[Closed] IPAD 2: buying one?

tempting but i think the android competition is worthy of a try if i was buying a tablet.

Not that I'd buy one anyway, way too expensive

Don't expect Android to be that much cheaper. The Motorola Xoom looks great but is £720, which makes the iPad look quite reasonable 😯

That's alright, I'll not be buying either. 😉

I like the way the SingleTrack subscription ad shows the new white iPad already.
[img] [/img]

So as someone that has an iP4, MBP, laptop and PC, do I really need another device? Well, I'm a sucker for "stuff that looks pretty" and can see us forking out for an iPad2 before the year is it. We don't need one, but it sure as hell is one foxy piece of kit.

Pretty spurious reasons for buying something, and proof, not that it was needed, that marketing works, and sure it's you're money and that, but consider this:

NZCol - Member
Thought about it - donated the $ to the earthquake appeal as they need it more than i need an iPad.

Something to think about, maybe...

Something to think about, maybe...

maybe post that on every 'look at my new ibis/yeti/sant-cruz/intense thread....

Could do, could do.

I have a question.

I currently have a Mac Book for personal use. I would really like something light for travelling, and I read a lot of pdfs (especially academic ones).

I had thought about buying an ipad for work, and having a keyboard at my place of work. I would need word processing, net, email, powerpoint and a spreadsheet. Nothing major.

The ipad looked great but then I saw the price!

Is there a £200 tablet that uses windows and will do what I need it to do?

The alternative would be to say have a normal pc at work, and then travel with something like a kindle, but I am not too sure if they can accept any pdf without messing them up.

Any thoughts?

I also want to be as eco friendly as possible, and really do not want to have one for the sake of having the latest thing.

The alternative is to have a second laptop, maybe a VAIO in order to keep all my personal stuff very separate from my work stuff.

Is there a £200 tablet that uses windows and [b]will do what I need it to do?[/b]

Don't be so silly!

Since when did Windoze do [i]anything[/i] you needed it to?? 😆

Well the Mac wireless thingy is absolutely terrible, as is Mac technical support. Shocking. And also PCs work with my video camera without me having to do a PhD in digital movie reformatting to get it all to work! Oh and you can just move a piece of music onto a creative Zen without going through the mare that is itunes.

But then so far I have never had the blue screen of death on my mac, and when you are such an internationally successful writer as I am, that is the main thing worth its weight in gold 😀

Not getting one myself, I do 99% of my Internet browsing on my 3GS, and will continue to do so until it either breaks or the OS updates are no longer being made for it.

Simon have you considered a Windows 7 netbook? They don't take up much space and will probably do more than an iPad if you get one of the new efficient dual core types.

I think the problem for me is reading pdfs in letterbox format, i.e. on a normal laptop. Academic papers are often written in two columns, and an ipad format (as opposed an actual ipad) seems very readable.

I may well investigate a netbook as that could be a good compact compromise. Any models you recommend are welcome (assuming this is not too much of a hijack. I did think about starting a new thread but then people may complain about that as well).

maybe post that on every 'look at my new ibis/yeti/sant-cruz/intense thread....

Woooah woaaah hang on there - bikes are a bit different 😉

We've got a bike race this w/e (karapoti classic) - there's a group of us that race for the prized pink pinny, the slowest rider wears it all evening and is the beer bitch. This year we are also posting publically our secret times and for every minute under its $10 into the pot for ChCh, for every minute OVER its $20. I'm ****ed as my secret time was 2:55 and I'll be lucky to break 3:10 !! Oh well. I look good in pink as well.

Well I have just looked at the promo videos and, after thinking the flappy cover looked daft in the BBC article, changed my mind - great piece of simple design to get around the inherent problem with the device (ie, people want it propped up sometimes).

Still don't want one though. Yet.

LOL @ MrSmith

I want one because they're shiny, but between my IP4 and MBP I'm not sure what I'd use it for but I can see how it would be useful to the likes of MrSmith for the sort of work he does.

I met a guy on a photo weekend a while back who has one. He used it at work for remotely setting-up/calibrating speaker systems at conference venues.

I think they're good if you have it for a particular use; I do not have that use yet.

What's that app called - I can' t find it at the app store.

Ralli - kindles display PDFs fine.

Also worth considering a Sony Vaio P series imo. Tiny teeny laptop - smaller than a netbook or an iPad, but full Windows functionality. Slow, but usable.

Personally I've never felt the need for a tablet. An iPad is too big to have with you all the time, and I've got a smart phone for the real on-the-go stuff. If I am travelling I'll have a bag and I can put the P series in it for next to no extra weight. At home for couch-based surfing I have a laptop.

So.. meh, really.

I think they're good if you have it for a particular use; I do not have that use yet.

+1. Concierge in the hotel I used to stay in had one for checking in guests, calling taxis, bringing up maps for local amenities etc. Useful when you've not got a desk.

TBH I can see a use for them - we are seriously thinking about buying one for our mum for her 70th birthday - she loves looking at the internet to see pictures of her grand-daughters and to keep up with things on Facebook. But she uses a mouse like nothing I have ever seen - pokes and shakes it like a monkey! I think an iPad will be great - she can just sit on her favourite chair and browse away - and use an app to drive all the content onto her screen rather than going to all the various sites she tries to find at the moment (then invariably has to ask someone where they are)

I've just ordered an iPad 32 gb wifi, which I'll end up paying £330 for. As I want it mostly for reading PDFs, with the odd bit of note taking, email and web browsing I can't really see the advantage of the 2.

£330 sounds about right for that spec machine too.

Lets just hope the sodding thing actually turns up this time 👿

No retina display = dealbreaker for me.

I have an ipad 1 already and the "upgrades" just don't justify it for me. It will do exactly the same only take photos. Faster processor? Meh - can't say I noticed my ipad 1 being terribly slow tbh. Lighter? Meh - I keep mine in an Otterbox defender case - it's about an inch thick so not really bothered about the whole thickness thing.

If it had a much improved screen resolution then that would be a different story.

At home for couch-based surfing I have a laptop...
I think they're good ... when you've not got a desk.

So from this can we conclude that you have a desk in front of your couch for your laptop? 😉

Couch-based surfing is where I can see I'd use a tablet - laptops are fine, but a tablet can be held like a book/magazine so it is a better fit ergonomically. Try lying on your back and holding your laptop over your head!

Still, like dazzlingboy, no Retina = no sale for me.

Pretty spurious reasons for buying something, and proof, not that it was needed, that marketing works, and sure it's you're money and that,

Spurious only to a degree because pretty much every "thing" I buy has to offer the right functionality for the money. The four items I mentioned have all been bought because they do the stuff I need them to - and offer VFM. The same goes for bike stuff, car stuff, home stuff ...

The iPad2 is something that most PC/Mac/smartphone users don't necessarily "need", but like you say, put some Apple spin on it and many will soon part with the necessary (and IMO over-priced) wedge. Plus IMO the breadth and quality of content in the App Store if far superior to the competition - which would certainly help sell it to me.

We certainly don't need one, but if I wanted to blow £400+ on something fancy then I'd probably sell the MBP and buy one.

hmm, just noticed the refurbished 16gb ones are now 289 pounds.

quite tempted at that price!
http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad

[url= http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple ]ring true?[/url]

One thing I have noticed is the amount of non-techie/gadgety people going out and buying crappy low-end tablets, saying stuff like:

- "Oh, we got one of those iPad things the other day."
- "Really, you got an iPad?"
- "Well it's not a [i]proper [/i]iPad, it's a different one. It only cost a quarter of the price." Smiles. Pulls out one of those shitty £120 jobbies from under a bunch of magazines. Waits 30 secs for home screen to appear, then another 10 secs for browser to open, then another 30 secs for a webpage to load. Tries switching apps and machine pauses for half a min. Then wifi disconnects.
- "Yeah, they're great aren't they?" Wanders off wondering why this person bothered.

Thought about it but.....netbook far less money, far more capacity, has flash player and real keyboard, so prolly go for that instead.

No doubt it will be the ipad 3 or 4 which has proper advances or lower pricing, once Apple's been hit by gingerbread.

I'll be getting gingerbread myself...

Pulls out one of those shitty £120 jobbies from under a bunch of magazines.

Mmm Binatone HomeSurf 7:
http://www.reghardware.com/2011/02/14/review_tablet_binatone_homesurf_7/

Lovely. 🙂

Quick hijack: grahams - skyfire looks good. So you'd recommend it, right? Found much it doesn't work on?

The Motorola Xoom looks great but is £720, which makes the iPad look quite reasonable

Really?
[img] [/img]

IPAD 2: buying one?

No.

and that add was pulled hours later and replaced with one without a price.

No SD slot. No USB. Without some array of plug in adapters?
Fundamental missing features imho if (amongst other things) it's sposed to be an ultraportable way to share photos and videos in the pub.

Will stick with the eeePC. And a Kindle if I need to read books and/or lots of PDFs on the train.

@clubber: using it here right now! Seems a little nippier than Safari (though that may change with the new iOS release) and has built-in links to Facebook stuff.

The ability to extract and watch Flash video us nice, but aside from testing it out I've not yet found anywhere I need it. Got a particular site in mind and I'll give it a go?

Back on topic. My parents both got ipads and they are good particularly for the techno-illiterate but they're too much like upsized iPhones for me to think they're good vfm. I really want a w7 tablet that I can plug a keyboard/mouse/screen into when I want which can then replace the laptop though I'll consider android ones as they come out.

No SD slot. No USB.

Why are these such big issues?

EDIT: Reminds me of when PCs started doing away with parallel and serial ports and then netbooks with optical drives. They are not necessary.

Thanks Graham. No need to do my UA testing, for the price I think I'll give it a shot myself.

I've got a netbook with Flash, usb etc etc and cost way less than an Ipad. In fact it does everything a tablet does and more except 1. The screen is smaller 2. Its not touch screen.

My brother has an Ipad and it was nice to play with, but I put that down to its 2 strong gimmicy points 1. That its a touch screen 2. Its slim and a different shape to a conventional netbook/laptop.

IMO Tablet type things are just a new version of a laptop and therefore currently have the gimmick advantage. Long term though I can image they will replace netbooks, but Apples just doesnt cut it at the minute as it doesnt have the funtionality at an realistic price.

No sd slot means I can't plug my camera sd card straight in like I can on my laptop. USB would allow for keyboard and mouse or even gps, etc. Irrelevant for some people, not others.

I was really excited about GarageBand, that is the one app I have really been waiting for. But, no ****ing input options?!?! Except the in built microphone? Come on boys sort it out will I just prop the ipad beside my guitar? Rubbish!

kev where did you get this from? You can already buy adapters that let you plug a guitar into an ipad or iphone (such as the irig) - and a quick google suggests that garage band on ipad [i]will[/i] let you plug a guitar in (it includes amp modaling etc)

No sd slot means I can't plug my camera sd card straight in like I can on my laptop. USB would allow for keyboard and mouse or even gps, etc. Irrelevant for some people, not others.

There are decent options for all of this, except the GPS, which IS going to be a bit of an issue for me 😈

So what are these options?

philconsequence - Member
ring true?

So true of so many things! See also bikes, cameras et.

I think one thing here is the almost addictive nature of tha Apple acolytes. It's like some quasi-religious force driving them to consume! BUY! UPGRADE! And then, of course, tell everyone about their kerrrazeee fun apps and how they've got the latest new shiny thing, something your cartoon so beautifully shows.

Also, the acolytes appear to believe that those of us pointing and laughing at them are somehow jealous. Pish, guffaw and nonsense. I am no more jealous of anyone with any techy product (regardless of brand) than you should be of the fact that I am about to have a nice banana for breakfast.

I do find it funny there's the quasi-cult/religion like aspect to this, though! 😉

I'll get an iPad when someone explains what they actually do...

I've had Apple computers for 18 years and suddenly, in the last couple of years I'm not impressed with much that Apple has done. We have an office iPad and I have a personal iPhone 3GS, but the iPad doesn't do anything my laptop can't and my iPhone contract is up in August, thank god, so I can get a phone with buttons that actually fits in my pocket.

And relax...

So what are these options?

There are plugin options too

No official mouse support though .