Buying An Ipad

[Guest]

I'm thinking of getting one......or should I go for one of those Samsung Galaxys, instead?

I know very little about 3G, Android, etc, but am interesting in hearing recommendations.

[johnb]

I'm in the same situation - debating whether to get an iPad, an iPad Mini or an android tablet so would also be very interested to read people's views.

As far as 3G, etc is concerned - for me that is easy. I will be using the device at home so there is no need of 3G.

I'm tempted by the smaller tablets such as the Google Nexus 7 (which has had very good reviews) or the iPad Mini but I'm worried whether the smaller text will be more difficult to read. I guess you can zoom in, of course.

(One of the tablet's uses would be to be a convenient controller for my Squeezebox Touch and I have the impression that the best apps for that are written for the iPad.)

One thing I was rather shocked by is that there is no was for a user to replace the battery in an iPad. You return it to Apple and, for £85 plus pp, they send you back a brand new iPad (instead of just replacing the battery) - always assuming they still have stocks of the model in question. Perhaps the other tablet manufacturers have similar policies. Should I take this to indicate that the iPad is considered to be a 'throw away' device - use it for two or three years then dump it for the next model?

[Stunsworth]

I bought my first iPad a couple of years ago and have never had any problems with the battery. I recently sold it on - at a fair price - and the friend who bought it hasn't had any problems at all. When I had it, I was using it - and charging it every day - so if there were potential problems I think I would have encountered them.

I replaced the original with a new retina one. The screen is excellent.

It's been a device that has proved to be far more useful than I anticipated when I bought it. Web browsing, email, controlling the music I listen to, I wouln't want to be without it.

Personally I went for the Wifi version, as if I need 3G connectivity I can tether it to the phone and use that to provide access to the 3G network.

I'm afraid that I've no experience with Android devices.

[Frances_iom]

bought my friend an iPad2 from PCWorld a couple of months ago (purely as they being out of town had a carpark with disabled parking space) as following a stoke he only only limited control of his left hand and he found Android on my acer A501 too difficult to control whereas an iPad seemed to be easier - after about 3 weeks the new iPad failed - took back to PCWorld where I basically needed to get the manager out before they would accept it being it appears one day over their 'cooling off period' - anyway they accepted it took a telephone number but refused my email address (they apparently cannot handle these) - they transcribed the telephone incorrectly and tho having a mail address did nothing with it for 5 weeks and sent out no notification - when I finally returned to shop, they having warned me it would take a couple of weeks to get anything back from Apple) they stated that yes it had failed and that I needed to take it to an Apple dealer (even tho they had a special Apple section in shop) - the local Apple dealer very kindly offered to handle what they agreed was a failed device and tho I hadn't bought it from them sent it off for replacement which arrived the following day - Moral not all iPads are good but don't ever go near PCWorld if you expect any service.

[Resurrection Man]

.... Moral ....don't ever go near PCWorld....

is more apposite, Frances. You have my sympathies.

Mandryka...the question you need to ask yourself is 'Do I really need one?'

and 'What will I use it for?'

I bought a secondhand one off eBay solely to act as a backup device for photographs and as an internet gateway while on holiday in Japan. The holiday was in May. I bought it in January and set everything up to test the functionality that I needed. Fast forward to the week before the holiday and I found it eventually buried under a pile of paper. I'd simply forgotten that I had it.

I sold it. Do I wish I still had it? No, not really.

To answer your second question, if you already have a Mac then get the iPad. Otherwise see if you can try them both out to see which user interface you find better.

Johnb.....don't go down the zooming route. I have an Android smartphone...zooming is a pain as you are forever scrolling sideways. Get the iPad.

[MrGongGong]

you can't do this with a desktop computer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6WuHzE-1fk

[Flosshilde]

When I was in Istanbul in the Spring I noticed people using tablet computers & even laptops to take photographs. It would seem to combine the disadvantages of comapct digital cameras and SLR.

[johnb]

Well I finally took the plunge and bought an iPad, (largely so that I could stop worrying about what the hell to get). I do feel uneasy about the extravagance and I also resent the way Apple's prices are bumped up to give them an enormous 30% overall profit margin and the way that they also seem control the retail prices too.

After using it for a few hours I am very glad I didn't go for a smaller tablet, which presumably would have had a smaller font size. There is lots to explore and I am sure I will never use a lot of its facilities but I suspect that I will use it much more than I expected for casual web browsing (which means my PC can be in sleep mode for more of the time). It is also a real pleasure to use as a Squeezebox Touch controller.

[MrGongGong]

I also resent the way Apple's prices are bumped up

I used to think that Apple things were over the top price wise
but not if you compare like with like and take into account reliability etc
and the last couple of mac laptops I have bought (for family members) were refurbished second hand and about the same price as a PC but without so many of the problems that one gets with Windows. It's a shame really as if ethics came into it I would go straight for linux or even Windows (Bill Gates , unlike most ultra wealthy people IS trying to do something positive for the world with his money even though he really didn't invent anything ............)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The iPad is very annoying with capital letters. It decides when you should have them and if it disagrees with you, it does the opposite. It assumes that everyone is too lazy to use the shift key, which I find insulting.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

...or even Windows (Bill Gates , unlike most ultra wealthy people IS trying to do something positive for the world with his money even though he really didn't invent anything ............)

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[Dave2002]

I have an original iPad with 64 Gbytes plus 3G. There are stupid things about the iPad, such as the pretty awful "filing" system. Apparently some people who haven't used computers find file systems hard. Oddly a good thing, or at least it seems to be useful, is the ability to send most data via email. Some Apps make life a lot easier. Many people recommend DropBox, and I've just discovered that FileApp will unpack Zip archive files and send the unpacked files to sensible applications. Seemingly Filer will also do this. Without knowing this, dealing with archives can be a pain. There are other good apps, and some which are a waste of space. Finding out which are good may take time, and if you try several and they're not good you could waste a lot of time and money. iPeng and Squeezepad are not perfect, but good enough for the most part for controlling Squeezebox players. The spell checker can be a right pain. In my case it keeps correcting my name, which is infuriating. I turned it off.

If you get bored there's always Rat on a Snowboard to play.

So I'm not uncritical. Some things fail because of a lack of Flash support. Despite all this I take mine most places, and find it invaluable. For me some of the (considerable) problems are outweighed by what it offers. The ability to locate one's position on a map, and also to find what the streets look like has proved useful on several occasions, and I normally don't arrive too late. Without this tool I could not have got to some meetings in reasonable time at all. Obviously I also read and answer email while on trains, and I use the browsers for information just about everywhere.

The latest one is really gen4 - and has a small power connector compared with all the previous models. It is faster than the gen3 model, and one of the cameras is better than the equivalent one on the gen3 model.

Without knowing some of the tricks iPads can be difficult, but with a little knowledge they can become invaluable tools.

[Simon]

My advice - and that of colleagues and friends - would be not to fall for the apple marketing. I'm told - but can't confirm from experience - that if you get the newest, you also have to buy all new extras/plug ins, as they have changed the specs!

Androids do everything we need just as well - location, maps, email etc.. We get company phones, and our lot don't go for apples - and there are some pretty smart experts working in the IT dept., that's for sure. The Samsung is great, as long as you don't go for the one with the smaller screen (big fingers struggle with text). Nokia fell away for a bit since their mobile phone success in the early days, but some say that their newer products look as if they might be good. Can't say personally, as none of us have them.

My suggestion would be to at least challenge the people who try to tell you that apples are "so, so, superior".

[Dave2002]

My suggestion would be to at least challenge the people who try to tell you that apples are "so, so, superior".

I agree with the sentiments, but at the end of the day one might still come down in favour of Apple. I have already mentioned some of the deficiencies and problems, but also pointed out that I still use my iPad almost every day for most of the day. I find it invaluable despite its problems, which are not completely trivial.

What might be useful in the discussion would be mention of what is actually good and works. You have mentioned Samsung. I would recommend the very latest iPad with 4G, and also note that this is now the 4th iteration, though Apple may have kept this quiet. This is the model with the small power connector - I think they call the cable Lightning. Possibly most people don't realise that they're on the 4th iteration - and I don't mean including the iPad Mini. The display on that, and also on the 3rd iteration model, is great.

Some of the Samsung models do have lovely screens. I don't know anyone who's tried the Microsoft offering yet.

[Resurrection Man]

My advice - and that of colleagues and friends - would be not to fall for the apple marketing. I'm told - but can't confirm from experience - that if you get the newest, you also have to buy all new extras/plug ins, as they have changed the specs!

Simon, I can find no online reference to this statement "you also have to buy all new extras/plug ins, as they have changed the specs".

.....there are some pretty smart experts working in the IT dept., that's for sure. ....

Quite possibly so. But there could also be very good reasons in terms of legacy systems and applications that only run within the Microsoft environment.