New iPad. No instructions. Help please.

iPad manuals are here:

http://support.apple.com/manuals/#ipad

They are also on the iPad, just open Safari, go to bookmarks and at the bottom is the iPad manual.

Also, when you finish with App (like Settings) you do exactly as you are doing you press the Home button to go back to the Home screen.

The iPad is one of the simplest devices to operate, even my mother who had never used one before was up and running in minutes, no need for a manual at all.

A good place to start would be the iPad guided tours on the Apple website

http://www.apple.com/ipad/guided-tours/

And the fact that it needs a computer to work with it is printed on the outside of the box, including the minimum OS requirements (I'm assuming your Powerbook G4 is running 10.4.x).

There are tours available on the www.Apple.com and classes at the Apple Store.

The iPad is really not a laptop and is not designed to be used without a computer. Hope your sister will either buy one or find someone else's she can use to sync and back up. If she is not going to use it with a computer advise her not to purchase any music or videos from the iTunes Store, she will not be able to recover them if something happens to her iPad.

Noodle-head wrote:
Before I rant let me say, I am a 25 years plus Mac user and advocate.

Great. this should be pretty painless for you.

OK. Now, I just bought an iPad for my sister (part of my ongoing effort to get others using Apple stuff).
I opened the box and found absolutely no instructions - and could not use it at all unless I connected it to a Mac and fired up iTunes.

The iPad must be synced to a computer in order to activate it and begin using it.

Q #1: what if I didn't have a Mac (my sister does not).

A Windows PC is fine as long as the system meets the requirements which you can find on Apple's website - click on iPad and you can find the info there.

I got home with it, connected it to my Powerbook G4 and...nothing.

It doesn't meet the minimum specs.

Then I connected it to my Mac Pro and iTunes went to work. I was prompted to update iPod to 4.2.

The Mac Pro is meeting the requirements and you obviously have the most current version of iTunes on it as well. The software update is a good thing!

Eventually it was done and ready but...
Q #2: do I unplug it like I would my iPod?

Yes, after you sync, you get the OK to disconnect message in iTunes just like with the iPod Click on the eject icon next to the device name.

Q #3: how do I get music on the iPad? Do I use my Mac's iTunes to transfer?

Yes you do. You sync selected songs, albums, playlists etc. via your iTunes library. And you can purchase music from iTunes directly on the iPad through the pre installed iTunes app.

Now here's the big one -
Q #4: Now what? There is no guided tour or anything to help understand how to use this. And in the time it takes me to turn to my Mac looking for help, the iPad screen goes black. I don't know what to do except hit the Home button since touching the screen does nothing. And then when I do that, I see a slider that says "slide to unlock." I figure this is a screen saver setting but I can't find any such thing. I'm in Settings now but not finding much help...AND how do I get out of Settings other than hitting the Home button?

You are doing the right thing. Tapping the home button will wake the iPad. Then you slide to unlock as described. In the iPad settings, you can select the length of time that the iPad is inactive before it goes to sleep. Tap settings on the home screen, then tap General, the tap Auto lock and you can select the length of time before the iPad locks and goes to the black screen.

And so on.
Q #5: Where in *&#! are instructions/guided tour/help for this great product?

Open the Safari app and click on the open book icon at the top. That is the bookmark icon. Go down the list and you will find the iPad user guide in there.

Seriously, yes, I am pretty annoyed, especially since this is a gift for someone who has 25 years less experience than me.

Don't be. Once you both get the hang of it you will love it!

Done ranting. I apologize but do need some help

You are forgiven. here is one last tip ....
http://support.apple.com/manuals/
You will find the manual here as well.Now get to work and have some fun as well! 🙂

Noodle-head wrote:
Demo.
Nice. What a pleasant voice of calmness. Thank you.

You are welcome. Unfortunately, it would not be a good choice for your sister.

I will try to play with it and enjoy it. But I confess, I am already looking at Target's return policy. And I'm mad at Apple for not making these things clear up front.

I would not be surprised if you fall in love with it if you keep it.

noodle- -head grrum... PY

Life's too short so don't be Grumpy!
🙂

I have no clue why you would have made the error of believing that the iPad has a camera. In any event, I suggest that you take it back NOW. You will never be happy keeping it.

2) To be able to video chat with her children living in other states was supposed to be solved with this. I can't believe I did not see anywhere that this does not have a camera built in.

Get her an iPod Touch -- it has a camera now and the FaceTime video chat system and is a good deal cheaper.

I'm mad at Apple for not making these things clear up front.

Your problems seem totally self-inflicted to me. Apple told everyone about the lack of a camera and the system requirements months before the iPad was ever released for sale last April.

I could read it and my eyes are pretty old.

Doesn't say much for MacWorld magazine that you couldn't tell from their coverage the minimum requirements. Maybe you should switch to Mac|Life: http://www.maclife.com/

To be accurate, you really only need to connect it to a computer initially, to set it up, if you wanted to sync it with a computer (which doesn't really apply if you don't have one), if you want to update the software, or if you need to troubleshoot it, for example by resetting the software. And most importantly, to back it up. If you purchase a lot of applications or music on the device, you don't want to lose them. Syncing with a computer is the only way to back them up.

No, there's no ethernet port! If you bought the wifi only model, you need wifi for internet connection. If you bought the wifi+3G, you can buy month-to-month data service from AT&T.

Matt

Noodle-head wrote:
Before I quit this, one last question: in the absence of a wireless network, can the iPad get online by any other means? I mean, there's no ethernet port or anything...

For US$100, you can buy an Airport Express unit that provides a wireless-Internet interface. You need a computer ONCE to configure the unit and, afterwards, plug it into any Internet modem/router.