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What's your typical iPad usage?

What's your iPad typical usage?

  • Total voters
    79
  • Poll closed .
Bought it for just reading law school text books and (badly) scanned PDF's.
Ended up with both iPP's and use them for 99% of my work and study. And (very) occasional R&R.
I would have chosen all and added some more choices :)

Have an iPad Mini without screen that I login to with Jump Desktop for the last 1%.
 
Close to laptop replacement but I am not leaving my MacBook Pro just yet. iPad always with me 24 a day. It does everything what MacBook does that I use all the times - Browsing, light gaming, email, FaceTime/iMessage, and watch movies. :)
 
I voted "OTHER"

I use it for everything work, home and hobbies.

Productivity
Writing Lessons
Keynote for presentations
iMovie for the occasional video I have to create.
Emailing clients, parents and volunteers
Reminders and things 3 (formally used 2Do)
iCal

Hobbies
Procreate for drawing

Of course I use it for the standard web surfing, Netflix, etc.
 
joeblow7777 said:
My preference is Kobo, actually, but all dedicated ereaders have the same inherent advantages.

Firstly, e-ink is MUCH more pleasant to read text off of for hours at a time. An iPad with its backlit LCD display is like reading off a computer screen, which most people will agree is not great to do you hours on end. E-ink is basically just like looking at paper. Battery life is way better since e-ink displays also use no power to keep an image on screen, and they require very little processing power. You can use a Kindle/Kobo every day for weeks or even months before it needs to be recharged. An iPad will be dead in a couple of days if you read frequently. Most ereaders are also more portable, even when compared to an iPad Mini, but the displays are still large enough to be comparable to a paperback book. Basically it all comes down to the fact that ereaders are made specifically for one task, reading text. iPads and other tablets are obviously much more versatile, but they can't beat a Kindle or Kobo in the one task that they were designed for. It's just like how iPads or iPhones make really good cameras that will be good enough for most people, but they can't beat dedicated cameras. But these days most people just want one do-it-all device, so they will use an iPad as an ereader. Not me though. I'll gladly use my Kobo Aura for reading books and iPad Mini 4 for everything else.
Click to expand...

What about true tone? I would have thought that would have levelled the playing field.
 
Legendts said:
What about true tone? I would have thought that would have levelled the playing field.
Click to expand...

I haven't used it, but regardless, it's still a backlit LCD screen. I don't see how that can be as easy on the eyes as e-ink, and it certainly doesn't help it compare in power usage/battery life.
 
Nice poll however a couple of suggestions:
  • email needs to be in more than one category - I use it for personal but not work email
  • PC alternative should be replaced with one or two categories - what I do on mine I also do on a PC. It is not a PC alternative though for me. I'll filter and mark for followup but generally do not create or reply.
 
I use my ipad mostly for:

Emails (both personal and communication for work/freelance work)
Games
Netflix while relaxing or doing work on a computer
Reading Blogs
Drawing/coloring
Travel computer
Do almost all of my texting on my ipad because it's much faster with a keyboard.
 
I use the iPad Pro 12.9 inch all day long. In addition to email and web browsing I watch videos from iTunes U. Sometimes I'll follow along with lessons on the MacBook Pro while watching the lesson on the iPad. This works well for the programming lessons. At conferences I take notes on the iPad and give presentations with it via Keynote. I'm not at all artistic, but I do a fair amount of sketching with the Pencil and Concepts. In the lab I sketch notes about samples while taking data, at home I sketch out ideas for various things.

The camera is ok. I sometimes use it to grab a photo of some small object just to document it. This is faster than using a different camera and transferring that to the iPad later. I sometimes take pictures of the screen of the windows pic I'm using to document bugs. Ugly but gets the job done.

I don't see the iPad as a laptop replacement so much as a great laptop amplifier.
 
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appleuserfan said:
I'm curios to know what's your common usage of your iPad: for office suite? "Digital" agenda? Second screen?
Let's try to understand the most common iPad usage!
Click to expand...

(1) PDF reader and book reader
(2) Tracking attendance and participation in the classroom (I teach)
(3) Dungeon Master's tool for playing role-playing games (project maps, dice-rolling replacement apps, database of characters, encounters, and monsters in Filemaker Go).
(4) For iPad pro, drawing and sketching, artwork in leisure time.
 
Last edited:
Collecting dust.

I use my desktop / laptop when I want to do real work.

I use my Kindle Paperwhite as a reader.

I use my iPod Touch 6 for everything when not near my computers.
 
Plutonius said:
Collecting dust.

I use my desktop / laptop when I want to do real work.

I use my Kindle Paperwhite as a reader.

I use my iPod Touch 6 for everything when not near my computers.
Click to expand...
Why am touch? No iPhone/Galaxy/other?
 
alecgold said:
Why am touch? No iPhone/Galaxy/other?
Click to expand...

Most areas I'm at have WiFi and my car has a built in navigation system (i.e. no need for a smartphone). I use a Samsung flip phone configured as an AT&T go phone (prepay $100 for 1000 minutes (expires in a year) with no monthly plan). The iPod Touch 6 is a great device if you don't need a cell connection.
 
Plutonius said:
Most areas I'm at have WiFi and my car has a built in navigation system (i.e. no need for a smartphone). I use a Samsung flip phone configured as an AT&T go phone (prepay $100 for 1000 minutes (expires in a year) with no monthly plan). The iPod Touch 6 is a great device if you don't need a cell connection.
Click to expand...
flipphones, I remember my razr :) But I have to say live would be more difficult without my smartphone.

But the $100 for 1000 minutes seems like a really expensive thing?

I have a "monthly" plan (I can stop it every month) and pay €28 for unlimited minutes and SMS's (how much do you need of those) and I have 20Gb of data. And it's on the best network we have. Then I also have two sim's with just 2Gb data each for my iPP's, also with a monthly plan costing €15.
But the thing is, I can re-allocate data from my phone to my iPP's if I need. I never used more then 2 or 3 Gb on my phone, so the remains I can use on my ipads.

It's a big advantage for me, working with 4G enabled iPP's; my data keeps synchronized even when I'm on the road. Without the hassle of tethering (I have cursed a lot about that feature when it didn't want to work.
 
Kcetech1 said:
read the news and do facebook on it now and then ..... to be honest im not sure why I keep it.
Click to expand...

eviljack said:
Before I got my Kindle, my iPad mini was my main ereader. Now it sits gathering dust.
Click to expand...

Exactly my situation. Bought one back in the days thinking it will help me to relax on the sofa at the end of the day but it just gathers dust now. No use at all in my life.
 
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joeblow7777 said:
My preference is Kobo, actually, but all dedicated ereaders have the same inherent advantages.

Firstly, e-ink is MUCH more pleasant to read text off of for hours at a time. An iPad with its backlit LCD display is like reading off a computer screen, which most people will agree is not great to do you hours on end. E-ink is basically just like looking at paper. Battery life is way better since e-ink displays also use no power to keep an image on screen, and they require very little processing power. You can use a Kindle/Kobo every day for weeks or even months before it needs to be recharged. An iPad will be dead in a couple of days if you read frequently. Most ereaders are also more portable, even when compared to an iPad Mini, but the displays are still large enough to be comparable to a paperback book. Basically it all comes down to the fact that ereaders are made specifically for one task, reading text. iPads and other tablets are obviously much more versatile, but they can't beat a Kindle or Kobo in the one task that they were designed for. It's just like how iPads or iPhones make really good cameras that will be good enough for most people, but they can't beat dedicated cameras. But these days most people just want one do-it-all device, so they will use an iPad as an ereader. Not me though. I'll gladly use my Kobo Aura for reading books and iPad Mini 4 for everything else.
Click to expand...

Absolutely nailed it. Since I've bought the kindle, I don't even try to read anything on the iPad.
 
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akash.nu said:
Absolutely nailed it. Since I've bought the kindle, I don't even try to read anything on the iPad.
Click to expand...
What is the appeal of the kindle, what makes it better for your use when compared to the ipad line-up?
AFAIK it's cheaper, not unimportant in itself, but you have both, so in using them that is hardly a consideration, I guess?!
 
alecgold said:
flipphones, I remember my razr :) But I have to say live would be more difficult without my smartphone.

But the $100 for 1000 minutes seems like a really expensive thing?

I have a "monthly" plan (I can stop it every month) and pay €28 for unlimited minutes and SMS's (how much do you need of those) and I have 20Gb of data. And it's on the best network we have. Then I also have two sim's with just 2Gb data each for my iPP's, also with a monthly plan costing €15.
But the thing is, I can re-allocate data from my phone to my iPP's if I need. I never used more then 2 or 3 Gb on my phone, so the remains I can use on my ipads.

It's a big advantage for me, working with 4G enabled iPP's; my data keeps synchronized even when I'm on the road. Without the hassle of tethering (I have cursed a lot about that feature when it didn't want to work.
Click to expand...

You have to remember it's the US we are talking about :). The 1000 minutes usually last me at least 4 months which makes it about $25.00 / month. T-Mobile has some great smart phone plans but the coverage is terrible where I need it some of the time so I either need AT&T or Verizon which cost more. The 1000 minutes for $100.00 prepay (no monthly plan) is by far the cheapest way for me.

[doublepost=1496229972][/doublepost]
alecgold said:
What is the appeal of the kindle, what makes it better for your use when compared to the ipad line-up?
Click to expand...

Have you tried a Kindle Paperwhite ? I have both an iPad Mini and a Kindle Paperwhite and I would never consider reading on the iPad if my Kindle is at hand. The Kindle is much lighter, you can easily read it in the brightest sunlight or dark, and the battery last a long time between charges.
 
alecgold said:
What is the appeal of the kindle, what makes it better for your use when compared to the ipad line-up?
AFAIK it's cheaper, not unimportant in itself, but you have both, so in using them that is hardly a consideration, I guess?!
Click to expand...

For me the appeal of kindle is portability, convenience & the superior e ink technology for prolonged reading. A LCD display can never match that. My eyes don't feel tired even after being on the kindle for hours. In fact on my last trip to Australia I literally finished 2 novels back to back.
 
Legendts said:
Seeing as we are off topic can you transfer iBooks to a Kindle?
Click to expand...

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Unless you buy a book that provides all the other formats for free.
 
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