers of fellow commuters.
During non commuting time it holds my shopping lists, notes in my photography classes, photos to discuss during said classes, GPS, argument resolution (aha that song WAS by Pink Floyd) and scheduling.
Despite the fact that I normally tend to hold onto things until they die I’m already planning on upgrading to v2.0 and the children are excitedly making plans for v1.0.
I won one in a draw a couple of months ago. I wasn’t sure what I would do with it at first, but now I have about 150 books on it (mostly free downloads) and it’s very convenient for reading on the bus to and from work. I’ve also been using it for keeping PDF files of stuff I used to have in hard copy, such as lists of books and CDs I already have so I don’t lose track and buy duplicates,and for listing the gifts I needed to buy at Christmas. I’ve put all my downloaded game rules, rule clarifications, and FAQs on it for easy reference on weekly game nights.
I don’t play games on it very much, but I can hand it to my nephew to keep him amused with Fingerzilla or Angry Birds when he gets bored. It’s handy for keeping up with the news online while comfortably seated in the living room, so I don’t have to go off to the study where my desktop is.
All in all, it’s not a critical part of my life, but it’s very convenient for a lot of different things I do on a regular basis, and some of the apps are just cool - I check Plane Finder and Tectonic every day just for the ability to get live info on what’s flying overhead and what’s shakin’.
Would I have bought one? Probably not - even the least expensive model I have costs as much as my current computer, but I won’t stop using it now I have one.
I bought the 32GB Wifi only model. So far it is everything I thought it was going to be and more. The App’s are what make this device, if you are on the fence just take the leap.
Got mine unexpectedly for Christmas. I’m trying to find uses for it. Right now, Angry Birds, GoogleEarth, and two downloaded Kindle books are it, though.
If you’re a science fiction reader, check out the Free Library at Bean Books. They have a large selection of their older titles available for free download (and newer ones for paid download), and the ePub format is compatible with iBooks on the iPad.
I read your post thinking* “Welp, he’s probably someone who just doesn’t like Apple. If it wasn’t a lack of USB port it’d be something else he’d come up with.” *
That’s not to say they’re not perfectly valid concerns, it’s just that isn’t what this device is – if you want that, get a Macbook Air (if you’re staying in the Apple Ecosystem) or Netbook (if you’re not).
There’s a simple reason it doesn’t do flash – it doesn’t need it, and it’d be detrimental to the OS in general.
There’s a less simple, but still perfectly valid reason that it doesn’t have a USB port. First and foremost, it doesn’t need it, and it would add size. On the other hand, it does already have a Dock Connection Port, which can use a Camera Connection Kit (SD/USB), but it’s very clear when you purchase it what it works for, Cameras ONLY. Having the USB port on the iPad itself would lead to tons of complaints that “My Joystick doesn’t work with the iPad” and things like that. It’s a matter of setting and managing the consumer expectation and experience.
The iPad isn’t meant to be a full scale computer by any means, if that’s what you’re looking for, look elsewhere. It’s a portable multimedia consumption device that does what it does ridiculously well.
