Getting an iPad soon: Do you use iPad for both personal use and work use? Other ?'s

[JoJoCal19]

Even being a lover of all things Apple, I was disappointed and a big critic at the iPad's unveiling earlier this year. I really didn't see the point in it. However over time I've thought of more and more things it would get used for and after many play sessions at Best Buy and the Apple Store, the desire has become too much. I'm in love with the iPad and I am definitely getting one within the next week or two. I can definitely fit it into my life and have found MANY uses for it so I darn sure won't be coming on here with any "Im bored with iPad waaah" threads

My only problem is which model. Now I know no one can tell me what to get but I have gotten some ideas of the things people use their iPad for and the value of having 3G/GPS so input is appreciated and I take it into consideration when deciding.

One of my main questions is, how many use their iPad for both personal use and work use? Who refuses to use it for both and/or has a separate iPad for work related use? One of the things I will use my iPad for is real estate work. Accessing the MLS (either in Safari or through remote desktop), storing real estate photos and documents (PDF's, etc), and having my real estate mailbox setup on it. For this purpose I'm definitely leaning towards the 3G version for always on connectivity.

I'm also hesitant to mix both personal stuff and work stuff on the iPad because it all can be muddled together plus if I'm using it to show clients I would rather not have personal stuff right there. I'm kind of torn on this. For this reason I was thinking of just getting a wifi iPad now for personal use and then at the beginning of next year get a 3G iPad for real estate use.

I'm also wondering on the apps that take advantage of the GPS unit other than Nav apps. Are there a lot of apps that use the GPS? This is another deciding factor as I was really wanting the built in GPS but I need to know if there are enough apps made that use it to justify the extra cost.

I'd really like to hear from people who bought the 16GB model and have a lot of apps. Does it fill up real fast from just apps? I don't plan on dumping much music at all onto the iPad and I don't mind rotating photos on it either so I'm not looking to dump too many photos. The main thing will be apps, then pdf files and some photos. I don't plan on putting videos on here unless its to watch then remove.

Thanks for any input/advice and I can't wait to finally get my hands on an iPad.

 

[flyersgl]

I use my iPad pretty equally for work and home life. I take all my work notes on it and do rough drafts of memos, letters, etc, which I then mail to my desk top or (better yet) my assistant to clean up and finalize.

There's nothing so personal on my iPad that I am embarassed or uncomfortable handing it over to a professional contact.

I have a 32gb, have used about 10gb so far. I don't have that many applications; I think video and photos account for most of the usage...

 

[JoJoCal19]

I use my iPad pretty equally for work and home life. I take all my work notes on it and do rough drafts of memos, letters, etc, which I then mail to my desk top or (better yet) my assistant to clean up and finalize.

There's nothing so personal on my iPad that I am embarassed or uncomfortable handing it over to a professional contact.

I have a 32gb, have used about 10gb so far. I don't have that many applications; I think video and photos account for most of the usage...

Yea I wouldn't have anything embarrassing on it but I might have goofy stuff on there. I dunno but something about keeping work and play separate. I've just thought that if I get a 16GB 3G now I could use it and then next Jan/Feb delegate it to strictly work duty and then get a separate one for personal use or wait and get the next gen for personal use. Conversely I'm contemplating a 16GB Wifi model now and then a 16GB 3G in February for work duty.

So many choices, 16GB wifi, 16GB 3G, 32GB wifi, 32GB 3G. Either way I can't wait to pick one up, maybe next week.

I'm toying with the idea of al

 

[bowlerman625]

I have the 3G model. Use it for personal things and love it! I'd love to be able to use it for work too. We're a windows shop so that's not an option there as far as at work.

 

[ssdeg7]

I use mine for personal use, I simply love it.

 

[Don Kosak]

Apps use a trivial amount of memory. I've got a lot of work apps, documents, tons of PDF's (in Goodreader), tons of Evernote entries, etc... All that uses just 3 GB...

My music (~600 Albums) and video library (mostly "home movies" shot on vacations) take up the majority of space.

I keep work apps and bookmarks on the first 2 screens, and then my personal stuff. Bring the iPad to clients all the time, pass it around, show Numbers spreadsheets, mockups, etc. Never had an issue with personal stuff.

My personal stuff isn't very exciting anyway.

If you're going to be handling a lot of photos, and are also thinking of maybe bringing a couple movies or TV episodes along with you, you might want to think about getting a model with some extra storage.

If you're just talking < 1000 photos, and a few hundred PDF's, then you shouldn't have any storage issues at all. I have 6000 7megapixel photos on mine, and they use up maybe 5GB. (Photos get "optimized" for iPad when you sync. They're still really high quality, and you can zoom in pretty far, but I'm fairly certain they are downscaled.)

You can check my other posts if you want more details. I've posted about using my iPad for work and entertainment 5 or 6 times.

Goodreader, Numbers, and maybe Zillow would be good apps to check out. Zillow is pretty spectacular for real estate.

The 3G model might be nice if you're going to be on the road a lot. I have WiFi-only, but most of my clients have either an open visitor WiFi, or WiFi with a guest password. (I work mostly with web companies).

 

[bcaslis]

I use it for both although primary usage is personal. For work it's mainly for email, web, and notes. I can leave the ugly, slow Dell laptop on my desk and take the iPad to meetings. If I need a document, I can get open exchange email right on the iPad, tap on the attachment and view it for the meeting.

For personal use it's for everything. The 3G is really invaluable if you want to use it on the go or you want to use for personal stuff when at work. The price difference to go with 64GB is small compared to the total cost and since you can't expand later you might as well get as much as you can afford.

 

[nixiemaiden]

I would use mine for work if I was allowed to. It would save me from printing everything out to go to meetings.

As of right now I just have my work email set up on it. My bosses love it because if I get emailed on the weekend I receive it and respond almost instantly...even when email was on my phone I never responded because it was too much of a hassle.

 

[tekchic]

I would use mine for work if I was allowed to. It would save me from printing everything out to go to meetings.

Why won't your work let you use it for meetings and stuff? We're encouraged at my job to go paperless and take notes/etc on iPad. Course, I'm in a techy job though.

 

[nixiemaiden]

Why won't your work let you use it for meetings and stuff? We're encouraged at my job to go paperless and take notes/etc on iPad. Course, I'm in a techy job though.

I have a tech job as well...I do web development...I honestly have no idea. I have to sign this policy every year saying I wont bring personal devices to work. We all have smart phones so I brought my ipad one day thinking it was no different but they had a problem with it. It is ok for the vp to have one though

I think it is because they are concerned with us taking data or code and not being able to track it. We aren't supposed to have flash drives or anything either..or wireless keyboards or mice...it is lame. None of it makes any sense to me because none of it has been enforced except for my iPad

 

[tekchic]

Icky. I've worked in some high security spots where you couldn't bring in a camera, but even the strictest of spots I've worked at least let me bring in iPhone/iPod/thumb drive. I forgot there are hyper-strict places still out there.

I tend to migrate to the more casual code environments, but you gotta go where it pays the bills. I dread ever going back to contracting where I might end up in a tight security place like that. Hang in there!

 

[Tobster3]

I have the 64GB 3G iPad which I use for both work and personal life.

In the office, I only really use the iPad with the ToDo app to keep me organized, reading news online and searching sites that my company block. I travel a lot within the country and previously I would have to travel with my Franklin Covey diary and my laptop, now i just travel with my iPad.

I also travel a lot Internationally so my iPad is filled with music, videos and photos so I have used about 45GB. Previously I would travel with a large backpack with my laptop, my franklin covey, novels, magazines etc etc. Now I just travel with my Tom Bihn bag with my iPad, charger, phone charger and passport as carry on. It is so much easier.

At home, the iPad is used in every room by both me and the wife.

As time has gone on the iPad has became a very useful tool for me and has made so many parts of my life more easier and convenient.

Hope this helps.

 

[mrathee]

I use mine for work and personal. It was a huge productivity boost for work (and a writeoff) - using dropbox, evernote, logmein, and a few other apps - I ended up being able to work from outside the office, sometimes on weekends, for extremely time sensitive projects, along with other things.

It was a great buy.

For personal use: I have it on me or within an arms reach for 80% of the day. Minus dinner time (family time) and bathroom/showers. (Seriously.)

I roll through my twitter feeds, catch up on news (pulse, times), other social media (flipbook), then go through a set of design articles from the week (read it later pro), and after that it is leisure. (games, netflix, etc) Rinse and repeat.

I was in the same situation as you - I didnt think it was a great product when unveiled, but after endless amounts of research and demos, I found more and more great uses for me, and had to get it. I have not looked back since.

 

[nixiemaiden]

I use mine for work and personal. It was a huge productivity boost for work (and a writeoff) - using dropbox, evernote, logmein, and a few other apps - I ended up being able to work from outside the office, sometimes on weekends, for extremely time sensitive projects, along with other things.

It was a great buy.

For personal use: I have it on me or within an arms reach for 80% of the day. Minus dinner time (family time) and bathroom/showers. (Seriously.)

I roll through my twitter feeds, catch up on news (pulse, times), other social media (flipbook), then go through a set of design articles from the week (read it later pro), and after that it is leisure. (games, netflix, etc) Rinse and repeat.

I was in the same situation as you - I didnt think it was a great product when unveiled, but after endless amounts of research and demos, I found more and more great uses for me, and had to get it. I have not looked back since.

Just so you know...they make cases so you can bring it in the shower with you!

 

[mrathee]

Just so you know...they make cases so you can bring it in the shower with you!

hahaha

 

[iKimm]

I have the 64GB 3G & use my iPad every day for work & personal . I LOVE it!!!

What a joy it is to travel without my laptop weighing me down. I am glad I got the 64GB but not sure I really needed the 3G since I am almost always in a wifi spot.

Enjoy yours when you get it

 

[TorontoLRT]

I use it for both home and (high) school. I'm getting a keyboard dock soon, and once printing rolls around, I think I'll be all set as far as features I need.

 

[hexhead]

I use my 32gb 3G for both business and personal. I converted to a paperless office several years ago and all my client documents are saved as .PDF files. In addition to a HD backup, I've also backed them up off-premises to me.com. Now when I meet with clients 8 don't have try and think what I might need and print it out. With the 3G access, I can over lunch, access any of my client docs to add to the conversation. The iPad has really changed how I do business.

 

[JoJoCal19]

Thanks so much for all of the input. It's good to know it's not too hard to balance work and personal use of the iPad.

I do a lot of traveling out of town to the inlaws house and I would love to not have to drag the MacBook around with me.

I can't wait to get my hands on one. The wife doesn't roll her eyes anymore when I mention picking one up. I'm also afraid once she finds out how easy it is for her to pick up and surf the net and check her email she will not want to use her "slow and laggy" (her words) netbook anymore and this could put a strain on our marriage (or our pocketbooks)