Anyone getting an iPad?

[chrisforshaw]

I had a good play with my father-in-laws iPad yesterday hoping it might persuade me to add to my Apple collection but unfortunately I was pretty disappointed. It's a nice gadget but at this time I'm struggling to see just how useful it would be to me when I've already got an iPhone.

 

[dod]

You are right, they do keep banging on about that, everyone except Apple.

The iPad is for consuming content, not really for creating it (in anger anyway). I don't get why people always expect these things to do absolutely everything. My 5D2 is fantastic for taking photographs but I can't edit my Access database on it - must be pretty crappy piece of kit then!

I'm not even going to respond to the fatuous camera comment.

If I can do everything on a net book that I can on an Ipad, plus the things I really want/need to do then for me the netbook is probably the better choice. It may not be so polished but it will do what I need. I still like the idea of an ipad though but not enough to spend £500 on one, yet

You think Microsoft are not working on a version of office for the iPad? I would bet your bottom dollar they are.

I honestly don't know although I'd be surprised if MS were working on an app for apple? Maybe they do already? I'd have thought they'd be more likely to incorporate a "numbers" option within office?

 

[ding76uk]

I honestly don't know although I'd be surprised if MS were working on an app for apple? Maybe they do already? I'd have thought they'd be more likely to incorporate a "numbers" option within office?

Well they do office for mac, so to me it seems logical. I am sure beyween them there will be a way found to make standard office formats available for Ipad users

 

[dubcat]

Well they do office for mac, so to me it seems logical. I am sure beyween them there will be a way found to make standard office formats available for Ipad users

There is no such thing as a standard office format.. it is all proprietary.

 

[AliB]

It may be proprietary but it's in use in 90%+ of offices, that makes it pretty standard!

My database integrates seamlessly with outlook and uses word for document creation, it also produces accounts for me. Somehow a company managed to integrate their product with the most popluar office applications.

My calendar is a good example. I can put an appointment or task in my database, outlook or my blackberry and it populates all three for me, without me having to do anything other than synch my blackberry.

When apple devices can integrate with the rest of the world, I may consider them. Until then, for me, they will always remain outside the world of integrated functionality and therefore a stand alone viewer.

 

[jontucker]

If I can do everything on a net book that I can on an Ipad, plus the things I really want/need to do then for me the netbook is probably the better choice.

That statement sums up the reason why some people don't 'get' the iPad (and iPhone for that matter). It's not about having the ability to do more things or have more USB ports or any of the other myriad of reasons that people come up with for not wanting Apple products.

It's ENTIRELY about the user experience. <- that's a full stop

 

[dubcat]

I spent MANY years asking friends why they used macs. They always came back with the same reply - it just works and its a pleasure to use. I never got it and never bought an apple product.

A few months ago I decided to turn my brand spanking new i7 based high end pc in to a mac (hackintosh). I managed to get it working and all i can say is as a mac my pc just worked and was a pleasure to use As jontucker says in the post above its all about user experience and its really impossible for me to put that in to words.

I am back to using windows 7. It works.. but for some reason, and i cant describe it, its just not as pleasurable to use...

The ipad is the first apple product i have bought. It's an amazing user experience. I am in sales and I use it to present powerpoint slides on a projector, to have quick access to email, calendar and contacts, to surf the web for work (via vpn) and pleasure.

My single favourite thing about the ipad is its battery life. My next favourite thing is the quality of the screen. The user interface is amazing.

Having said all of that - its not for everyone. It just amazes me that when it comes to apple people always feel the need to describe why they ARENT going to get one

Oh and Canon > Nikon.

 

[dod]

That statement sums up the reason why some people don't 'get' the iPad (and iPhone for that matter). It's not about having the ability to do more things or have more USB ports or any of the other myriad of reasons that people come up with for not wanting Apple products.

It's ENTIRELY about the user experience. <- that's a full stop

I disagree Jon, for me it's function first, form second. That's also the reason why I changed from Canon to Nikon

 

[AliB]

But if the user experience is frustration because it won't do what we need it to do then you should be able to see why some of us really don't rate it!

£500 is a lot of money for a "user experience" when it's not fulfilling the basic functionalities I need.

There is a saying "Just because you can doesn't mean you should" Sums it up quite well for me. Yes you can do all sorts of whizzy things on one, most of which are fairly useless for business.

Apple do actually promote the ipad for business and try to sell it with apples "numbers" but I've not yet come across a company using it. Most people in the real world use excel and it's not up to Microsoft to make their product fit apple. It's up to apple to make their platforms work with the applications people use!

 

[ccsnet]

everyone who keeps banging on about how it's going to replace lap/net books.

As a media and entertainment device it looks fantastic. As a single device I can use for work and play it's got shortcomings.

Exactly.... so as a media and entertainment device its stacks against say the archos.... now ask is it worth the extra money.... see my point ? ( Use / implementation / cost / value for money )

Terran

PS I like the harbour game in the software thread and you may want to add ( smoothedit ) that Sky Player is now on too..... £6 extra on top of normal subs lol

 

[ccsnet]

You think Microsoft are not working on a version of office for the iPad? I would bet your bottom dollar they are.

Theres a rumor they are considering it but nothing confirmed.

Terran

 

[dod]

Exactly.... so as a media and entertainment device its stacks against say the archos.... now ask is it worth the extra money.... see my point ? ( Use / implementation / cost / value for money )

Terran

l

Again Terran, the answer is no, it doesn't give me what I need at this time :shrug: It could cost a £1 and while I might buy one I'd hardly use it.

 

[cambsno]

Can anyone confirm what happens if not in a 3g area? Does the ipad work in the same way as the iphone (i.e. using the slow basic phone network / Edge) or is it a case of it being 3g or nothing?

 

[mid_gen]

Has anyone actually tried to say that the iPad is a good device for business? Criticising the iPad for not running Excel is like knocking a Blackberry because it's crap for games.

If you don't need a portable internet/media device, then don't buy one. If you need a portable business machine, buy a laptop. Is it that hard to comprehend?

My parents have an Archos and frankly, (apart from the fact the Archos is falling to bits and held together with electrical tape), the user experience doesn't even come close.

 

[jontucker]

Again, why people expect Apple devices to do things they haven't been designed or marketed for is utterly baffling. It's like saying my Windows laptop won't run Xbox360 games...doesn't make any sense.

Ali, I'd be interested to see evidence of Apple pushing it for business use.

 

[dubcat]

FUNCTION is first. IF the device fits the functional requirements you have then move to step two.. usability. If you can GET to stage 2 the ipad wins big time. If you CANT get to stage 2 then its obviously not for you.

 

[dod]

Ali, I'd be interested to see evidence of Apple pushing it for business use.

On their site

iWork

The iWork productivity applications that you know and love on the Mac — Keynote, Pages and Numbers — have been completely redesigned for iPad.1 So you can create great-looking presentations, documents and spreadsheets. All using just your fingers. And while they’re easy to use, they’re also the most powerful productivity apps ever built for a mobile device.

 

[Radiohead]

2 million units sold in less than 60 says tells me this is something people want.

Any tech company CEO would kill their grandmother to replicate that level of launch success.

 

[dubcat]

Again, why people expect Apple devices to do things they haven't been designed or marketed for is utterly baffling. It's like saying my Windows laptop won't run Xbox360 games...doesn't make any sense.

Ali, I'd be interested to see evidence of Apple pushing it for business use.

I AM using it for business. MANY people will use it for business. Note - not all. Just MANY. On the whole people who are using it for business will just get on with it. Those that aren't because it is missing some feature important to them will make much noise about it. Quite rightly too. Maybe apple will give them the feature they want with enough pushing - but this does not negate from the fact that there are many happy users who ARE using it for business.

 

[dubcat]

Oh one other thing - wont office be now delivered as a web based app?

 

[dod]

I AM using it for business. MANY people will use it for business. Note - not all. Just MANY. On the whole people who are using it for business will just get on with it. Those that aren't because it is missing some feature important to them will make much noise about it. Quite rightly too. Maybe apple will give them the feature they want with enough pushing - but this does not negate from the fact that there are many happy users who ARE using it for business.

FUNCTION is first. IF the device fits the functional requirements you have then move to step two.. usability. If you can GET to stage 2 the ipad wins big time. If you CANT get to stage 2 then its obviously not for you.

two of the most sensible posts in the thread.

I have nothing against the ipad and if it works for you then that's fantastic.

The thread title however is "who's getting an ipad?" I'm not at this stage for the reasons I've stated. If the shortcomings are addressed then I can look at whether or not the better user experience justifies the extra cost over a laptop or netbook.

I'd suspect the answer would be yes.

 

[jontucker]

I AM using it for business. MANY people will use it for business. Note - not all. Just MANY. On the whole people who are using it for business will just get on with it. Those that aren't because it is missing some feature important to them will make much noise about it. Quite rightly too. Maybe apple will give them the feature they want with enough pushing - but this does not negate from the fact that there are many happy users who ARE using it for business.

I've no doubt plenty of people are using it for business (including me) I just haven't seen any evidence of Apple marketing it as a business tool.

 

[dod]

I've no doubt plenty of people are using it for business (including me) I just haven't seen any evidence of Apple marketing it as a business tool.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=2681369&postcount=217

 

[dubcat]

Jontucker - http://www.apple.com/ipad/business/

Dod - I've never been accused of being sensible before. So just to set the record straight.. Canon is better than Nikon!

 

[dod]

Canon is better than Nikon!

you were doing so well too

 

[jontucker]

Jontucker - http://www.apple.com/ipad/business/

Fair enough.

I guess than means that everyone can legitimately complain about a product that no one is forcing them to use.

 

[dubcat]

Fair enough.

I guess than means that everyone can legitimately complain about a product that no one is forcing them to use.

Jon - the thread gave them mandate to express their misgivings. They are not randomly complaining. The thread asked them if they were going to get one.

I do wonder if the move to web based apps (google apps and the next version of office) will negate some of these issues though. At that point you only need a browser and nothing more.

 

[dod]

I do wonder if the move to web based apps (google apps and the next version of office) will negate some of these issues though. At that point you only need a browser and nothing more.

Absolutely. Once dinosaurs like me get over the inherent distrust of web based apps (real or perceived) for business information you're into a whole different game

 

[jontucker]

Jon - the thread gave them mandate to express their misgivings. They are not randomly complaining. The thread asked them if they were going to get one.

I do wonder if the move to web based apps (google apps and the next version of office) will negate some of these issues though. At that point you only need a browser and nothing more.

I didn't necessarily mean just in this thread but you are right.

 

[dubcat]

Absolutely. Once dinosaurs like me get over the inherent distrust of web based apps (real or perceived) for business information you're into a whole different game

In today's challenging economic climate the IT decision maker has lost a lot of power to the FD/CFO/Procurement team. Mistrust of web based apps is soon overcome when the cost savings become apparent

But i take your point

 

[AliB]

If you don't need a portable internet/media device, then don't buy one. If you need a portable business machine, buy a laptop. Is it that hard to comprehend?

Not to me it's not but you might like to ask Steve Jobs that question since "Ipad for business use" is being pushed on the front page of ipad on the apple website?

 

[jontucker]

Not to me it's not but you might like to ask Steve Jobs that question since "Ipad for business use" is being pushed on the front page of ipad on the apple website?

Not all business users need to integrate with other business users. MobileMe, Pages, Number and Keynote are powerful tools and in some respects more powerful than their MS counterparts.

 

[mrgubby]

My net book does everything an iPad does for a third of the price, in fact if I put tape over the SDcard slot/USB/VGA connector it"s even got the same features

However I bought an iPad for the reduced weight/size & increased battery life

But right now it's useless until I either rewrite all my forms to remove tables or find an app that can handle them properly

 

[mid_gen]

Not to me it's not but you might like to ask Steve Jobs that question since "Ipad for business use" is being pushed on the front page of ipad on the apple website?

Are you trying to suggest that companies should only be allowed to market their products at people that actually *need* it? 90% of the advertising industry would dissapear overnight.....

 

[jontucker]

My net book does everything an iPad does for a third of the price, in fact if I put tape over the SDcard slot/USB/VGA connector it"s even got the same features

Only if you don't count the interface and user experience as features, which I do, BIG ones.

I hereby give up on this thread. Pointless arguments that will rage on just as the iPhone ones have.

 

[hollis_f]

Thing is, (fact number 1) the iPad isn't the first tablet device to be launched, there have been loads in the past. The Compaq TC1000 for example.

Or, ten years before the TC1000, the original IBM Thinkpad. Yup, it was given that name because it was a tablet. Didn't sell then, either.

Whether he actually said it or not is irrelevant but there's a Henry Ford quote that I think sums up Apples philosophy very well...

"If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said faster horses"

And the people trying to build Windows tablets decided to give the customers want they wanted - so they put engines on to move the horses' legs. For the last 20 years tablet designers have mainly designed product by trying to adapt what they already knew. So they took a laptop, hacked off the keyboard, added a touch screen and kludged the software so that the stylus on the screen replaced the mouse.

 

[joescrivens]

everyone who keeps banging on about how it's going to replace lap/net books.

As a media and entertainment device it looks fantastic. As a single device I can use for work and play it's got shortcomings.

If people are doing this then you are right, they are wrong. I haven't heard people doing it myself.

The iPad is definately a media consumption device, if you want other stuff then right now that's not it, it's not aimed at you. There are some work things you can do but it's not what it is for right now.

 

[joescrivens]

I think what's clear now from this thread is that there are people that expected to use this device for business use that have been left underwhelmed. As it stands there are some business uses, but it's not a finished product in that sense. Right now if you main use is to complete a database or export an excel spreadsheet then this is not the product for you, if people are claiming it is, including apple. Then there isn't a lot of argument to back it up, a dodgy net book is probably gonna do it better.

If surfing, playing games and consuming media with some work elements is what you need it for and by the looks of the number sold this is most people then the iPad is the best device out there for doing it. There is something so awesome about holding the Internet in your hand at full size that just beats doing it at a desktop, I don't know what it is, but there is an iMac is less than 2 metres away yet I want to type this on my iPad, it's just more enjoyable.

I bought the digital photographer app yesterday and reading a magazine on it was an awesome experience. The actual app needs some work, the gestures aren't quite right yet, but zooming in and out of images and text in the magazine was awesome.

iPad as a media consumption device - awesome

iPad as a business device - not great. (yet)

P.s. I need a thesaurus, I used the word awesome far too many times, i even irritated myself when I read it back

 

[neil_g]

P.s. I need a thesaurus, I used the word awesome far too many times, i even irritated myself when I read it back

someones been watching too much "bolt"

http://www.disneysociety.com/files/2009/03/bolt-010148011.jpg

 

[ccsnet]

I think what's clear now from this thread is that there are people that expected to use this device for business use that have been left underwhelmed. As it stands there are some business uses, but it's not a finished product in that sense. Right now if you main use is to complete a database or export an excel spreadsheet then this is not the product for you, if people are claiming it is, including apple. Then there isn't a lot of argument to back it up, a dodgy net book is probably gonna do it better.

If surfing, playing games and consuming media with some work elements is what you need it for and by the looks of the number sold this is most people then the iPad is the best device out there for doing it. There is something so awesome about holding the Internet in your hand at full size that just beats doing it at a desktop, I don't know what it is, but there is an iMac is less than 2 metres away yet I want to type this on my iPad, it's just more enjoyable.

I bought the digital photographer app yesterday and reading a magazine on it was an awesome experience. The actual app needs some work, the gestures aren't quite right yet, but zooming in and out of images and text in the magazine was awesome.

iPad as a media consumption device - awesome

iPad as a business device - not great. (yet)

P.s. I need a thesaurus, I used the word awesome far too many times, i even irritated myself when I read it back

Joe - what an awesome post :bonk:

Terran