Why do you need an iPad?

Good thread!
I have an iPhone, iMac and MacBook and now sharing an iPad with my partner. I travel and am away from my beloved iMac a month at a time. I paint and edit photos on the iMac but I do not have Photoshop and Corel Painter installed on the MB. So with the iPad I can paint very easily with the Brushes App. I can also edit my photos with all the cool photography apps on the iPad. I can also read ebooks.
I love this iPad. The screen is brilliant (watching ABC TV shows tonight), it's blazing fast and the apps make it. DoodleJump is so much fun on the iPad.
No regrets buying it at all. Only regret is we need one more 🙂

I am an avid reader, so I was looking for an eReader. I was about to buy a Kindle when the iPad came out. I paid just about as much and I have a device that I can not only read my books, comics and newspapers, but I can do several other tasks as well. The experience is amazing!

Well I have my iPad. I need to view the web, check on documents, games, or whatever it's great.

I think the problem people have is envisioning how the iPad can fit into their lives. Rightnow there isn't many apps to allow us to interact with heterogeneous sources.

Right now I'm using air sharing to modify and move file between home and work and edit them. And it works great. I wish .net and Xcode could put a light version on the iPad. I'm work on a .net light to write code and build web pages remotely. Not sure how it will work out.

I think as more companies build lite versions for tablets it will change how we work, but for right now what I can do is rewarding.

As more business apps use a lite version the tablets will be better. And I love it that flash isn't on here. I don't want dll'srunning on my phone and pad.

For me, the question really was why do I need a macbook? I do have an G4 ibook but can't really stand to use it anymore. Even my wife's macbook is more that I want to carry around. I find I take my iPad everywhere now. I use if for all of my emailing and web 'surfing'. I red the news, I read my books, I send and receive my emails. I can pay my bills, I can enter grades (we use a web based system), I don't miss flash...much..

It's funny, the original post said compares to a macbook air...uh...it's $500! Obviously as a full computer the air can do things the iPad can't but I don't need to do those things away form desktop. As a photographer who works in RAW, laptop don't fit my need anyway for the most part so I need a desktop. I don't see myself processing photos on anything less than a desktop mac.

So, for me, the answer was...I don't need a laptop but what more mobile computing than my iPhone gives. The iPad is perfect for that and will only get better. So I have an iMac, an iPad, and an iPhone 3gs. Pretty covered if you ask me.

Now, if you really need a laptop....or already have a good one that you love using...you probably don't need an iPad. You might want one anyway!
🙂

Geez, note to self, edit your posts next time. Sorry for the poor writing on my post folk. Hopefully my point came across.

Will

Flosron,

I know how great some of the flash content is, but have also experienced the heat it generates in my systems, and the way it trashes battery life. I just think it is nice to have a device that can last 10 hours, stay cool to the touch after a movie or two, and still do all of the other things it does. That, combined with the fact that a lot of HTML5 is making it's way to the web, makes the future look promising.

Check out beet.tv as a good example of where things are going. They sense your system type, and offer up HTML5 when they know it is iPad.

I pre ordered when it was first announced and as the time approached for it to be released I started having guilt feelings because I couldn't justify the need. Fortunately I didn't cancel, all the hoopla drew me in and it was at my door on Saturday, April 3.

Music, home movies to DVD and photos are the only "work" I do on my iMac. For leisure I read the news, sports boards, email, etc. That was it, the leisure part was causing me to disappear downstairs to my office for long periods of time and my family was left wondering where I was. Now, I just stay put, pull out my iPad and relax with family..they understand when I'm "working".

I won't take it out on the Beach for obvious reasons, I won't play games on it but my little girl loves drawing on it and I hate the black case for it. But I did order the SD card reader to upload photos and just hope that it doesn't become a problem to enhance them later.

Folks who don't like it and complain about what it doesn't do should just STFU and get what they do want, no need trash it.

I've had mine a few days now and have really enjoyed it. It's small, light and the display is great. My wifi connection has been very reliable, it's fast and I have apps I like.

For me, it's a great way to do email, surf the web, read the news, read books, watch movies, show off my photography ... and do these things on the couch, in bed, on the patio .... or on a plane or in a hotel. Convenient media consumption.

If I want to work, I boot up one of my Macs.

It fills a niche for me. The convenience may not justify the cost for some. That's a personal decision. It is what it is though.

Message was edited by: Drewaz

Nobody "needs" an iPad. Let's face it - You just was
Nt one...

Turns out it's quite a babe magnet also. Whenever I pull it out at a coffeeshop, it draws a crowd.
Seriously, it's doing a great job of replacing my PowerBook on many occasions.

fiosron wrote:

USB.. I still think it's great to be able to plug in a flash-drive, with photos, or other content for instant up/downloading. Plus there are USB cameras, printers, DVD players (large DVD library) and so much more.. keyboards, and so forth. There is a reason Apple did NOT include it.

You and I are on agreement on most points. I see your point, but you can get the plug for cameras (yes, at a cost). Most printers will work over wireless and Bonjour. DVD players make sense, but it would rob battery life, and is kind of backwards. And yes, we can presume that Apple wants us to buy content from iTunes rather than bring our own! LOL.

Bluetooth is the future of connectivity between devices. Apple rarely looks backward, and always pushes the envelope. I'm guessing that USB is going to be a dinosaur soon.

shieldbearer wrote:
I am an avid reader, so I was looking for an eReader. I was about to buy a Kindle when the iPad came out. I paid just about as much and I have a device that I can not only read my books, comics and newspapers, but I can do several other tasks as well. The experience is amazing!

I had the Kindle up until a week ago, when I sold it for nearly list price (one of the few technology items that holds its value). It has a pathetic web browser and can do email. And it's a great eReader (though the lack of backlighting was annoying). The iPad does everything and more that a Kindle can do. And the best thing is that the Kindle App is much better than the iBook app (don't hate on me, but not everything Apple does is perfect), and I can easily buy Amazon books (and some are cheaper than iBook prices). As an eReader, the iPad is worth the price. Since it does so much else, it's great.

Mgoblue1 wrote:
Turns out it's quite a babe magnet also. Whenever I pull it out at a coffeeshop, it draws a crowd.
Seriously, it's doing a great job of replacing my PowerBook on many occasions.

I'm actually finding this annoying! LOL. It's not just a babe magnet, but every single person wants to see it work. The funning thing is (and Apple owes me a cut of the profits) that people don't get it until they see you using it. They realize it's more than what their phone can do and easier to use than a laptop.