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Oh how i need an iPad. NOW.

T

TraceyS/FL

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jan 11, 2007
4,175
316
North Central Florida
This past week I got hit with a HUGE number of PDFs to pour through - and a lot of them i just need to read once, but have handy to reference. But as I sat there facing the 180 pages that was the last one all i could think of was, "dang, i wish i had an iPad to read these on right now."

My MBP wouldn't work for reading them in bed easily, and the Touch is too small. The iPad would be just right!

I kinda scoffed at you "guys" that said, "I just want one to cart all these Technical Manuals around." I didn't get it. I do now! :D

I'm drowning in paperwork i need portable.... hurry up FCC!!!
 
I would have loved to have an iPad last week when I was holed up in bed with a bad cold. Too achy to sit up at my desk to surf the 'net, and like the OP said, the touch is too small to read comfortably. The iPad would have kept me nicely entertained.
 
I'm with you. I'm currently reading the Wheel of Time series for the first time, and I'm having to do it on my iphone which is terrible because of the small screen.

I'm also about to go on vacation a couple weeks before the ipads release. I could really use one on my vacation. :(
 
Same here, so many pdf's waiting for their ipad!

To be fair though there will be a great eink large screen device from Plastic Logic too, an eink device on a whole new plastic layer that won't crack in a snap like the others, see kindle or irex say, that will be fantastic for pdfs. Of course the interface leaves a lot to be desired, as by all accounts the refresh rates do to (ah the joy of custom building a cpu...). But I 've used eink and it's just wonderful for pdfs, not a revelation, not great, not stunning, but still a great paper substitute option.
 
I don't mind reading novels on my Touch - i've been doing that on a Palm for 8 years so the Touch screen is a step up. But these things are full of diagrams and lists that I just seems to loose track where I am in the thing.

Just being able to handle it like a stack of papers while watching TV would be great. The keyboard sticking out hinders that...

At least i'm not alone!!!

Although, I don't have time to get sick and stay in bed - i might get it all done on paper if i could pull that off for a couple of days! LOL!! HOpe you are feeling all better now. We have had the sinus-infection-from-hades pass around my 3 kids since the end of last year. I'm sick of sick.

I can say how HAPPY i was to find my ink cartridges at Sam's on the open-box clearance. You bet I will pay $25 for the single black cartridge in the package of 2 that is normally $68. Thanks to the old person that bought it and returned it!! (I live next to a retirement community). Then the color was the same - missing cyan. Sure I will take yellow and magenta for $26 instead of $68. That is a years supply of ink for $51!!!! (the HP 88XL cartridges that print 2500).

But it is $51 I might not have needed to spend "right now" if i hadn't needed to print so much....

applesupergeek said:
Same here, so many pdf's waiting for their ipad!

To be fair though there will be a great eink large screen device from Plastic Logic too, an eink device on a whole new plastic layer that won't crack in a snap like the others, see kindle or irex say, that will be fantastic for pdfs. Of course the interface leaves a lot to be desired, as by all accounts the refresh rates do to (ah the joy of custom building a cpu...). But I 've used eink and it's just wonderful for pdfs, not a revelation, not great, not stunning, but still a great paper substitute option.
Click to expand...

But that won't cover my other needs, I can do the web side of what came along with the PDFs on the Touch, so it will work on the iPad too. Which is good... not that i'm trying to justify the iPad, but it does appeal to me for the multi-purpose use.

But my personal one will have to wait awhile - i'm going to have to borrow my daughters for my current PDF needs (luckily, she needs to be reading some of them too and won't complain toooooo much about sharing! LOL!!)
 
TraceyS/FL said:
But that won't cover my other needs, I can do the web side of what came along with the PDFs on the Touch, so it will work on the iPad too. Which is good... not that i'm trying to justify the iPad, but it does appeal to me for the multi-purpose use.
Click to expand...

Sure, that's why I only made passing mention of the plastic logic device, which while it does have browser the experience there will be compromised.
 
I needed an iPad when it was announced. I really hate reading novels on the iTouch. The screen is too small.
 
applesupergeek said:
Sure, that's why I only made passing mention of the plastic logic device, which while it does have browser the experience there will be compromised.
Click to expand...

The addition of the "cheap" 3G on the iPad then saves me from having to buy a MIFI. Gee, just look at all the money i have saved this week!!!

I'm anxious to get my hands on it and then to see what the developers are going to be able to do with it. Patience isn't my strong suit - so someone hurry up the process!!!

I need to go back into my PDFs and read about the ability to put some stuff in a spreadsheet/database. Maybe I can work on that while i'm waiting? Or just keep reading this Search & Rescue Course book....
 
I want one now too. I've had enough of lugging my mbp around.

I've just been uploading a bunch of backing tracks up to my iphone 3gs for use with an app called MultiTrack. I'm in a couple of bands, one of which has no drummer or bass player (but four vocalists, go figure), so the drum and bass tracks are sequenced in Logic or Garageband and played out thru the mixer from my macbook pro. I've just discovered the MultiTrack app which eliminates the need to use my mbp - just import the separate tracks into it on the 3gs and pipe that into the desk instead. Cuts my gear bag down by the weight of the mbp, which is no small amount when you're carrying a lot of kit.
However, the iphone screen is pretty small and my eyes are (very) cack to begin with, so a little more screen real estate would be appreciated. Thus the iPad will be perfect for this. Light, portable, no doubt compatible with a shed load of accessories for musicians just like the iphone - bring it on !
 
hilarious or sad, i cant make my mind up...

funny how jobs has really made people totally believe they need something that they didnt ''really' need before the iPad was announced....because laptops were just fine in bed....:rolleyes:
 
TraceyS/FL said:
Although, I don't have time to get sick and stay in bed - i might get it all done on paper if i could pull that off for a couple of days! LOL!! HOpe you are feeling all better now. We have had the sinus-infection-from-hades pass around my 3 kids since the end of last year. I'm sick of sick.
Click to expand...

All better now, thanks. And hope your kids get over their stuff, yeah, I'm familiar with the "being sick of sick" feeling!

TraceyS/FL said:
The addition of the "cheap" 3G on the iPad then saves me from having to buy a MIFI. Gee, just look at all the money i have saved this week!!!
Click to expand...

The 3G is another thing I'm looking forwrd to, except we have to wait an extra month for that! Being able to look up maps, subway routes, nearby restaurants, etc while being on the go is so convenient, but I don't go out enough to justify the $60+ monthly fee for most cellular data subscriptions. The $15/month plan for the iPad should suit my usage needs and for a sweet price. :)
 
I have been wanting something like this since the iPhone came out. Besides just reading, I can almost replace my Macbook Pro with the iPad since the Macbook Pro is already basically a slave to my iMac. Since iWork is on iPad, that takes away one of my main reasons for the laptop.

The only other thing i really use the laptop for is a music writing program called Guitar Pro, which is also in development for iPad.

Very happy.

The biggest thing I am excited about is the video playback. When I exercise, I put my iPhone on the leg of my aerobic equipment, I the screen is not the greatest at that distance, but I get by. This will be much better.

I remember how easy carrying around the Macbook Air was over the Pro (although I couldn't justify keeping the Air due to all the hardware defects), and the iPad is half that weight.

I really don't need a fully capable computer on the go at all, so the iPad will be a great companion.
 
TraceyS/FL said:
This past week I got hit with a HUGE number of PDFs to pour through - and a lot of them i just need to read once, but have handy to reference. But as I sat there facing the 180 pages that was the last one all i could think of was, "dang, i wish i had an iPad to read these on right now."

My MBP wouldn't work for reading them in bed easily, and the Touch is too small. The iPad would be just right!
Click to expand...


Obviously you don't know what you are talking about. There is no way in the world you could want one because, as we are told daily by the angry negativrazzi, the iPad doesn't have Flash, doesn't have a camera, doesn't have a media slot, doesn't have OS X, and is well, just a big junky, overpriced iPod Touch that Apple is making way too much money on and totally screwing up the chances of world peace. As such its 99.9% impossible that anyone would find an iPad useful, desireable, or affordable. [/sarc] :D
 
I had a hankering for one the other day when I just needed to do about 2-3 hours of Googling and Wikipedia searching for some homework, but I was going to do it in bed because I was getting tired. My netbook sufficed (quite well, in fact) but I still lusted for an iPad.
 
I've found that I could be using one since the day it was announced. My greatest fear is that when the wifi model is available I'll succumb to temptation and not wait for the 3G model :eek:
 
zedsdead said:
I have been wanting something like this since the iPhone came out. Besides just reading, I can almost replace my Macbook Pro with the iPad since the Macbook Pro is already basically a slave to my iMac. Since iWork is on iPad, that takes away one of my main reasons for the laptop.
Click to expand...

I've heard conflicting reports about whether iWorks on the iPad will save to Word doc format or not. If it does, and if the virtual keyboard works okay for light input, I could possibly retire my Sony Vaio laptop. I'm looking forward to see how that works out.
 
Actually, just yesterday I finished up the book I had from the library and was looking for something new. But after reading a hard cover book again, I realized how often I have 20 to 40 minutes waiting for the kids to finish their tasks. A normal book I have to remember to lug it around and plan ahead.

I had a few books on my iPhone to read (legally distributed free books) so that is where I am now. But the book I wanted to read, wasn't free (that's OK) but I don't want to buy anything until I see the iBooks and how it is implemented. With it being so close, I don't want to risk having to buy anything twice.

So, I guess what I'm saying is I am more anxious for iBooks then for the iPad. I wish they would release it already and let us start buying! :D
 
vincebio said:
hilarious or sad, i cant make my mind up...

funny how jobs has really made people totally believe they need something that they didnt ''really' need before the iPad was announced....because laptops were just fine in bed....:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Delusional or masochists, I can't make my mind up...

Funny how laptops have been around long enough that people totally believe they are convenient...because nothing screams comfort like lying in bed with a widescreen monitor that weights 5-10 pounds and has a big keyboard hanging off of it, and then trying to read in landscape mode....:rolleyes:

Sarcasm is so versatile! Anybody can use it!
 
vincebio said:
hilarious or sad, i cant make my mind up...

funny how jobs has really made people totally believe they need something that they didnt ''really' need before the iPad was announced....because laptops were just fine in bed....:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

What is even more sad and hilarious how you are branding other people here as such, when the joke is one you big time, wakey wakey!
 
vincebio said:
hilarious or sad, i cant make my mind up...

funny how jobs has really made people totally believe they need something that they didnt ''really' need before the iPad was announced....because laptops were just fine in bed....:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

This isn't so much about needs as it is about WANTS.

Apple actually makes you WANT their tech. It's kinda what happens when a tech company actually gives a damn about the User Experience, and is more interested in rolling out a landmark product rather than a derivative, cobbled-together device aimed at high-volume sales.
 
vincebio said:
hilarious or sad, i cant make my mind up...

funny how jobs has really made people totally believe they need something that they didnt ''really' need before the iPad was announced....because laptops were just fine in bed....:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Of course I don't need an iPad, here I am surviving perfectly well without one. To be honest I'd survive without my iMac too. But just like my iMac, the iPad will make my life easier. Just because the iPad isn't a necessity, doesn't mean that it is not useful.
 
vincebio said:
hilarious or sad, i cant make my mind up...

funny how jobs has really made people totally believe they need something that they didnt ''really' need before the iPad was announced....because laptops were just fine in bed....:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I'll weigh in - even though everyone else covered it.

In my case, no, the laptop is NOT just fine in bed. In the current living condition i'd have to have sit up to lean on a wall to balance my 17" MBP to read the PDF, and I might as well just read it sitting in my chair so i don't have to hold the stupid machine.

I did attempt to read them on the screen before resorting to printing - and that wasn't working. My battery is shot in the MBP (with only 18 cycles, it lasts 90 minutes) and so i can't really lug it around to read for a few minutes... and i already carry a messenger bag full of medical records around with me... so i'm not excited about adding 180 pages of PDFs nor the weight of the MBP.

I don't need it, it will ENHANCE and SMOOTH OUT my daily living, so what is wrong with that?
 
vincebio said:
hilarious or sad, i cant make my mind up...

funny how jobs has really made people totally believe they need something that they didnt ''really' need before the iPad was announced....because laptops were just fine in bed....:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

It's truly sad.
 
Obviously you don't know what you are talking about. There is no way in the world you could want one because, as we are told daily by the angry negativrazzi, the iPad doesn't have Flash, doesn't have a camera, doesn't have a media slot, doesn't have OS X, and is well, just a big junky, overpriced iPod Touch that Apple is making way too much money on and totally screwing up the chances of world peace. As such its 99.9% impossible that anyone would find an iPad useful, desireable, or affordable. [/sarc]
Click to expand...
+100

Honestly, I just sold my MBP in anticipation of getting my hands on an iPad day one. iMac + iPad + iPhone (currently with tethering) will get the job done quite nicely for me.
 
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