The Apple iPad Thread

Originally Posted by MadGamer

Because when I go away with my friends, it'll save me dragging my laptop around

To do what with?

---------- Post added at 20:19 ---------- Previous post was at 20:18 ----------

Originally Posted by Chris

That's a very good question ... We didn't think we would have a use for one until we borrowed one for a couple of weeks and found it greatly assisted us in managing bookings for our B&B. We bought our own after that and took almost £400 revenue while away from home on our family summer holidays, due to being able to respond quickly to enquiries from our web form.

Trying to do the same on any smartphone would have been a real faff, especially when trying to issue electronic invoices from our Paypal account (and I have tried, with an iphone). We could of course have done it with a laptop, but the iPad is far easier to slip into a bag and then use whilst sipping coffee at the seaside cafe of your choice and doesn't make it feel like you just took the office away on holiday with you. Oh, and there are some great rainy day apps for the kids ... Ours lap up everything they can get from Toca Boca.

The thing with tablets in general is, they are a new technology and it's not apparent what all the uses for them might be. But when you get one, you find out how it might fit for you.

Also this morning I did some last minute sermon planning with mine, looked up a web page I wanted to read from and found a photo I was able to hold up as a visual aid. Then I switched to my Bible reader app and read from a new Bible translation I like very much but don't own a paper copy of.

Anyway, I don't know why Wayne wants one, but that's why I'm very glad I have one.

Some good real-life examples there....

And two church sermon related ones as well, how appropriate for a Sunday evening.

[MadGamer]

Originally Posted by LSainsbury

To do what with?

---------- Post added at 20:19 ---------- Previous post was at 20:18 ----------



Some good real-life examples there....

To surf the internet, listen to music, email etc, I can transfer a couple of DVD's to it, endless things

I'd wait until March/April if I was you. Double screen resolution is a big upgrade (heavily rumoured, happened to the iPhone and its proven LG can make such a display.

I'm waiting it out, its painful but you know you won't be cursing when March/April comes around.

Originally Posted by MadGamer

To surf the internet, listen to music, email etc, I can transfer a couple of DVD's to it, endless things

Everything you can do on a small netbook you mean at half the cost?

Originally Posted by LSainsbury

Everything you can do on a small netbook you mean at half the cost?

Half the battery life
Half the ease-of-use
Double the size

[Jayster]

Originally Posted by Jameseh

Half the ease-of-use

That depends I would take a real mouse/track pad and keyboard over a touch screen and on screen keyboard any day.

If your going to be sitting with it a while then sure, the typing alone would drive you nuts, but say just watching a video or listening to music, its pick-up-and-tap-about-4-times.

Originally Posted by Jameseh

Half the battery life

Not in real life - don't listen to those Apple specs - I'd say they are comparable.

Originally Posted by Jameseh

Half the ease-of-use

Don't agree - he wants it for email - touch screen over a real keyboard - I know which one I'd have.

Originally Posted by Jameseh

Double the size

Thickness perhaps but not a lot in L x W

Gained: HDD / SSD for lots of capacity for music / photos / storage - there's no external storage in an iPad

[Tezcatlipoca]

Originally Posted by Jameseh

I'd wait until March/April if I was you. Double screen resolution is a big upgrade (heavily rumoured, happened to the iPhone and its proven LG can make such a display.

I'm waiting it out, its painful but you know you won't be cursing when March/April comes around.

The rumours have all been pointing at a September release for some time now.

The speculation is that the next iPad will not be an iPad 3, replacing the iPad 2 (which only came out in March), but an iPad HD, existing alongside the iPad 2 in a wider iPad family.

I can see some of the reasoning behind it, but I'm not really convinced.

To release an actual iPad 3 only six months after the iPad 2 would IMO be a disastrous PR move. People are used to annual updates (Apple is far from the only CE company to release new models of things each year), but to release a new iPad after six months? Cue outrage...[But then cue queues, of course...]. The only reason which makes sense for releasing an actual iPad 3 in September is that it would shift the release schedule from March/April to the more profitable and more sensible "holiday season". But other than that, I don't see the point. Apple is still so far ahead of the competition in the tablet market, it really doesn't need to do anything new so prematurely.

Releasing an iPad HD in September, instead of an iPad 3, could make more sense. It would add to the range, instead of replacing the iPad 2. It would be far less of a "screw you!!!" to existing iPad 2 owners than an iPad 3 would be, and if it launched at the iPad 2's existing price points (with the iPad 2 then slashed in price), Apple would completely destroy the "competition" once and for all. Why spend £500 on a Xoom, TouchPad, or Galaxy Tab 10.1 etc. when you could get a better specced iPad HD for the same cost, or a similarly specced iPad 2 for ~£100 less? But... it would fragment the product line. And what would happen next year? A "non-Retina" iPad 3 in March, with an iPad 3 HD in September? Or just an iPad 3 HD in March, or September? Too complicated.


Still, the tech sites & Apple bloggers seem convinced of their "sources" and that there will be an iPad HD in September...



To Wayne, I say: Wait until September...

---------- Post added at 22:07 ---------- Previous post was at 22:05 ----------

Originally Posted by LSainsbury

Not in real life - don't listen to those Apple specs - I'd say they are comparable.

My wife's Samsung netbook lasts about five hours before needing to be charged.

My iPad 2 can easily last for twice that, whether I'm watching videos non-stop or browsing via WiFi.

As for external storage... I don't need it. I have a 32GB model, and it's only around half-full at the moment. But even only half-full, that's several hours of video. If I go away, I have tonnes of content available to watch without needing to resync. OK, if I went away for a couple of weeks rather than a long weekend, I may run out of stuff to watch, but... if I was going away, why would I want to spend all my time watching videos on my iPad... may as well stay at home. The storage it has is more than enough to give me stuff to watch on a return trip somewhere by car/coach/train/plane, with stuff left over.

EDIT: Oh, and once iCloud launches in September, storage space for music & photos will not be necessary, so long as you have an internet connection.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by LSainsbury

Why do you need an iPad?

I have a laptop and an iPad2 previously and iPad and it's much better than using a laptop. Lighter and easier to carry round and pull out to use.

I have just turned from holiday and while at the resort I had my ipad2 for web access and seeing all the people with huge laptops with them I had to laugh as my device was about ave the size and weight of theirs and has a much better battery life and no need to wait on it booting up every time I want to use it.

[Tezcatlipoca]

EA's having a September sale on the App Store..."Up to 80% off". Loads of great games at bargain prices

[Tezcatlipoca]

Game sale!

Check the App Store for various games from EA *and* Gameloft for only 69p

Good shout, that man.

Just bought Scrabble HD, Battlefield Bad Company 2 HD, and Need For Speed Hot Pursuit, all for only 69p each.

[Tezcatlipoca]

Yup, bargains

Some of those games are normally a fiver or so.