Survey shows slab-fondlers are loving their iPads

This is getting a bit like kids arguing...

Reg Post 1 - "IPADS are taking over the world!"

Reg Post 2 - "Nah tablets are a bit useless"

Reg Post 3 - "NEW IPAD OMG fanbois foam at the mouth"

Reg Post 4 - "actually these tables haven't hindered PC growth at all?"

Reg Post 5 - "survey shows fanbois love what they spent money on"

To be honest i am bored with these tablet devices, it reminds me of Yo-Yo's in school! "yeah i had a Pro-Yo it was the shiz"

I will stick to my desktop.... no i wont, yes i will, no i wont, yes i will, no i wont, yes i will, no i wont, yes i will, no i wont, yes i will, no i wont, yes i will.....

Well...

I was sceptical before I tried an iPad borrowed from work, but since using one for a few weeks at home, I'm quite impressed. It makes casual web browsing a more pleasing experience than sitting at a laptop. It's hard to tie down, but it's enjoyable to use.

I've used it on the train too - and battery life is very good - it used under 10% on an hour's journey using WiFi and a few games.

I honestly think it could be the future of computing, for a lot of users (probably not the people on here!) and certainly have a use for everyone else.

I think suggesting that a smartphone can do the same thing is missing the point - the extra screen space makes _all_ the difference - it changes how much apps can show and it changes the way you interact with it.

Email apps

Given that email and web browsing are such important uses for fondleslabs (love that term!), I'm perpetually amazed at how useless the iPad mail client it. The simple lack of a "Select all" option makes such a difference. Google's mail for tablets is a lot better but still lacks features compared with proper mail clients.

Of course, most of these folk are probably using webmail, which works just as well on any browser. Mostly. My personal greatest annoyance is that Lotus Notes (which my company uses) refuses to work at all on the Android tablet browser ("Your browser is not supported"), and offers up only its Lite version on the iPad, which is designed for phones, not tablets.

By all means, offer us what you think will work, but let us make the choice. Just because you haven't heard of our browser doesn't mean it won't work.

What's the point?

Maybe there isn't a point to a iPad, in the same way that there's no real point to HDTV, or 3D, or even caravans come to that. But just because there's a perceived lack of point to these things and a whole lot more, doesn't mean that large numbers of people shouldn't buy and enjoy them.

Like we keep saying here, apparently there's a recession going on. As one of the very lucky ones who's not been troubled by it all it's worked in my favour; prices dropping on some stuff, no drop in disposable income (went up actually do to additional responsibilities) and therefore when I can next be ar$ed to drop into the Apple shop next time I'm out that way I'll probably get one. Just as a toy. No need to justify it, or worry that it won't be used after 6 weeks. I just fancy one. Can't be bothered to queue or be online at exactly 21:00 trying to get one before they disappear, but I'll have one eventually, when I get round to it.

Finding the right one for me

My wife won't let me near her iPad! I bought one for a giggle for her birthday last year and to her credit she's it almost every day for odds and sods, mainly videos. My little girl is allowed near it but given my tendency to play too much and jailbreak devices I am forbidden to use it!

I find the size of the iPad a little bit bulky for me personally, plus I am pretty cack-handed and have habit of breaking things by accident, so me, an iPad and a tube-train full of people is not a good mix! I have a second hand iPhone 3G and I find that size of device good for my needs most of the time while on the move. I do like the size and feel of the Galaxy Tab I must admit, seems small enough to safe in my hands on a packed train but big enough screen for vids and books.

A lot of traipsing around high-street places trying them out I suppose is my only option.

Work AND play user...

I've got the iPad doing a whole host of things now, some of which the laptop does better but I can do them wherever I want now without carting a laptop about.

- Web site maintenance (note, I know CSS and HTML, it's not a WYSIWYG job)

- Documents (DOC / basic excel)

- Cloud server admin via browser

- email

- trend research and tech updates via twitter, etc

- custom google RSS feeds for job related news

- satnav(!) when required

- kindle and iBooks

- SugarSync for online shared storage

- RDP access to machines via PocketCloud (this works REALLY well)

- Network diagnostics (PING, traceroute, etc plus speedtest.net)

- games

- music production with MIDI / live audio using NanoStudio and GarageBand, plus iAmBeatBox, Soundprism, ...

- Blogger

- A million messaging accounts

- Google analytics for the websites I look after (another excellent app)

- Google tasks via GeeTasksPro (excellent)

- Meeting notes via Infinote (another excellent app)

- Weather and traffic

If you want it to, the iPad can do a serious amount of work. A lot of these applications have had their touch interface interaction thought about really deeply, and as a result they work beautifully, doing a fast job well and with simplicity.

I can't recommend the iPad enough. I've had a brief play with a Galaxy Tab, which was pretty good, but I don't have a lot of experience of other fondleslabs. I'd say they do genuinely have a job to do - like a lot of good new tech (especially during the early adoption phase within society), there's a lot who don't see the point (remember when they said steam trains would asphyxiate people!).

I think the fact that touchscreen single-unit devices have been trying to get a foothold this long and have suddenly taken off is an indicator of a few things - mainly cheaper, better controllers and screens and battery life enhancements, but in the main I suspect the emergence of better UI engineering has much to do with it. This is one area where tablets are kicking the crap out of the old WIMP ideology. Long may it continue.

Never without it

I received my iPad on the day of launch in 2010. There hasn't been a day since where I haven't used it, sometimes for hours, and I spend all day in front of multiple monitors at work.

I don't play games, but I read. A lot. Plus with the iPlayer and web browsing, AirPlay, I can check my security cameras wherever I am ... brilliant. I could do all this with a laptop of course, but I don't need the added weight or the keyboard. The battery life and compact size and weight of the iPad makes it more convenient.

Thumbs up

In a meeting last week, the guy next to me offered to look something up on the web. He had an Asus Netbook. While he was waiting for it to book, I whipped out my iPad and had the information to hand before he even opend his browser!

"Post PC" - but does an iPad require a PC?

So does an iPad require iTunes (and therefore the PC/Mac to run it on)?

I.e., could I give an iPad to someone who has WiFi internet access but nothing capable of running iTunes? (Long story.) Is the device manageable completely on its own after I set it up on my PC first? Presumably firmware updates are done via iTunes, but other than that, can most day-to-day operations be done independently? Apps can be downloaded and installed without access to iTunes?

Thanks for any answers!

What's iTfor?

Still can't figure out how an iPad is a replacement for a computer if you still need that computer to tether to. If it's to use on your lap, then a laptop works great (it's all in the name you know). If it's to use 'in the kitchen' then a smartphone seems to do just fine already... erm, I've run out of possible ways to use a tablet where you couldn't use existing tech more easily.

Until there's one of these 'tablet' devices with a decent amount of processing power to rival the laptops they're supposed to be replacing (and without the need to tether!!!) then they still seem like a very expensive toy to me.

Once they reach that level where they're sporting equal number-crunching abilities to a decent lappy then I'll understand why everyone seems so excited about them. As it is right now, I can always just flick the telly over to the input my media-server machine hooks up to and control it from my phone, or sit there with the laptop or indeed just the phone and do all the same stuff. I already have far far far too many devices, what I really want is FEWER, not more - something to, you know, actually REPLACE at least one or two of them.

4.5 out of 10. Nice try Apple - too early to market for me (a bit like the Newton was... only with better marketing and a more gullible audience this time). I'll come back when I can use it like a computer :)