iPad for college?

[bmw70732]

I'm considering buying an iPad before I go back to college next month; however, I hear talk of a second generation iPad coming soon... The anticipation of owning one is killing me...

Should I wait it out?

And just in case I can't...what iPad apps are those of you in college finding most useful?

 

[saberahul]

My brother goes to college and uses his iPad a lot. 2nd generation will not be released until Spring next year if not the year after - with the introduction in 9 countries only beginning now I don't see why Apple would be stupid enough to release a new version anytime soon.
Anyways, I suggest buying the Pogo Stick or the other one (Dagi i think) for writing on the iPad for notes (very useful). You can try out notes app for typing and some allow recording as well.

 

[AR15MBP]

I'm considering buying an iPad before I go back to college next month; however, I hear talk of a second generation iPad coming soon... The anticipation of owning one is killing me...

Should I wait it out?

And just in case I can't...what iPad apps are those of you in college finding most useful?

2nd generation will most likely be released in april of next year. they have just released or will be releasing the ipad in 9 new countries in a few days, so unlikely that they'll release a brand new model in 2-5 months.

ipad can't replace a computer for college. no print, flash for certain websites, etc. if it's a secondary device, go for it.

edit: got ninja'd

 

[saberahul]

2nd generation will most likely be released in april of next year. they have just released or will be releasing the ipad in 9 new countries in a few days, so unlikely that they'll release a brand new model in 2-5 months.

ipad can't replace a computer for college. no print, flash for certain websites, etc. if it's a secondary device, go for it.

edit: got ninja'd

ROFL!
I agree - it's mandatory that you own a computer. My brother keeps his laptop at home now rather than carrying the weight around. I also leave my laptop at home and take my iPad to work only - I have a desktop there if I need to do some heavy lifting.

 

[afireintonto]

I'd say only get it if you already have a laptop. There is some note taking apps I use for classes that wouldn't work on a laptop so it is ideal, but its just not ready to replace a full featured laptop. Not yet.

 

[Godzirra!]

i love sound paper as a note taking app. IT lets you record while you type, and plays back the audio when you tap on a word. What plays back is what your teacher was saying when you wrote that word. its awesome. But i also use evernote often so i have my notes on my phone, ipad, and computer.

air display is gonna be awesome for writing papers. There as been tons of times i have had to copy a quote down or paraphrase an article and have been switching between them to get the quotes right. i cant wait to use this and put the article on my ipad and type away on my computer.

pages is a good way to read over and make some corrections to your paper. i started half a paper on it and it worked well, just isnt as rounded out as it needs to be to be your go to application for papers.

Your teachers give alot of of pdfs, used to be ibooks wouldnt let you read them and you had to download apps for it. i spent like $20 bucks on these apps cause they all sucked, but to manipulate them iAnnoate PDF and take notes where my 2 favorites. Great to take notes on slides they give out.

Definetely download dropbox. Unless you like paying $100 from apple a year for the same functionality, its basically iDisk with 2gbs free and 20gb for i think $20. But i have never gone over the 2 gb. This is really important for when you forget a file at home you really need, you will still have access to it as long as you have internet.

Wolfram alpha. Its an awesome app and will be an excellent tutor.

so through trial and error thats my top college apps. however, i am considering getting rid of my ipad and getting a bike or something useful because this is way too much of an inbetween device. All those things i mentioned i can do on my laptop or phone. Easier on my laptop in most occasions.

 

[Briview]

i love sound paper as a note taking app. IT lets you record while you type, and plays back the audio when you tap on a word. What plays back is what your teacher was saying when you wrote that word. its awesome. But i also use evernote often so i have my notes on my phone, ipad, and computer.

air display is gonna be awesome for writing papers. There as been tons of times i have had to copy a quote down or paraphrase an article and have been switching between them to get the quotes right. i cant wait to use this and put the article on my ipad and type away on my computer.

pages is a good way to read over and make some corrections to your paper. i started half a paper on it and it worked well, just isnt as rounded out as it needs to be to be your go to application for papers.

Your teachers give alot of of pdfs, used to be ibooks wouldnt let you read them and you had to download apps for it. i spent like $20 bucks on these apps cause they all sucked, but to manipulate them iAnnoate PDF and take notes where my 2 favorites. Great to take notes on slides they give out.

Definetely download dropbox. Unless you like paying $100 from apple a year for the same functionality, its basically iDisk with 2gbs free and 20gb for i think $20. But i have never gone over the 2 gb. This is really important for when you forget a file at home you really need, you will still have access to it as long as you have internet.

Wolfram alpha. Its an awesome app and will be an excellent tutor.

so through trial and error thats my top college apps. however, i am considering getting rid of my ipad and getting a bike or something useful because this is way too much of an inbetween device. All those things i mentioned i can do on my laptop or phone. Easier on my laptop in most occasions.

I cannot possibly thank you enough for the details in this post. I've had Dropbox, Air Display, and Wolfram Alpha and I would definitely say that they are among the best college apps, but SoundPaper just blows it away... it is THE best notes app, despite its seemingly simple interface with the lack of billions of features that other note apps have (highlighting, font color-size-type changing, etc.). This is absolutely brilliant.

 

[heavensblade23]

Definetely download dropbox. Unless you like paying $100 from apple a year for the same functionality, its basically iDisk with 2gbs free and 20gb for i think $20. But i have never gone over the 2 gb. This is really important for when you forget a file at home you really need, you will still have access to it as long as you have internet.

You're way off, for $20 a month you get 100gigs worth of Dropbox space.

 

[pelicanflip]

No new iPad coming out for quite some time. Anyone who tells you it's coming out later this year is just ignorant of reality. The iPad was only released in a lot of major countries a couple months ago. Apple hasn't even released the iPad in a bunch of other countries, like Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, etc.

Why would they release a new iPad when they can still potentially sell millions of iPads in other countries?


As for applications:

Penultimate - great for doodling and sketching, taking quick notes.

Dragon Dictation - voice to text recording, awesome.

Pages - word processing, excellent for notes.

Numbers and Keynote if you need them.

Epicurious - nice for finding recipes when cooking (at least i do that, got tired of eating the same stuff in college)

Netflix - gotta love movies

There are plenty more production and utility apps, but you can always browse the app store to see which apps you prefer.

Keep in mind : the new iOS for the iPad comes out in the fall, just in time for the start of a new year in college. With the new OS comes new games and apps, so there will be even more options to choose from.

 

[eddy64]

I just bought an iPad for college.
Dont expect a refresh for at least another 9 months.
I bought it because my mbp is just too heavy to be carrying it around on campus.
When Im on campus, I usually just surf the web, read solution manuals (pdf format), play simple games, and listen to music. The iPad is perfect for me, and it's so much lighter than a laptop. I honestly feel like it's really good for most college students, as long as you dont plan to play cpu and gpu intensive games on campus.
Most college kids bring laptops to campus to just surf the web, view files (pdf's, word documents, power point presentations, etc), take notes, watch movies, and use email. I would go as far to say that 90% of all students use their laptops just for these simple tasks. Laptops are thus unecessary on campus. You definitely still need one to keep at home, but an iPad just fits well with a student's campus life.

 

[saberahul]

I just bought an iPad for college.
...read solution manuals (pdf format)...

Lol... that's the way uh huh uh huh

 

[eddy64]

Lol... that's the way uh huh uh huh

haha, lets be realistic. ALL college students use solution manuals, whether the teacher posts them....or you happen to come across them...by some means.... lol. But seriously, I have friends who bring their heavy 15 and 17 inch laptops just to open up a bunch on pdf's. Last semester, 90% of my laptopt use was web browsing/pdf viewing lol.

 

[Figgies]

Buy it now. There is no chance a newer will come out as it is just being inrtoduce in other country.

The ipad will replace about 80% of what you do on your laptop.

 

[DifferentialApp]

I think the iPad might turn out to be like the iPod touches. The touches had great success when they were first launched. The only thing they added to the second generation was the external speaker. I don't know, but I have a feeling the next gen iPad won't have too many new features. Idk, though.

What do you guys think of this?

 

[Briview]

I think the iPad might turn out to be like the iPod touches. The touches had great success when they were first launched. The only thing they added to the second generation was the external speaker. I don't know, but I have a feeling the next gen iPad won't have too many new features. Idk, though.

What do you guys think of this?

You may be right, but this is rather incomparable because the iPod touch is around three years old. And you've hit the spot on the update remark. Not even the third-gen got anything useful other than what... voice control? Yet the thing is... the fourth generation iPod touch is rumored and expected to have tons of updates ranging from A4 to FaceTime and a 3MP camera... iP4-like design? Maybe...

The point? The iPad does not have anything extremely revolutionary or huge to add on as a feature in the next generation. Perhaps FaceTime will debut and the hardware gets updated, but Retina would be insane... maybe a resolution bump to 1280x1024, or something of the sort. But, that would be just about it... right? I mean... USB port? SD card slot? None of these are exactly likely, considering how thin the iPad is anyway.

EDIT: So, basically... even if you get the first-gen iPad and the second one is announced in January, I doubt that it will be a must-have upgrade, judging by how the features are mostly packed in the software. And iOS will keep in sync. It's highly unlikely that Apple will make certain apps that would only work in the second-gen iPad (other than... maybe Photo Booth or such).