Thinking more seriously about an iPad

BBW

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The new iPad2 is coming out. I've been thinking about getting one for a long time to act as my non cell, wireless access for when I am not at home but "need" to get on the Internet. I am interested in the 3G version, specifically for me with Verizon. This would be my "poor" person's version of a web enabled iPhone/Droid and allow me a monthly access plan that I believe I can control.

Here's an overview: AT&T, Verizon iPad 2 data plans compared | Tablets | iOS Central | Macworld which is pretty handy if anyone else is interested.
...Keep in mind that the plans on both Verizon and AT&T are offered on a no-contract, month-to-month basis. That means that you can sign up for a month, cancel the plan afterwards, and then sign up for a separate month at some point in the future. However, while AT&T now offers both prepaid and postpaid options for data plans, Verizon only allows you to pay for data upfront.

Of course, for many of you, the iPad 2 decision will come down to which data plan and cost works best for you. In that case, let’s get to the chart...

Just thinking out loud. I see the iPad as becoming the Baby Boomer's cell phone, eventually.:tongue: At least for us visually challenged boomers.:D
 
I think you'll really like it, BB. Almost everyone does :). I personally couldn't justify the expense, but my Dad says he's getting one for him and one for me as a gift, so it looks like there will be an iPad 2 in my future as well.
 
I think you'll really like it, BB. Almost everyone does :). I personally couldn't justify the expense, but my Dad says he's getting one for him and one for me as a gift, so it looks like there will be an iPad 2 in my future as well.

Agree! As I couldn't justify it to myself, others took notice and acted. Super happy, helps with sorting and even pp together with lightroom.
 
Thanks for your feedback. I will probably not act on anything for a while...as I have another big buy coming up soon. So many choices, only so much funding to go around.;) I may wait until the next iPhone iteration...who knows. There is talk that eventually the iPad will offer cell phone access. I can just see myself walking around holding it to my ear.:tongue:
 
BB.... No...no...not the iPad. Say it isn't so.....
Sit back...smell the freshly finished floors....
Sip on some wine... Think Fuji X100....
You'll be fine in 1/2 an hour.....

Sheeeesh...the iPad.......
 
Don't worry! I am very slow about this sort of upgrade. Believe me. Yes, the Fuji is soon to erupt here...and hopefully make its way to my house before, um, May?
 
Erupt is a great expression for what happens when a new camera arrives, BB! I am still playing with the new NEX every chance I get. I have the ipad 1with wireless only and love it. I can usually but not always find wireless access when traveling, but it's not the equivalent of a phone by any means. Where it really shines is as a mobile photo album. Also, it keeps me from having to come upstairs to my main computer everytime I want to check the weather. It is criminal, though, that I had to buy a 30.00 adapter to put in photos and have no USB port. I hope that is different on the new one. Also, I find the virtual keyboard a pain because it lacks arrows to move the cursor around, so if you make a mistake you have to backspace over the whole word to correct it. You can get a bluetooth keyboard to use with it if so inclined.
 
Thanks Janis, yes, I agree that those limitations which you mention would annoy me. I initially thought of buying one (the first incarnation) for my husband who really only uses the computer for the Internet and email...but instead he inherited my old laptop;).

I probably should just ante up and go the iPhone route now that they are on my carrier...but I am going to wait until June or whenever to see what happens next. I have an iPod touch that I got for free but I find it rather limiting and do not find it easy to find an unlocked wireless connection if I am out and about. Who knows... Right now I am in the semi idle chat mode about all this but it helps sometimes to think out loud and hear what other people's experiences are - so thank you!
 
I'm, uh, on my second.

I wanted one on the first day, so I bought a wifi model. Later on, I was given a 3G model, so that's what I have.

Here's an article about which model to pick.

I know for me, I travel internationally, making the GSM version practical, so that eliminates six of the 18 (the 3 Verizon black models + the 3 Verizon white ones). I've already decided on white, so that eliminates another six (black wifi models + black GSM). Plus I want a 3G version, so that eliminates another three. I've found the 16G too small for longer trips (because I do a lot of photo offloading and shoot RAW+JPEG), so that eliminates the 16G. I'd probably go 64G, but 32G + a small storage drive might be more practical.
 
I have the 3G version of the iPad and I love it. I don't edit any photos on it though. But it sure is a good looking and easy way to show family and friends the photos that I took. I wish it was a little easier to transfer photos on and off the iPad. I also wish there was a better way to organize the photos. You can create folders, but no subfolders. And the iPad always sorts the photos by date and time the photo was taken. So you may have all the photos organized in one way in your computer. As soon as you upload it into the iPad, the iPad will reorganize the photos for you.

In any event, I use my iPad primarily to surf the internet or reference device. It is very good for the presentation of content. Not so good for content creation.

My biggest beef against Apple was for its purposeful omission of the front facing camera on the first generation iPad. Just like the iPhone, Apple withheld simple features in its first generation device just so that Apple could put it in the second generation device. This incremental improvement is total BS in my opinion.

There will probably never be an USB port on any iPad. It would make it way too easy for people to buy the 16 gig version and use a flash drive for additional storage.

Alas, the iPad still looks better than any other tablet in the market.
 
There are a lot of photo org apps for the ipad out there but I don't know how good they are. I usually just download straight from my Zenfolio gallery. I gave up on organizing them. I just look at Album view and then zoom in whatever image I want to see full size. Or at a family gathering I will just load pics directly from the camera card thru the camera connector doodad I had to buy.
One of my favorite apps is Art Authority, which lets you browse art from pretty much all the art museums in the world who have stuff online. It's in a cool format that emulates walking around a museum, and it's organized by art movements like Impressionism, etc. Or you can search on a particular artist. You can save favorites or just save them to the ipad. I really wish they would add photography but last time I looked it was not a category.
 
There was a conversation about photo org apps for iPad over on mu-43. link to thread

I have flickr and MobileMe galleries; I do have accounts on pretty much every single photo service there is, but in practice I use just those two.
 
I'm still here and still mulling things over. For me my main interest is mobile Internet access. I'd love to have it include a phone, too, however when I look at the cost of the phone plans plus the data plans...it all adds up, from my own "pocketbook" point of view. I think this is one of the reasons I keep thinking that the iPad could be a cheaper way to get what I'm after, albeit not exactly easy to stick into my pocket.:daz:
 
would the MacAir be a better option - albeit a few more $$$

That's what I'd go for if I wanted something a little more portable than my MBP
 
I played with the new Motorola Xoom. Man, what a great experience. But also a great pricetag. Until tablets get a little cheaper, I can't justify purchasing one.
 
What are your favorite Ipad apps

News/Reading

My latest app favorite is Flipboard. I'd describe it as web sites presented in a magazine format. It's free and makes it much easier to read through a site/magazine content.

Games

I can't believe I have fallen for Angry Birds.
 
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