So you're going to buy an iPad, but... why?

[master-ceo]

I been collecting .pdf magazines/comics for years now. I will soon have a place to store all of them and access them on demand. Yeah, I'm seeing the light.

I have a lot of music gear that I'm still learning and most of the manuals are in .pdf, which will also get alot of use.

 

[EchoAdmin]

I'm going to have to wait on this apple product I learned from the 2g iPhone thats freezing cold in the winter sitting in my pocket, with only its 2g capabilities... I'll wait for the 2nd version, which I hope for the iPad,will have a much smaller bezel with some more I/O ports

 

[3N16MA]

I meant you aren't going to get multitasking! (oh my, reading comprehension failure, even after I quoted the salient part of your post...)

I'm responding to this pretty late but since you can't even insult the right person I thought I might as well.

Thanks Steve, I did not know you posted on MacRumors. Now that you have confirmed that I am not getting multitasking on the iPad I will make sure I give you my answers to your questions within the next 24 hours. I love how you can see into the future and know what is going to happen.

The next time you want to throw a lame insult at someone try directing it towards the right person smartass. I think I might quote your little prediction so that when the day Apple announces multitasking on the iPad I can get a little chuckle. If you ever read this and feel the need to comb through my post and pick out grammar and spelling mistakes so you can muster up another lame insult please feel free. Just try directing it towards me next time.

 

[calderone]

Zing!

It took me a second to realize what the heck he was talking about. Once I did, I had a laugh.

 

[ss957916]

Well, I've read through all nine pages! Thanks for all your input.

But I STILL can't see why I would buy an iPad. As I said, I'm very lucky that £1,000 is nothing to me, so I could get any one of the iPads that I want.

However, even though the money is not an issue, I know that if I get one I'll simply never use it: my iPhone is more portable (and makes calls, MMS, SMS, takes photos etc.) and my MBP is not massively bigger than the iPad but has ALL my applications, is much easier to type on, allows me to share any files with others, lets me use Photoshop etc. etc.

I'm going to HATE seeing other people with the iPad as I love to be the first with new tech. I'm also concerned that, like the MBA and Apple TV, the iPad won't really sell very well so it'll become another Apple hobby and the updates will be few and far between and with little impact.

 

[Heliconsoul]

I was all set to buy one. Until I found out the iBook app is not available outside of the US (I'm from the UK).

What a great move, taking away one of it's key features from the international market. Bravo.

Now I won't buy one until they release the ebooks feature internationally.

 

[steve-p]

I was all set to buy one. Until I found out the iBook app is not available outside of the US (I'm from the UK).

What a great move, taking away one of it's key features from the international market. Bravo.

Now I won't buy one until they release the ebooks feature internationally.

It probably will be there once they get the publishing agreements set up to allow you to buy books. However, its omission on the grounds of not being able to buy books at launch raises the question of whether it will actually be possible to open any ebooks in iBook that don't come from the iTunes store.

 

[Lindat]

UK books

Are there not already apps in the app store anyway to download lots of books while we wait for the publishing rights for the ibook store? There are already thousands of books available in the app store, so personally, that'll do me for now. I am in UK also.

 

[jongriff]

I am the proud owner of a 15-inch MacBook Pro & an iPhone & I think the iPad will fit in perfectly in between both these devices for me. It seems the majority of people on here seem to be wholeheartedly underwhelmed by the iPad but for me it's the perfect device for my needs and here's why.

I'm a med student & spend most of my time in hospital. I can't take my MacBook Pro with me because it is too heavy & cumbersome to carry on the wards, I can't leave it anywhere as there is a distinct lack of secure places to leave it and I can't even use it unless I sit down at a desk anyway.

I can use my iPhone every so often to look things up but it is very often inappropriate to be using a phone in the clinical environment, especially on a device that has a camera. It also has a very small screen that is only useful for web-browsing & some email, it certainly isn't good enough to do anything productive.

The iPad fits the gap here perfectly. I can hold it walking around the wards, using it discreetly, especially with an accessory like this one. I won't have to leave it anywhere because it is portable enough to hold all the time. I can have many of my reference text books with me as well as my notes that I have written in Pages with the ability to edit them & create new ones. If I find myself with an hour to spare in the day I can browse the web & do emails more pleasantly than on the iPhone as well as read a newspaper or a novel, study with my textbooks, write up notes, watch a film or TV, listen to music, play great games etc etc etc. All this without the need for a power adapter throughout the day (hopefully!!!).

I can appreciate the negatives for many although they don't bother me at all. I've been using my MBP & iPhone for years & have never needed the camera on either, I've certainly never done a webcam chat. I can see the multitasking problem but if it allows me to have better battery life then great, it's not gonna stop me doing anything, it'll just require a couple of extra clicks/touches. I would be surprised if it didn't end up as a feature eventually anyway (although knowing Apple I'm sure it will take a while!). Yeh you get blocks on webpages sometimes on the iPhone where Flash is missing but I couldn't really care less, it's never even remotely bothered me. I'm lucky I guess!

To the OP, I feel sorry for you if you can't relate to this because I am very excited about getting my hands on one as I am going to get a hell of a lot of use out of it (I'm gonna get the 64GB Wifi version btw). Maybe you will change your mind when you play with one in the store, or at the very least see how some people may think it's a great bit of kit?

 

[M. Andersen]

Well, to me the iPad is just a large iPhone, and I already have one.
Except the iPad, as far as I currently know, is different in the ways that it is stronger than the iPhone and one thing I totally love is that iWorks is coming for it. I would have loved if iWork could come with a pen-use in Pages, so you could actually use the iPad for taking notes in school, using an "iPen" instead of the nice onscreen keyboard, but it would require Pages to be able to convert your handwritten letters into computer fonts. Would not be that hard, but will it sell?

In any case I would be interested in using the iPad in school and on the go in trains, even though I do own a nice Macbook pro.
The iPad is more of a transportable computer than the iPhone, which to me makes the big difference. I predict a bright future for the iPad. Having worked in a bookstore for some years I give it more credit as to the future of eBooks.
Carrying around a heavy book on the train or on your journey will be made so much more comfortable when you have your book collection in your under 1kg heavy iPad. A small problem with eBooks on screen is the brightness of the page, which can be dealt with using a more matt paper background than the usual white on computer screens, more relaxing for the eye.

I would love to own an iPad, but I will wait for now.
Say it did in a few years come with a cam in the front, so you could use it for messenger programs, my favorite being iChat.
I do not know if it can now, but if not, then add the ability for Pages and Numbers to print using either WiFi printer or a USB cable. See now you have a full computer for everything; well at least for the most common day to day tasks. And with all those Apps, even more fun.
So to me the iPad lacks at least one thing for now, a build-in iSight, mic not needed, you get the same head set as for the iPhone.
And to top that an iChat App please
Last, if it is not already in it, the ability to print. As you have already made a nice dock with keyboard, why not go that one step further...

In closing, I will probably only consider buying an iPad once there is an iSight build into it and hopefully an iChat App on AppStore.
So if you have those and Pages can print, then it only need to be able to use internet banking and I would buy one for my mom, unless I already bought her an iMac for her upcoming 50 year birthday. Bringing her into the Mac family as well, sad is that her accountancy program does not work with Mac unless I install Windows on it, and no way in hell I will infect it.

 

[greygray]

Well, to me the iPad is just a large iPhone.

No. The iPad cannot make calls despite having 3G. (The 3G version) The iPad is more of an oversized iPod touch.

 

[Lesser Evets]

I'm buying because I really loathe the laptop for mobile computing. When on the road I don't need to do a ton of things: browsing, chatting, email, write letters, write documents, do spread sheets, show off photos, watch movies, listen to music.

The iPad should do all these well and have a nice form which is easy to use. My iPT is annoying to spend more than 15 minutes using for typing and it's too small for comfortable internet browsing. That device is like a car stereo, emergency browsing/info device. It's not comfortable for long use.

This is also lighter than a laptop, thinner than a laptop, better battery life than a laptop. It's all pluses so far, for me.

 

[M. Andersen]

No. The iPad cannot make calls despite having 3G. (The 3G version) The iPad is more of an oversized iPod touch.

Oh, did I forget to mention that, well I guessed people could figure that out themselves.
Anyway, if you add an iSight and a messenger App, then you can use it for communication. Yes it is larger than the iPhone, and it will not work like a mobile-phone, but it is a measure of communication and that is what is important.

Think future.

And for those of you who feel like saying "Then why not just add an iSight to the iPhone?". Sure I do not mind that way of thinking, but right now I am talking iPad future.

 

[meagain]

Have: 27" i7 iMac, iPhone 3GS, Air

I'm selling the Air. I don't need an iPad to convert video, crunch expansive spreadsheets, etc. I have an iMac to do that.

I'm getting an iPad because:

1. I only do light duty on my laptop. It's overkill.
2. Instant on vs. booting lappy. Not to mention multi-touch.
3. Portability. Grab, toss in kitchen, read recipe, etc. Vacations, airplane, outside in garden, in bed, etc. Instant on, super easy.
4. Reading articles/websites/forums and typing on iPhone basically sucks.
5. My perfect 'Carputer' (nav)
6. NO SQUINTING

I've no clue why people essentially expected this to be an iMac in tablet form.

 

[steve-p]

Have: 27" i7 iMac, iPhone 3GS, Air

I'm selling the Air. I don't need an iPad to convert video, crunch expansive spreadsheets, etc. I have an iMac to do that.

I'm liking the idea of lots of secondhand Airs coming up for sale at the same time, lowering the prices

 

[meagain]

LOL I know!

 

[Scorpio12345]

Here is the answer for your stylus / note taking needs. Drawing needs as well.

http://tenonedesign.com/sketch.php

Any drawing app will do, but I'm sure you'll get the traditional yellow lined notebook looking apps. If not, I'm learning how to program for the thing and I'll write one myself.

Now, the only thing I'm hoping the developer community comes up with is some sort of inkwell / handwriting recognition so the data you write with a stylus can be searchable. If not, well, it's still much better than a notebook and pen.

That's exactly what I was looking for!! Good integration of that with the tablet and you have a winner for students everywhere...

Now, there NEEDS to be a way of annotating PDF files, which is how most lectures work in the UK (not sure about the US). A search on the App Store brings up an app called "Aji Annotate PDF". If the dev is able to make it more functional for the iPad, i'd actually really consider the iPad. Perfection would be integration with iWork...

What's really been scaring me away from netbooks is the speed.. I'm really impatient, even when my Macbook Pro 15" starts to slow down a little under heavy use. This looks like it shouldn't have that problem.

Now about that multi-touch and flash....................... Sort us out jailbreakers!

 

[chwhale]

...As stated above I think the product is good I just think it is being marketed incorrectly. It is not revolutionary, it is simply a bigger version of something we already have with iwork now included. I think if apple had given a bigger nod to that fact there would be less criticism. Think about it, how many of you learned anything from Steves demo?. He even said it himself, you already know how to work it so why are they also telling us it is revolutionary??

I agree completely. Apple needs to stop marketing everything they do as "revolutionary". Had they tempered expectations more and told people that this would be a great ebook reader, not as many people would have been disappointed. I, for one, wouldn't be as disappointed in a product that is more ipod than macbook.

 

[djp2]

I'm getting an iPad because:

1. I only do light duty on my laptop. It's overkill.
2. Instant on vs. booting lappy. Not to mention multi-touch.
3. Portability. Grab, toss in kitchen, read recipe, etc. Vacations, airplane, outside in garden, in bed, etc. Instant on, super easy.
4. Reading articles/websites/forums and typing on iPhone basically sucks.

Exactly. A 13" MBP, while relatively small and portable, is not as convenient for lugging around as it may seem. For me, the best solution will be to have a true desktop computer at home (say, a 21.5" iMac), and an iPad for when I want a computer on the road. When I want to go really light, I'll just use my iPhone. No need for a laptop.

 

[SeattleMoose]

Really Does Fill A Need.....Here

Last night I went to my Mom's place to do some repair work for her. She is 74 and I was flabbergasted that she asked me "are you gonna get one of those new iPad things?". Then she said that she was going to buy one because her iMac requires that she sit in front of it and move a mouse. She prefers to recline as much as possible (e.g. couch). She immediately was able to visualize how this device will allow her more freedom around the house while keeping the main "stash" of media files on her iMac.

For me, I was thinking about plunking down $200 for a digital photo frame and picking up a Kindle. While the display of the Kindle may be better for prolonged print viewing, I typically read as a prelude to sleep and so 30 minutes is about tops for me. Plus, since I have already a MBP this is a much more convenient way to move from room to room and bring my media entertainment with me. The iBooks store is one I will definitely be using as I am an avid reader but am tired of an ever growing collection of heavy and space-taking books.

I could care less about flash and the 30 pin connector IS also a USB interface so you can expect 3rd party developers to exploit the USB interface. I don't need a camera coz my MBP already has one and I have a dedicated camera also.

And then there is the "touch pad" aspect of the device. I like this a LOT more than having a mouse to deal with and drag around with me. Using a mouse requires a lot of movement (have never tried "Magic" mouse and now....probably never will) that this device will minimize...less wear and tear on hands and arms.

For my Mom and me, this is just a "detachable screen" that we can easily carry around the house while enjoying digital media based around our Mac "hubs". For people like us, this is a home run.

I think this device will also help finish what laptops have started....no more knapsacks full of big weighty textbooks for students.

I recognize that this device does not fill the needs of everyone. Luckily we have so many choices for computers and gadgets to fill all our individual needs.

 

[Importroller]

I view the Ipad as an oversized Touch, with nothing worth the price tag on it. Would you buy a tv or computer or any large $ item with plans that it will be an investment 2 years from now, when you get it now and it doesnt do anything worth the price you paid? Not likely. Technology is outdated very quickly so this is by no means an investment. its a fad thing which is very overpriced. Its an ipod touch for the visually impared

I didn't feel like retyping what my response was on another thread, so i just copied and pasted it