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Simple question for iPad owners: do you like it?

5

55test55

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 16, 2009
459
3
I played with an iPad and now im almost positive im getting one. i love how sleek it is. its weird, because i made fun of it before playing with it too, haha. it just seems like its so damn convenient. i already find myself using my laptop less and less since i've got the iphone, and i feel like with an ipad i would use it even less. i'm not rich by any means, but im pretty nerdy and feel like i could make decent use of the ipad.

are there any initial problems to know about? do people use screen protectors or anything like that? are apps still mostly $0.99? so..

do you like it? worth the $500+?

thanks! any opinions will directly influence what i do!
 
Actually I LOVE it!!!! I haven't had any problems with wifi in my home (and my wifi is at the front of the house and I use it in my bedroom in the back and have never had any problems. Had one hicup with an iBook purchase that resolved itself. Music, movies, etc....have all looked great. I would NEVER give mine up....unless it was to replace it with the latest and greatest version in a year...and then mine will go to my daughter in the hopes of college text books being in an E format. :apple:
 
you should go through and read the threads in the forums. there are a lot of post on what ppl think of the ipad and what problems some find with it, but you should just buy one and try it out yourself
 
Have owned since first day.

Buy if:

You need a reader and are considering something like the Kindle DX. It is a better deal by a factor of 10.
You like to casually surf while watching the tube or elsewhere in the house.
Your kids are entertained with iPhone games.
You love gadgets.

Don't buy if:

You expect to use it for serious computing tasks like typing or word processing. NO mouse support is a deal breaker for serious productivity in word processing. Built-in keyboard is useless for power typers. Must buy add-on keyboard, which I did. However, you can't get over the fact you can't use a mouse. Cannot print directly to a printer.

Your web usage is hardcore: your kids use the myriad of flash game sites, you frequent sites that use Flash (You may not even know which ones won't work until you own an Ipad, for example www.equifax.com uses flash), you are a power web surfer (Touch does not give you the web surfing control that a mouse does, regardless of what anyone may tell you), click accuracy, navigation behavior not the same, et cetera.
 
Love it

I never go an Iphone but I had an Ipod touch. When I first saw the unveiling video, I told myself I would NEVER get one because it was just a big Ipod touch.

I love apple products but I just couldnt see myself spending so much an a giant ipod touch.

I got an unexpected bonus from work and so after going to the apple store and using it a few times, I decided to get it and return it if I did not need it.

For the first two days, I felt guilty for not putting the $650 in my savings (got the 32 gig)... but the more and more I used it, the more my love for it completely elminated any incling of buyers remorse!

As stated above: This is not for heavy work! I see it as my favorite entertainment device on which I could be somewhat productive if I have to.

Once you have an ipad, you will realize how much time it takes to wake a computer (windows xp) up from sleep just to check the score of basketball game or track a package that is being sent to you. You will realize how heavy a laptop feels on your lap when you are sitting in front of the TV and need to to some web browsing... And you will also find yourself wondering why you never made more time to read books, or comics, or even play video games before you purchased the Ipad...

When I got it, I forced myself to download books and videos etc in order to justify why I had paid for it... Now I just find myself having fun with it all the time!!

And all these benefits are from the comfort of your own home.. The benefits of taking a road trip with one of these babies on your lap are too many to name! (I took a 6 hour bus ride but the bus was equiped with wifi... i also have a palm pre that does mobile hotspot for free so i technically have a 3g ipad without having to pay apple and att more of my hard earned cash)...

All in all.. the device is awesome!! Will you love it as much as I do?? I hope so.. because it is fun and exciting to have a shiny new toy!! And im sure developers will keep it shiny and new for a while to come once they shift their focus to optimizing apps for the ipad!

Apps are more expensive than on a phone... but you can still find some great free ones too!! My favorite apps all cost between $0 and $1 so I'm not complaning...

Havent experienced too many wifi issues.. i have been kicked off my wifi network maybe 5 times in 2 weeks... but thats about it.. and that might have more to do with the fact that my english mastiff chewed on the model cable the week before I got my ipad..

Accessories are EEXXPEEENSIIIVEEE!!! And the device is so beautiful that you will want to keep it that way!!! Even if it means dropping another $100+

I got: neoprene sleeve ($40 at apple store), belkin vue case ($50 at apple store), and SGP Anti Glare screen film ($30 after shipping)... and im still considering a timbuk2 messenger back which will run me close to another $100...

If you have the money.. do it and dont feel bad about it... you can give it a trial run like I did.. and if you are happy with it, keep it! if not, sell it on ebay or craigslist or return it and pay the restocking fee..

Sorry this was so long! but hey, you asked for my opinion!!!
 
You will get over the sleekness factor quickly once you start using it. Their is a lot of productivity apps and other things that make the iPad so very useful. I use it quite a bit for things I wanted to use the iPod touch for like cr eating documents. It's an awesome device, that I find to be extremely useful.
 
I told myself I was not going to get one. Made the mistake of handling one for a few minutes and then saw its potential. Not for everyone and not for everything but a terrific first generation product.

The Good

* Extremely well designed, crafted, and integrated. A real joy to hold and use
* Well built, lightweight, and terrific battery life
* A gorgeous crisp, clear, bright, and accurate touch screen
* Works, connects, and syncs just like an iPhone or iPod Touch
* Will run just about any existing iPhone/iPod Touch application (but at original small size or a 2x size with grainy looking resolution)
* Great for couch surfing even with its lack of FLASH (many popular FLASH heavy sites seem to recognize it and manage to present a good experience without flash)
* Great eBook reader (via iBook or Kindle) and Magazine reader (via Zino). Not quite as good as the Kindle's eInk screen for long text reading sessions but fine for shorter sessions and wins hands down for graphical and color content. I still prefer the Kindle business model and do most of my reading in the Kindle app rather than the Apple iBook app.
* Decent personal email and Calandar (but no Exchange integration so no good for work)
* Great Multimedia platform for viewing pictures, movies, listening to music, and playing games.

The Bad

* Closed system requiring a computer running iTunes to activate, maintain, and backup the iPad.
* Closed system with limited interoperability with other devices (external storage, printers, scanners etc)
* Closed system with no readily accessible file system so makes sharing files inconvenient and inconsistent across applications.

The Ugly

* This is a first generation device, so expect gaps in functionality, the odd glitch, and a lot of waiting for fixes and enhancements to both the firmware and software.
* Native software is very limited, much of it is very unpolished or has significant gaps at this point, and a lot of it is just not very good.
* Accessories are limited in availability and , priced high, and often not very well designed or implemented.
 
I loved it at first. As the days passed by I was using it and liking it less and less. It really depends on what you are using It for.

I bought it mainly as an ebook reader but I prefer the kindle screen. I also used the Internet but the safari reload with multiple tabs drove me nuts. Hopefully an update can fix this. Overall I couldn't justify this between my laptop and my iPhone.
 
I love it.

The only thing I hate is the app hunt. But if devs keep coming with that heat i'm good.

My iPad is becoming more magical day by day.

see the app thread.
 
I've only had mine for three days but I haven't been able to put the thing down! It just feels so right in your hands and is a joy to use. I don't regret buying it for a second and it cost me a lot to import it! I love the magazine apps available and web browsing for me is fantastic. I even think the on screen keyboard is pretty good too as I wasn't expecting it to be all that at all. Overall I'm really impressed with it and my wife may have to prise it out of my fingers to get some attention soon :)
 
Superb device

Brought to uk from new york 3 weeks ago. Haven't been able to put it down since. Managed to load quite a few apps with my us itunes account.

In my opinion it's as magical as steevie boy told us
If you can afford one and if you can get one then go for it.
I guarantee you won't be disappointed

Andy
 
You are incorrect about the exchange integration. The iPad supports exchange 2003 SP1 and higher.

jimboutilier said:
I told myself I was not going to get one. Made the mistake of handling one for a few minutes and then saw its potential. Not for everyone and not for everything but a terrific first generation product.

The Good

* Extremely well designed, crafted, and integrated. A real joy to hold and use
* Well built, lightweight, and terrific battery life
* A gorgeous crisp, clear, bright, and accurate touch screen
* Works, connects, and syncs just like an iPhone or iPod Touch
* Will run just about any existing iPhone/iPod Touch application (but at original small size or a 2x size with grainy looking resolution)
* Great for couch surfing even with its lack of FLASH (many popular FLASH heavy sites seem to recognize it and manage to present a good experience without flash)
* Great eBook reader (via iBook or Kindle) and Magazine reader (via Zino). Not quite as good as the Kindle's eInk screen for long text reading sessions but fine for shorter sessions and wins hands down for graphical and color content. I still prefer the Kindle business model and do most of my reading in the Kindle app rather than the Apple iBook app.
* Decent personal email and Calandar (but no Exchange integration so no good for work)
* Great Multimedia platform for viewing pictures, movies, listening to music, and playing games.

The Bad

* Closed system requiring a computer running iTunes to activate, maintain, and backup the iPad.
* Closed system with limited interoperability with other devices (external storage, printers, scanners etc)
* Closed system with no readily accessible file system so makes sharing files inconvenient and inconsistent across applications.

The Ugly

* This is a first generation device, so expect gaps in functionality, the odd glitch, and a lot of waiting for fixes and enhancements to both the firmware and software.
* Native software is very limited, much of it is very unpolished or has significant gaps at this point, and a lot of it is just not very good.
* Accessories are limited in availability and , priced high, and often not very well designed or implemented.
Click to expand...
 
Yes, I don't take the macbook anywhere anymore it seems. Especially, since 80-90% of what I do is browse the web, listen to music, and email. So so so much more convenient for these simple functions and the battery last forever.
 
55test55 said:
I played with an iPad and now im almost positive im getting one. i love how sleek it is. its weird, because i made fun of it before playing with it too, haha. it just seems like its so damn convenient. i already find myself using my laptop less and less since i've got the iphone, and i feel like with an ipad i would use it even less. i'm not rich by any means, but im pretty nerdy and feel like i could make decent use of the ipad.

are there any initial problems to know about? do people use screen protectors or anything like that? are apps still mostly $0.99? so..

do you like it? worth the $500+?

thanks! any opinions will directly influence what i do!
Click to expand...

I can't believe you're asking this question here--the epicenter of iPad fandom. Clearly, you've already decided to get one and want reassurance.
 
I adore my iPad. It fits very nicely between my 13" MacBook Pro and my iPhone. They all have their uses.
 
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