Any current college students using the iPad and finding it useful?

[sprtnbsblplya]

I'm pretty sure the iPad is for me, Peabody has given me her experiences and it sounds like it is what I'm looking for.
I use my MBP at home and take it to school rarely for big projects, otherwise I take my Eee 1001, but really just use it for viewing .pdfs and Powerpoints and an occasional email check. The iPad can't be used for major projects, but neither can an Eee, after like 15 minutes I'm sick of typing on it anyways.

From the sounds of it Docs2Go Premium is a must for a college student. I'm studying anesthesia so we have tons of .pdf formatted journal articles, so iAnnotate sounds like a winner as well. Peabody also recommended Stanza for .pdf reading.
I checked out the Netter's cards but they got horrible reviews from all sorts of high ed students. ePocrates will definitely go on it, even though its already on the iPhone.

Any other higher education students have any input into the usefulness of the iPad or any highly recommended apps?

 

[SteveKnobs]

I'm a psychology graduate student and all I can say is, I don't know how I got through my undergrad without the iPad. It's great for taking notes in class (SoundNote), and all of my articles that I need, and trust me there are a lot, are just a few clicks away with either the dropbox or goodreeder apps. Noterize is great for highlighting and taking notes within PDF articles as well. Did I mention the eTextbooks? The iPad might be the best investment I ever made.... And it's nice to show off sometimes too.

Edit: I forgot to mention iStudiez Pro! That's a useful app as well.

 

[albbreinholt]

Smartnote

Smartnote is a good app for PDFs. You can write notes, highlight, and add all kinds of widgets.

Overall the iPad is great for school. The only problem I ever run into is exceeding my schools bandwidth limit, which is very low.

 

[sprtnbsblplya]

Thanks for the recommendations guys.
I'll definitely check out SoundNote and Smartnote.

I'm already using Dropbox to sync between my main MBP at home and the Eee while at school, so I suspect I'll keep finding it useful with an iPad.

 

[El Jack]

Great for note taking, PDF referral, etc.

Watch out because the new version of Documents to Go is buggy as hell. Have a look on their forum, if they sort things out it'll be a great app but for now it crashes or slows down on big Word and Excel docs.

 

[Ciclismo]

I'm a psychology graduate student and all I can say is, I don't know how I got through my undergrad without the iPad. It's great for taking notes in class (SoundNote), and all of my articles that I need, and trust me there are a lot, are just a few clicks away with either the dropbox or goodreeder apps. Noterize is great for highlighting and taking notes within PDF articles as well. Did I mention the eTextbooks? The iPad might be the best investment I ever made.... And it's nice to show off sometimes too.

Edit: I forgot to mention iStudiez Pro! That's a useful app as well.

Ditto. Except I'm an undergrad

 

[sprtnbsblplya]

I have a question on document storage locally on the iPad.
Do the aforementioned programs like Docs2Go, Smartnote, Dropbox, etc place the Powerpoints and .pdfs directly into the iPads memory? Or do I need constant access to the interwebz to get at my files?
One requirement is the local storage of all my files as I won't always have access to a wireless router and I'm not buying the 3G.

 

[Lexoticstylez02]

I have a question on document storage locally on the iPad.
Do the aforementioned programs like Docs2Go, Smartnote, Dropbox, etc place the Powerpoints and .pdfs directly into the iPads memory? Or do I need constant access to the interwebz to get at my files?
One requirement is the local storage of all my files as I won't always have access to a wireless router and I'm not buying the 3G.

After you download them from an app like Dropbox onto Docs2Go you can access it anywhere without an Internet connection.

As for the usefulness of thee iPad.. I think it is great and I have only had mine for 5 days and brought to 2 classes. It has all of my notes on it, allows me to take extra notes, as well as highlight etc using Noterize and Docs2Go, and I can access all of my textbooks online which is a huge plus. The keyboard is getting much easier to type on, and I'm actually starting to enjoy the virtual keyboard.

 

[iGuyiGuy]

I am a pharmacy student and apps like epocrates and lexicomp are excellent. Along with the ability to document patient profiles.

The iPad does not leave my side..

 

[3N16MA]

I find my IP4 much more useful in class for wasting time since I got it . I sold my iPad but still wander this forum.

 

[unixfool]

After you download them from an app like Dropbox onto Docs2Go you can access it anywhere without an Internet connection.

As for the usefulness of thee iPad.. I think it is great and I have only had mine for 5 days and brought to 2 classes. It has all of my notes on it, allows me to take extra notes, as well as highlight etc using Noterize and Docs2Go, and I can access all of my textbooks online which is a huge plus. The keyboard is getting much easier to type on, and I'm actually starting to enjoy the virtual keyboard.

The camera connection kit will allow an iPad to use external drives, I thought. Worth looking into, IMO.

 

[Jaro65]

I use an iPad in my grad school and find it extremely useful. GoodReader and iAnnotate are a good combo for PDF's and the Kindle app is great for the e-books (though admittedly not all my textbooks are available in electronic format). Also Evernote is great for notes. I look forward to them adding the handwriting, which is apparently coming soon.

 

[Lexoticstylez02]

The camera connection kit will allow an iPad to use external drives, I thought. Worth looking into, IMO.

I would prefer to just use cloud storage like Dropbox, that way it is accessible in the new format everywhere i would like to access it. Isn't the point of an iPad to have less things to carry around? It would look kind of ridiculous to sit down in class and have to hook up a hard drive to your iPad when you want to access your files.

 

[sprtnbsblplya]

What case do you guys use to put it into typing mode on campus?
I've narrowed it down (I believe these look like the top two) to the Apple case and the Yoobao slim (I like the tan color). They both look like they have decent typing mode, but the Yoobao looks slightly elevated compared to the Apple original one, might make the wrists hurt after awhile.
Edit:
Nvm, just purchased the tan Yoobao slim case.

 

[unixfool]

I would prefer to just use cloud storage like Dropbox, that way it is accessible in the new format everywhere i would like to access it. Isn't the point of an iPad to have less things to carry around? It would look kind of ridiculous to sit down in class and have to hook up a hard drive to your iPad when you want to access your files.

The kit also lets you use SD cards as storage. Large files and Dropbox also don't mix very well when considering most wireless connection rates. Also, if you can't carry an SD card and connection adapter, you've problems. Also, external drives are rather small nowadays.

Note that I'm not one of the class guys. I'm an IT professional, but it shouldn't mean that this method is outright bad. So, you'd rather not carry a load. Either ignore the advice or work out more.

 

[saberahul]

I use the iPad a lot in grad school and not just for reading pdf's (I find GoodReader to be the best one and it's only a buck) but I also take a lot of notes on it using Notes Plus (you can write in a zoom box with a stylus or finger). GoodReader is set up for all my WebDAV's and syncs with my DropBox so I'm always upto date. Give it a shot - it'll probably the best $1 you'll spend... yes it is far better than a cheeseburger from Mc'd.

 

[mattniles007]

I'm a psychology graduate student and all I can say is, I don't know how I got through my undergrad without the iPad. It's great for taking notes in class (SoundNote), and all of my articles that I need, and trust me there are a lot, are just a few clicks away with either the dropbox or goodreeder apps. Noterize is great for highlighting and taking notes within PDF articles as well. Did I mention the eTextbooks? The iPad might be the best investment I ever made.... And it's nice to show off sometimes too.

Edit: I forgot to mention iStudiez Pro! That's a useful app as well.

I could not agree more. I am an education graduate student and I use all the apps Steve does, especially iStudiez.

 

[sprtnbsblplya]

I use the iPad a lot in grad school and not just for reading pdf's (I find GoodReader to be the best one and it's only a buck) but I also take a lot of notes on it using Notes Plus (you can write in a zoom box with a stylus or finger). GoodReader is set up for all my WebDAV's and syncs with my DropBox so I'm always upto date. Give it a shot - it'll probably the best $1 you'll spend... yes it is far better than a cheeseburger from Mc'd.

Hey saber, I noticed GoodReader can access files from Dropbox in their description, does it do what Docs2Go does and downloads the full file to the iPads local memory so I can read my electronic textbooks from anywhere?
My texts range from about 20mb to ~125mb in size. Most are around 25-40mb though.

 

[saberahul]

Hey saber, I noticed GoodReader can access files from Dropbox in their description, does it do what Docs2Go does and downloads the full file to the iPads local memory so I can read my electronic textbooks from anywhere?
My texts range from about 20mb to ~125mb in size. Most are around 25-40mb though.

Yea, it downloads into local iPad memory. I have pdf's which are upto 250 MB and have no lag in reading them... the only time I have to actually wait for anything is when I do a text search because it goes through all 3000 or so pages [but you can do it in reverse or start from current page and all].
Docs2Go is a great product if you're going to be using word processing and all a lot - it's not entirely meant to be a full out pdf reader and viewer like GoodReader and/or iRead PDF [free version of iAnnotate] or iAnnotate. Personally Goodreader is the best and their next update states that it will allow annotation and what not.

 

[Lexoticstylez02]

The kit also lets you use SD cards as storage. Large files and Dropbox also don't mix very well when considering most wireless connection rates. Also, if you can't carry an SD card and connection adapter, you've problems. Also, external drives are rather small nowadays.

Note that I'm not one of the class guys. I'm an IT professional, but it shouldn't mean that this method is outright bad. So, you'd rather not carry a load. Either ignore the advice or work out more.

An SD card is fine, however; I would not want to be the kid that has to hook up an external drive to my iPad. It just looks ridiculous to bring that to class, you may as well bring your laptop if you need that. The point of the iPad is to reduce how much stuff you bring and I really don't see the point of bringing an external drive if Dropbox works perfectly well for what I use it for. Nobody said you advice is bad, but to me that is like the kid who brings his iPad with a keyboard dock... some things are just more practical if you use your laptop over the iPad.

I also can assure you that I am much more in shape than you are as an IT professional, as I work at probably the highest end fitness facility in the United States so your work out more comment is irrelevant to me.

 

[unixfool]

An SD card is fine, however; I would not want to be the kid that has to hook up an external drive to my iPad. It just looks ridiculous to bring that to class, you may as well bring your laptop if you need that. The point of the iPad is to reduce how much stuff you bring and I really don't see the point of bringing an external drive if Dropbox works perfectly well for what I use it for. Nobody said you advice is bad, but to me that is like the kid who brings his iPad with a keyboard dock... some things are just more practical if you use your laptop over the iPad.

I also can assure you that I am much more in shape than you are as an IT professional, as I work at probably the highest end fitness facility in the United States so your work out more comment is irrelevant to me.

Don't get all offended. You're the one that was acting like it was too much to carry. I could care less if you were an Olympian. You can go to a gym and still be unfit. I've seen plenty of fatasses using gyms thinking they were fit or exercising properly. Besides, you don't need a gym to stay fit. You're ASSuming I don't know my way around a gym.

An external drive could be anything you want. You realize the connection kit is USB-based, right? If it bothers you, then maybe you're too vain? I've a MacBook and I think I'd still undercut it (in weight) if I used a 3.5" drive with my iPad. If you can't get over that because you think it LOOKS absurd, then you lack a certain maturity, but I guess I knew that when you made your gym statement.

 

[Lexoticstylez02]

Don't get all offended. You're the one that was acting like it was too much to carry. I could care less if you were an Olympian. You can go to a gym and still be unfit. I've seen plenty of fatasses using gyms thinking they were fit or exercising properly. Besides, you don't need a gym to stay fit. You're ASSuming I don't know my way around a gym.

An external drive could be anything you want. You realize the connection kit is USB-based, right? If it bothers you, then maybe you're too vain? I've a MacBook and I think I'd still undercut it (in weight) if I used a 3.5" drive with my iPad. If you can't get over that because you think it LOOKS absurd, then you lack a certain maturity, but I guess I knew that when you made your gym statement.

It was my opinion that it did not make sense to me for what I use it for (and most people at that) but for you it might. And you were the one who started the gym statement buddy. You are the one calling me an ass, for no reason besides that I disagree with you. If you want to use an external with your iPad, more power to you. Nobody said it was wrong, nobody said you could not do it. All I said was that for me and most people using the iPad for class the point is to carry as little as possible (hence why you no longer need to carry books, notes, folders, etc) so most are not going to want a hard drive dangling from their iPad, it makes sense to use Dropbox for ppt, doc, PDF, and other files you may need to use. End of story.

 

[SteveKnobs]

It was my opinion that it did not make sense to me for what I use it for (and most people at that) but for you it might. And you were the one who started the gym statement buddy. You are the one calling me an ass, for no reason besides that I disagree with you. If you want to use an external with your iPad, more power to you. Nobody said it was wrong, nobody said you could not do it. All I said was that for me and most people using the iPad for class the point is to carry as little as possible (hence why you no longer need to carry books, notes, folders, etc) so most are not going to want a hard drive dangling from their iPad, it makes sense to use Dropbox for ppt, doc, PDF, and other files you may need to use. End of story.

Couldn't agree with you more dude. Could there be anything more ASSinine than bringing an external HD to hook up to your iPad in class? Might as well bring your desktop with you and set that up on the table or desk. My iPad is the ONLY thing I bring to class. This is why I bought it.

 

[enrvuk]

Not class or note taking related but

the one thing I wish I had when I was a student was better organisation skills. Keeping track of what you need to do and when you need to do it is crucial to being effective.

Consider investing and learning in something like Getting Things Done (GTD) and using your iPad to manage it.

OmniFocus, Things, etc, etc can help.

 

[Mabyboi]

Im a business student, what ive done is downloaded all my textbooks to ibooks and use my MBP 13" to take notes. Flawless duo. And i still get the "OMG HE HAS AN IPAD!" looks, which is always a plus