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Understanding the iPad... what do everyone use their iPad for?

N

nutsnbolts

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 11, 2008
312
0
Ok, I finally went out and got myself a 64GIG Wifi+3G and 32GIG Wifi iPad.

I currently have an iPhone(JB) and been thoroughly happy with all the apps that are at my fingertips (literally).

Upon being impressed at the iPad (at least at the Apple store), when I took it home and tried adapting the apps that I had on my iPhone, I realized that there are iPhone Apps and there are iPad Apps. This was really no surprise to me and I knew this to be the case but I guess I didn't take into consideration that although the iPhone apps will work on the iPad, in reality, you won't really get the true experience on the iPad because it was made smaller on the iPhone.

Is it a good assumption that it's just a matter of time... that I have to wait till they port apps (in general) to the iPad?

I don't want to say I'm disappointed with the purchase but I guess it would have been nicer if i can go to the app store, choose an app or find an app and know that I have a plethora of apps at my fingertips that is "optimized for iPad"

Now the final question, what do you guys use the iPad for other than browsing/email.
 
I agree that iPhone apps are completely unacceptable on the iPad. I deleted all of mine immediately, and only use native iPad apps.

There's an entire iPad section to the App store, and the selection is already pretty good. What apps are you missing?

Streaming TV shows over Netflix has been my biggest unplanned use. It's a great experience.
 
Most of the apps that I have on my iPhone are not needed on the iPad. Because of the bigger screen, now I just use the actual web sites, and the web sites are often better than even the iPad apps for those sites.
 
nutsnbolts said:
Now the final question, what do you guys use the iPad for other than browsing/email.
Click to expand...

Another way to ask the question is this: What do people who have ANY type of computing device (iMac, PC Desktop, Macbooks, PC notebooks, netbooks) do besides browsing/emailing.

I call it the 80% rule. 80% of people primarily do internet/emailing on a daily basis. That's what I do. I'm sure that's what you do most of the time. Sure there are those few times, I need to update my Quickbooks, scan stuff in, use Adobe Acrobat Professional, Use Word Processing. I have my iMac for those purposes. But my iPad consumes most of my email/internet surfing.

As for iphone apps on the iPad. Yes, I find it very strange to use iphone apps on my ipad because the iPad's screen is so big. But it works. I can check my BOA, AMEX, Mint.com iphone apps on my iPad. You are right, iPad optimized apps are the way to go. They are beautiful. The iPad Zenio magazine app (while kinda of quirky) is the future of iPad apps for magazines. The weather HD iPad app works great also. And I love my Goodreader iPad app.
 
Portable streaming is a great experience. Remote server administration from anywhere without the clunkieness of a notebook is great as well.
 
Besides browsing the web and emailing, I...
- download and read magazines, books
- annotate pdf documents
- steam and watch TV shows and movies,
- give presentations with keynote,
- play games made for iPad,
- save important files in protected folders
- record meetings (voice) and take notes
- texting
 
Besides browsing/email, I:

Use an app to ssh into and manage a remote server
Read ebooks
Read articles in GoodReader
Watch tv shows and other video
Manage my schedule
GPS
Listen to music using iPod app and Pandora
Take notes at meetings
 
silverblack said:
Besides browsing the web and emailing, I...
- download and read magazines, books
- annotate pdf documents
- steam and watch TV shows and movies,
- give presentations with keynote,
- play games made for iPad,
- save important files in protected folders
- record meetings (voice) and take notes
- texting
Click to expand...

How do you text from the iPad?
 
nutsnbolts said:
Ok, I finally went out and got myself a 64GIG Wifi+3G and 32GIG Wifi iPad...

Now the final question, what do you guys use the iPad for other than browsing/email.
Click to expand...

We're finding it useful in ways we didn't necessarily expect. For example, we were out last night at happy hour at a nice place in DC. Someone else had the wine list and I was curious. So, rather than waiting to get the bartender's attention, we whipped out the iPad and downloaded the restaurants wine list. Having the iPad out actually did get his attention.

Many of the ways that we're using the iPad aren't that different from a smart phone, but the extra screen size is very useful. And the data plan is cheaper.

BB
 
Battlestar said:
Portable streaming is a great experience. Remote server administration from anywhere without the clunkieness of a notebook is great as well.
Click to expand...
This. I admin some 500 computers, all windows networks... This device allows me to remote admin any and all workstations and servers quite effectively. Between Wyse rdp (hands down the best rdp client I've used) and logmein i am like a pig in poop.
 
Scott-n-Houston said:
But anyone texting me would have to text to a new location (not my iPhone #). I don't want to have to update everyone on where to text me... and I don't have my iPad 100% of the time like my phone.

How do you deal with that?
Click to expand...

I'm interested if there's a way to do that as well. The only way I can think is to use google voice, but that would only work if you didn't mind changing your number to the google voice number.
 
I'm sorry to say and I was wishing that it was more than this...

The iPad is ONE BIG iPhone.

Hahaha...seriously. I hate to say that and everyone mocks me for it but aside from the larger screen size, it's a huge iPhone.

Granted, iPad specific apps will allow you to get more and experience more but I mean it not revolutionary.

Yes, Bigger is better and it probably would allow you to do more things that you were not able to do on the iPhone because it was too small but it isn't something that you couldn't do already either.

IMO, the people who benefits from this are people who reads books, surf and email.

All the other APPS are just "extra stuff". If you think about it, the iPad is a device that made things larger and gave you a hardware that can store APPS. I think when the iPhone first came out, I don't think they thought the appstore would blow up like this. I'm sure this is what they hoped for...

Now with the iPad, it's now a device to play around with your APPS in light of how successful the Appstore has become.

Unfortunately, iPhone apps has to be ported into iPad apps.

But back to my main point, it's for book readers, internet surfers and emailers.

I know, some are going to say, it keeps track of my calendar or watch movies or use it for "photographic" needs.

For one the calendar is not robust enough, yes you can sync but realistically, PocketInformant is what I am waiting for...

Secondly, movies? The hassle of converting and getting it into the iPad is a pain, if you download it, the time it takes to download and the battery life (although pretty good), I don't think is built to make it last several movies. I may be expecting too much but yeah, it is what it is.

Lastly, for photographic needs? To show off your portfolio. Yes, beautiful screen, so little room. 64 GIGS?!?!? I can fill that in 15 minutes of photo shoot. LOL

This is not a rant or rave just observations. The more I think of it, it's interesting how our minds work and what drives us to buy the latest and greatest.

I guess I'm trying to convince myself that I made a good buy.
 
Book Reader (no, the iPhone is terrible for that)
Portable Digital Sketchbook (no, the iPhone isn't so good for that)
Magazine Reader (no, the iPhone sucks for that)
HTML editing (no, would hate the iPhone for that)
Taking notes in meetings (now the iPhone would just look stupid for that)
Movies - and it's NOT a pain to convert them (no, teeny tiny movies on iPhone are not a good way to watch)
Photos - Awesome digital portfolio - and 2000 Photos on my iPad takes up less than 10 gigs. (iPhone is okay, but iPad = BETTER!)
Photos - Editing - works nice and is fun (iPhone, not so much, except maybe Hipstamatic).
Web Browsing (sure, iPhone can do it if necessary, but it's not all that fun)
Email (okay, I'll give this one to the iPhone too).
Music (now yes, the iPhone is better for that)


It is NOT just a big iPhone. LOL!
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

If the iPad came before the iPhone I'd bet the complaint would be that it's 'just a small iPad, cramped screen, low res apps etc etc, and it makes calls, I can buy a cheap (insert name)phone for that.'
You know it's true :p
 
Scott-n-Houston said:
Quoting myself... nice.

Found an "App for that".

But anyone texting me would have to text to a new location (not my iPhone #). I don't want to have to update everyone on where to text me... and I don't have my iPad 100% of the time like my phone.

How do you deal with that?
Click to expand...

I use TextPlus. It allows you to register your cell phone # to receive text from there.
 
sassenach74 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

If the iPad came before the iPhone I'd bet the complaint would be that it's 'just a small iPad, cramped screen, low res apps etc etc, and it makes calls, I can buy a cheap (insert name)phone for that.'
You know it's true :p
Click to expand...

+1 LOL
 
nutsnbolts said:
I may be expecting too much but yeah, it is what it is.

The more I think of it, it's interesting how our minds work and what drives us to buy the latest and greatest.
Click to expand...

The problem is how your mind works. Instead of looking at what the iPad CAN do, you choose to focus of what it CANNOT do, and conclude that it is a bad product. With the way you think, nothing is ever good.
 
silverblack said:
The problem is how your mind works. Instead of looking at what the iPad CAN do, you choose to focus of what it CANNOT do, and conclude that it is a bad product. With the way you think, nothing is ever good.
Click to expand...

Read my post again and respond again with something that makes sense.

I didn't focus on anything that it cannot do, I stated that the iPad can do what the iPhone can do and essentially, the only difference is that size of the screen.

With the larger screen, it gives you more room to "play with" and the point I made is that it's not redefining anything new that the iPhone already does.
 
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