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Ipad--Entertainment vs Productivity

S

sgough

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 14, 2007
14
0
It seems to me that many of the complaints about the Ipad relate to its appropriate use. I am not talking about wifi issues, charging issues or dead pixels. Having used the device extensively since Saturday, it si just not designed for productivity.

I am typing on my 15" Macbook Pro with 3.06 ghz processor, 8gb ram, and 256 SSD. If I am going to do serious work, ie write documents, rip dvds, print, create website, use my educational software, that is the device I will use. For entertainment, watch movies, casual surfing, playing games, reading, view photos, read publications, I will use the Ipad. Music is anywhere-computer, Ipad, Iphone. It is FUN and ADDICTIVE!! I truly enjoy doing those things with the Ipad.

I bought Iworks, remote desktop, a printer App and am thinking I wasted $50. Why would I use it for this? Some are trying to force it to be what it is not-- a netbook. I love it and I think many more would enjoy it if they would quit trying to make it what it wasn't designed to do.
 
sgough said:
I bought Iworks, remote desktop, a printer App and am thinking I wasted $50. Why would I use it for this? Some are trying to force it to be what it is not-- a netbook. I love it and I think many more would enjoy it if they would quit trying to make it what it wasn't designed to do.
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I agree and I bought it for the simple reason of entertainment - not productivity. It's not a replacement. At least for my use case. For someone who all they do is email/surf/read/play game/light word processing/etc then it's a good choice and MIGHT be a replacement.

The "problem" is - with the retooling of numbers/keynote and pages - it's as if Apple is promoting it also as a business tool. And this is where the device falls short because the versions of those productivity programs are very limited and aren't fully compatible to their full version counterparts.
 
samcraig said:
I agree and I bought it for the simple reason of entertainment - not productivity. It's not a replacement. At least for my use case. For someone who all they do is email/surf/read/play game/light word processing/etc then it's a good choice and MIGHT be a replacement.

The "problem" is - with the retooling of numbers/keynote and pages - it's as if Apple is promoting it also as a business tool. And this is where the device falls short because the versions of those productivity programs are very limited and aren't fully compatible to their full version counterparts.
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I think it's more a case of apple saying yeah it's great for entertainment and hey rather than booting up your computer to write that quick letter just do it here.
 
For my part the plan still holds: iPad as primary computer.

I get and understand the limitations, and can live with them. Much of my work consists of email and reading (and watching) so that's all covered decently.

The form factor, weight, portability, etc. are all extremely appealing to me as I'm very likely to take it with me everywhere whereas I'd started to leave my MBP home b/c it's a pain to tote around.

I'd feel MUCH better about my plan with some type of file system (preferably nice integration with iDisk/cloud syncing).

And of course a version of Final Draft which has more or less been announced.
 
I think for certain people, mainly those who are often "on the go" and who need to write relatively brief emails and documents the iPad could be a very useful tool. We are still just seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is possible with this device. Just because it is not great for banging out long word documents or big spreadsheets does not mean it is not suited for "productivity" because that word means many different things to different people.
 
tim916 said:
I think for certain people, mainly those who are often "on the go" and who need to write relatively brief emails and documents the iPad could be a very useful tool. We are still just seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is possible with this device. Just because it is not great for banging out long word documents or big spreadsheets does not mean it is not suited for "productivity" because that word means many different things to different people.
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So true. Since I'm in the business of entertainment, much of my business dovetails rather nicely with what the iPad is pretty great for :)

Tomorrow's announcement will have a rather large impact on where we go from here. To put it mildly.
 
anthonymoody said:
So true. Since I'm in the business of entertainment, much of my business dovetails rather nicely with what the iPad is pretty great for :)

Tomorrow's announcement will have a rather large impact on where we go from here. To put it mildly.
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Yeah I'm in LA and I'm sure ipads will be out in force around here, especially when the 3G version arrives.
 
Saw my first iPad "in the wild" today at court -- defense attorney was using it to read his brief and notes in court this morning when making an argument to the bench in an Appeals hearing.
 
Gav2k said:
I think it's more a case of apple saying yeah it's great for entertainment and hey rather than booting up your computer to write that quick letter just do it here.
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Yes it has limitations and is primarily a entertainment kinda thing however IT COULD be made into a business device with just a few simple tweaks:

1) Printing
2) Sharing and viewing network folders

It has wifi so why cant it do these things (especially number 2)

The hardware is there so why not the software??
Apple seem to lock up devices on purpose (Apple TV anybody??) I pray that tomorrow we see some kind of hint that the above two is being worked on. if so I can get rid of my Macbook Air (damn I forgot Apple dont want me to sell my laptop)

Prove me wrong Apple (fingers crossed)
 
Depends on the productivity your trying to do.

I have used mine to take notes in 6 meetings so far, with just the Apple Case and keyboard. I've not had a problem with it, infact noticed i was typing a lot faster then I write, and other people were writing.
 
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