Ipad

S

SENSEI

New member
I am thinking about getting an Ipad. I went online to the apple store and looked them over. I am so uninformed about this stuff.
there are several choices and I am having a hard time trying to make a decision.
I like the fact that it is backlit in the reader app. I can read without other lighting. good for reading when Beth is trying to sleep...lol...
so any help will be accepted with open arms.
 
I always like the Apple store at http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/s ... WG-iPad-US
for information along with long time users like Jim, Thataway, SeaWolf and other MAC users on the site.
I have not bought one and use my iTouch all of the time and plan to buy the 2nd generation iPad with the new iOS next year. A 16G or 32G iPad with WiFi and 3 G is on my list. I dont need a lot of storage to keep everything on the iT. I use ITunes to manage the files. The Apple Store sells refurnished units at a discount with full warranty. The only downside to it is no USB port for thumbdrives but Apple clearly states it is not a computer (I dont agree and looking at Android tablets)) and there is a camera kit to transfer files along with iTunes You will love it
 
Roger-In addition to the info you get from your friends and on line, I recommend a vist to the Apple store in Bellevue Square. You can actually walk in there and talk to a human being at their "genius bar".They will answer all your questions and help you sort it all out. Good luck.
 
There's a closer apple store to Roger in Lynnwood at the Alderwood mall. Roger - I sent you my phone number via PM - give me a call mid-day if you want to talk. I recently bought one for Joyce's Christmas present (she doesn't read this site so she won't know until Christmas). It arrived a few days ago and I've been putting apps and books on it for her so I've had some hands on time with it.
 
SENSEI":2epz39h0 said:
I am thinking about getting an Ipad. I went online to the apple store and looked them over. I am so uninformed about this stuff.
there are several choices and I am having a hard time trying to make a decision.
I like the fact that it is backlit in the reader app. I can read without other lighting. good for reading when Beth is trying to sleep...lol...
so any help will be accepted with open arms.
Click to expand...

Hello Roger,

There was a thread about the iPad a few weeks ago...I believe Jim on Wild Blue was reporting on his experiences thus far.

If you are considering using the iPad for navigation (boat or car)...make sure you get the 3G version. The WIFI only version of iPad "locates" itself using known WIFI spots but does not have the typical GPS receiver. The 3G version HAS a GPS receiver and will function like most GPS's you have used in the past.

Also realize that you don't have to activate the 3G plan with ATT. The 3G data plan is a separate contract which you can use/not use according to your needs.

Since the iPad works 'best' (or, fastest) in WIFI mode, I will eventually get a 3G version and connect to the internet with WIFI using a MIFI (from Verizon).

On the other hand, if you don't plan to use it for navigation, nevermind the above and buy whatever seems the best value.

Fair seas,

/david
 
I am moving away from earbuds and back to a headset. Currently using a memorex set but ordering a lightweight set either Sony or SkullCandy this weekend along with a new travel camera
Have fun with your iPad.
All of apps is the best part of the i series
 
Hi Roger,

David hit it right on regarding the 3G version and GPS. We have been using the iPad with our Mifi since the day we bought the iPad; Verizon now sells the two together as a bundle (and a subscription to the wireless broadband service). If you plan to use this as a GPS or charplotter, you definitely want the 3G version. You can subscribe monthly to AT&T, but we don't; no need, I just wanted that GPS chip. I have no idea if the version Verizon sells is the 3G, but I'd be surprised if it were.

Use of the iPad can be confusing... OK, let me clarify that: WHAT to use the iPad for can be confusing until you have one. People have said, "It is nothing more than a big iPod Touch," Yeah, kinda. I bought one of the first generation Touch years ago. I admit to being attracted to some techie things. That said, the iPad is not confusing, but very easy to use. I put mine in the hands of my 90 year old Mother to show her how it was an eReader and she was reading in seconds. She turned it from horizontal to vertical, pushed an app button, then enlarged an image with a "reverse pinch." It's that easy to use.

It is faster than my MacBook Pro to check e-mail. Just as fast to surf web sites. I REALLY like all the free and low priced apps. Other than solitaire, I don't play games on it. It is an outstanding photo viewer (and digital frame). A weather station. A BIG GPS in the car and a similar size chartplotter (to the E-80) in the boat. It will run for up to 10 hours on a charge. It is light and easy to carry... and the first thing I've ever bought to cause me to buy a "murse" (man purse) to carry it. It's an eReader for just about every format of eBooks... if you don't like Apple's iBooks, download the free Kindle or or Nook apps and read books in that format. It's an MP3 player (iPod) and a video viewer. The screen is bright and crisp. You can hand this around like a photo album, and the screen is viewable from wide angles. I REALLY like it.

What it doesn't do: it is not a full fledged computer; you can't run a full version of Photoshop or even Pages (Apple's version of MS Word). There are smaller app versions of those programs, but they do less. You can type on the screen, but I don't text and I like a "real" keyboard. But, it is very usable for short e-mail and forum response (not like I'm much for that short stuff :roll: ). You can download photos with it, but there isn't a USB port for other connectivity (i.e. you can't plug a printer into it). In fact, unless you have one of a few specific wireless printers, you can't print with it.

None of the above are deal breakers for me. I still work up images on my laptop and do most of my writing there. If you have a photo or document you need to print from the iPad, send it to your laptop and print from there. No big deal.

It doesn't have a phone built into it, but download Skype, Line 2, or one of the other available phone apps and you're talking. I have a small Verizon cell package, so when I get low on minutes, I use this to make long distance calls. With my Mother's current health situation, I have been on the phone a lot - this has been an inexpensive solution to my temporary need for more minutes.

I handed it to my brother-in-law after he asked, "Why would I need one of these?" I told him, "You probably don't." It took me a couple years to convince him that he would be happier with an iMac instead of another Windoze machine... he can't thank me enough. But, he doesn't travel much and has never web-surfed outside his home. But, he sure had fun playing with the iPad.

I wanted the 64gig 3G version. When we bought ours this summer, we were far from an Apple Store, but just a mere 3 hours from a Best Buy. Best Buy had one 3G version with 32gig, so I bought it. I don't load a lot of video or music on it, do have plenty of photos on it, so after 4 or 5 months of use, there is still 80% of the storage capacity available.

So, should you get one? I'm not sure anyone needs one, but ours sure gets used plenty by both of us... we hand it back and forth frequently. Go to an Apple store or Best Buy and play with one. The more you use it, the more use you may find for it.

Hope that helps.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
BrentB":35s7afdb said:
Even when I buy an Ipad, I will keep the iTouch and carry around in my pocket
Click to expand...

My iPod Touch is so old (1st gen) that when I pull up video, it only shows B&W reruns of I Love Lucy. :wink: I still use it. I find I use my Droid way more than the Touch, because the Droid is always on my belt. Use of one doesn't preclude use of the other.

I was surprised that eBook reading on the phone or Touch was reasonably comfortable. For web surfing, that small format is more work... but, it's more effort to carry around an iPad than a Touch. And an iPad is more mobile than a laptop or a netbook. Any one of these devices will work for most situations.
 
Lots of good information above. I have a 32 gig 3G S version. The 32 gig is plenty for me. You can add and subtract photos, songs, documents via the computer and "sync". As Jim said, you can now print with several HP printers--but I don't have any need for that at this point.

I also have not activated my 3GS (and it can be on a monthly basis)--and use a MiFi router or WiFi at home.

I also have a bluetooth keyboard and find that typing with that is fairly easy--in someways easier than my mac book.

As to USB port--yes and no. The photo kit has both a SD card reader and a USB adaptor you can use to put photos on the I pad. However, some have jail broken the i pad and used USB thumb drives with the USB photo adaptor. I don't find that necessary.

I find that pages is just as easy to use (with the Blue Tooth Keyboard) as on the mac--unless your want some really fancy stuff...

I use the i pad 25 or more times every day. Keep it by my chair, at the dinner table etc--and look up any thing which there is a question about. See something on the news--look it up in more detail.

Great navigation tool; both car and boat. Wonderful planing tool. But agree, it is not a computer...
 
So I have question I am not clear on. I can or can not use the ipad from anywhere? and if yes how much does it cost a month. now I have a droid phone that I am almost happy with and use all the time, but I do see a need for this Ipad in my field of work. I would be a great tool to pass around in the car or in living rooms of homes I am showing.
 
The I pad works anywhere--the GPS works in the middle of the oceans--the charts I have down loaded work--and navigation works. But, if I want any more than a limited google earth land mass detail, it has to be down loaded.

Also there are some map programs where you can put in the roads you will travel--when I am driving, I use my MiFi to down load roads for the "map" function. I don't yet have a separate driving program, because I have plenty of MiFi capacity. But am looking at several of the driving programs, which do not require downloads.

The "map" in the i pad gives incrediable detail--including store names and locations. We have found it to be a suppliment to the Garmin Nuvi in the RV especially.
 
starcrafttom":hlzban2f said:
So I have question I am not clear on. I can or can not use the ipad from anywhere? and if yes how much does it cost a month. now I have a droid phone that I am almost happy with and use all the time, but I do see a need for this Ipad in my field of work. I would be a great tool to pass around in the car or in living rooms of homes I am showing.
Click to expand...

Hi Tom,

I can definitely, without question, no maybe, sure as heck say... it depends. Not to sound like a former President, but it depends on what your definition of "use" is. If you want to access websites, use e-mail, or do anything that requires an internet connection, you will have to have access to wifi, use a Mifi type card, or use the AT&T cell connection of the 3G. If you are working in areas where that isn't available or you don't have the wireless equipment, then the internet based items would be just like your computer without an internet connection.

With the 3G model, the GPS works anywhere. If you have any of the Navionics apps, they work anywhere. If you want to overlay Google earth on the charts, you again need an internet connection to receive the satellite images. If you want to use it as a photo viewer, with photo loaded on the device, you can use it anywhere. If you want to show a potential buyer something that is on a MLS site, you need an internet connection. If you want to play music, as with an iPod, you can do it anywhere. If you want to make notes on it - yep, anywhere. If you want to take the photos you have and create a slide show - anywhere. If you need to get those photos off a site on the internet, you need to be somewhere that you can get a data signal, by whatever means described above.

So, it "works" anywhere. To use all the features, you will want some way to connect to the internet. If your Droid phone can be used as a wireless hotspot, you can have all the internet capabilities of the iPad through your phone anywhere your phone has service.

Showing images on the iPad is MUCH more impressive than doing so on a phone.

Hope that helps.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
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