Any advice for buying an Ipad to help with projects?

by satrap
19 replies
I am thinking about getting an Ipad. As some of you know, I hold two offline jobs as well, although I really dont need to work offline anymore as my blog is making me more than enough to pay the bills, but I am kind of a workaholic, so I like having a job where I have to get up and go out of the house very day.

Any way, with one of my offline jobs, there are times that I have to sit there for up to 2 hours sometimes, basically doing nothing but waiting for something to happen and I always thought how I could use those free times better. So, I thought maybe I could work on my blog. That is why I am trying to buy an Ipad, since Its easier to carry around than a laptop and it offers more.

This is my first one and I really have no idea what to look for. I was hoping some of you who are familiar with Ipads and perhpas own one, could give me some suggestions as what to buy, what to avoid and things I should know before choosing one. I would really appreciate any help. Thank you guys in advance.
#advice #buying #ipad #projects
  • Profile picture of the author bodegazine
    I own an iPad. Just buy it straight from the apple store.
    It is really useful. When i want to read and surf blogs.
    Or listen to music and even watch some shows.

    Buy the WiFi + 3G

    Just remember that to make the iPad experience even better
    you need to buy some apps in the apple store.

    You have productivity apps, game apps, social networking and more.
    I wish you luck on ur first apple gadget i believe.. you won't regret it!
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      Go for the 32 or 64 gig models, with WiFi+3G.

      For accessories, start with the InvisiShield, from Zagg. That's a must-have. Don't go with the cheap screen shields.

      Logitech makes a couple of very nice keyboards for the iPad 2. The Zaggmate is a combination keyboard and protective cover, and is very sturdy. The keys are comfortably sized, and have the usual Logitech feel to them. The only real issue I have with the Zaggmate is that the stand isn't really very stable in portrait mode. In landscape, it's okay. Not great, but okay. (Currently $75 on Amazon.)

      Logitech also makes a keyboard and stand combo in a sleeve that's really nice for a quick set-up. There's no protective case, but the keyboard is standard size, and the stand is much more stable. (Currently $60 on Amazon.)

      For the connection, go with AT&T or Verizon, if available in your area. Sprint is generally to be avoided, as it's not the most reliable network in many areas.

      For the $25 a month for a 2 gig AT&T plan, it was worth getting just to have a portable Internet connection.

      The Wordpress app for the iPad 2 is nice, so that makes it a good choice for what you're doing. Definitely spend the few extra bucks on a keyboard, though, as trying to do any extensive typing on-screen is a pain, unless you have small hands. The Logitech sleeve set-up runs on removable batteries, so it doesn't require having a charger with you all the time.

      A whole other option would be a netbook with a wireless access card. Asus has one with a battery life in the 11-14 hour range, and it actually delivers on that battery promise. I picked that up, along with a 2 gig ram chip, for around $450. Comes with Win7 installed, and it was easy to add Linux for a dual-boot system.

      Just be really careful to watch for the battery life specifications. Asus has netbooks with battery life going from 4 to 14 hours, all in the 10.1 inch range.

      A netbook isn't as cute, but you can do things on it that the iPad won't do well or easily. Like handling a proper emailer that's not web-based. Just make sure you upgrade to the 2 gigs of ram, or it'll be slow in Windows mode.

      Edit: Almost forgot: Go with a Targus stylus if you get an iPad. The Bamboo stylus has a more elegant look and feel, but it's nowhere near as durable as the Targus.


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      • Profile picture of the author WillR
        Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

        A whole other option would be a netbook with a wireless access card. Asus has one with a battery life in the 11-14 hour range, and it actually delivers on that battery promise. I picked that up, along with a 2 gig ram chip, for around $450. Comes with Win7 installed, and it was easy to add Linux for a dual-boot system.

        Just be really careful to watch for the battery life specifications. Asus has netbooks with battery life going from 4 to 14 hours, all in the 10.1 inch range.
        Paul,

        Nice round up. I've actually been looking at getting one of the ASUS netbooks. The specs are:

        Asus Eee PC R051PX Intel Atom N570 1.66GHz 10.1" 2GB 320GB Netbook 6 Cell Win 7: $345 AUD

        Not sure what model you have but I was reading a few reviews around the place and I came across one person who seemed to be having issues with the wireless connection, stating that it wasn't giving them the range that their normal laptop did. They thought this might be because the netbook has fewer OR smaller wireless antennas due to its size limitations.

        Have you noticed any issues like that?

        I just want something small that I can move around with mainly for answering emails and the odd Internet browsing.
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        • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
          Will,

          I have the 1005PE-PU17-BK. I don't know if it's a fluke or normal, but I get better reception on that netbook than I do on any of the laptops.
          I just want something small that I can move around with mainly for answering emails and the odd Internet browsing.
          The model you're looking at should do the job well, then. It claims up to 11 hours of battery life, which probably means you'll get around 7 or 8 under normal usage, with no real effort at power management. Still beats most laptops by hours.

          That's another thing people seem to forget to mention when comparing the iPad to laptops or netbooks... The 8 to 10 hours of battery life. Plus, it uses very little power in standby mode, and wakes instantly.


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  • Profile picture of the author troy23
    Not much you can really use it for - apart from surfing and rotating your photos.
    You'd be better off getting a Netbook.
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      Originally Posted by troy23 View Post

      Not much you can really use it for - apart from surfing and rotating your photos.
      You'd be better off getting a Netbook.
      Oh? With the right apps, you can do quite a lot with an iPad. Not as much as with a netbook, certainly, but the iPad is handy at times when a netbook might not be. Sitting in a restaurant, for example, it's much easier and more convenient to use the iPad for general browsing than to set up a netbook.

      The Dragon Dictation app is very handy for dictating articles and the like. It's quite accurate, but you want to use that with a wifi connection. It uses a lot of bandwidth for a limited 3G connection.

      The ESPN app is handier than anything I've seen on a netbook for keeping track of your favorite sports.

      I have apps on mine for Wordpress (very handy), LinkedIn, Facebook (Friendly), Twitter (Twitterific), chat (imo.im) and Skype.

      The native email app pretty much sucks for anything but short notes, but it will do in a pinch.

      DocsToGo is a pretty decent word processor for a mobile device. Combined with OfficeToPDF, you could create actual products on the iPad. And, of course, there's the voice recorders, video apps, graphic editing software...

      Get a Dropbox account and the Dropbox and Droptext apps, and you can edit text documents on the go, and have the edits available on your main PC instantly.

      The full version of SimpleMind is a nice little mind-mapping app.

      No, it's not the workhorse a desktop machine, or even a decent netbook, can be. But it's handy in ways those aren't. And if you want something for basic surfing, blogging, and social network activity, it's more than up to the task.


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    • Profile picture of the author Jokyv
      Originally Posted by troy23 View Post

      Not much you can really use it for - apart from surfing and rotating your photos.
      You'd be better off getting a Netbook.
      that is not true! there are many apps to increase your productivity such as dropbox, todo apps, paypal etc
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      • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
        Originally Posted by Jokyv View Post

        that is not true! there are many apps to increase your productivity such as dropbox, todo apps, paypal etc
        Yep.

        The iPad is all about the apps. If you want to use it as a social system, everything you could want is there. Same with many games, entertainment, portable productivity, creative thinking, general reading and surfing, etc.

        I've been having fun with an app called Noteability. It's got some very handy options for taking notes and highlighting in PDFs that make it worth using, even without all the other options.


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        • Profile picture of the author Ronak Shah
          Paul,

          Great insight.

          What I was wondering is if my iPad can do most of my work like: twitter, facebook, emails, outsourcing, blogging, forum posting, PayPal and writing emails for autoresponders then I guess an iPad would be a great deal.

          I can't use my win 7 apps like SEO Link Robot & SENukeX on ipad right?

          So I need to use the laptop for that right?

          How do you connect with an iPad say if you're an SEO / copywriter / internet marketer?

          Also, what apps you use to get your work done?

          Surely, iPad gets a thumbs up for me so I need one. Just want to know ways to exploit this gadget.
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          • Profile picture of the author Canuckystan
            I have the Ipad 3G and I hate it for business. Always little things it won't do or takes forever to do. No USB, no printing, no file management.

            As a toy or for just typing emails or blog postings, it would be fine.

            But if you are doing anything more sophisticated (like even word processing), get a laptop or netbook with a 3g stick.
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            • Profile picture of the author bobcath
              Originally Posted by Canuckystan View Post

              I have the Ipad 3G and I hate it for business. Always little things it won't do or takes forever to do. No USB, no printing, no file management.
              .
              Not true. I print straight from my ipad to my HP 3050 printer using the HP app, it works just fine. I have no issues with file management, and dont need a usb when I can use the cloud to store and transfer files.

              As other have said, there are some things it cant do as well as PC, however for me it definitely has its place. Almost instant online, can check emails very quickly. Personally I dont store music or films so the 16g was plenty for my purpose.

              AND its a great toy!

              Good luck
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          • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
            Ronak,

            You can do the blogging, Twitter, and Facebook stuff via various apps. Forum posting, yes, but you'd need a separate keyboard if you do much of it. And writing text messages on it is easy.

            Windows software? No. There's no way to do that, as far as I know.

            For email, it sucks. Unless you go with webmail, in which case Google's Gmail app is handy.

            I've been using mine mostly for the creative thinking stuff and some document creation. I'm leaning toward using one in a docking station as a social media center when I'm in the office. (Jensen has a dock with some nice features that looks about right.) The other will just be the portable Internet connection.

            Edit: For surfing, try out Opera Mini. It's crazy fast compared to Safari.


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            • Profile picture of the author adribabe
              +1 for opera mini. Still not convinced on a tablet vs. my 13" Dell XPS to be honest. This thing is a power machine and makes the ipad look like a glorified calculator in comparison.
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              • We have an iPad and an iPad 2, both WiFi + 3G. The 2 rocks for speed.

                A friend has a USB keyboard for his iPad but he says it is slow. That would drive me crazy.

                We have the magnetic cover for the iPad 2. I'm beginning to think it's more trouble than it's worth. It was $69 at the Apple Store. Most of the time I can't get the iPad 2 to stand at a comfortable angle.

                We find the iPads inconvenient to transport. We really should have a case or bag for each but if you're going to do that, you might as well take a super-light laptop like a MacBook Air.

                In fact, when the original iPad came out I tried it out but bought a MacBook Air instead. We wouldn't have iPads at all except both were Christmas gifts for my husband.

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  • Profile picture of the author Deji
    I have the Ipad 3G and I hate it for business. Always little things it won't do or takes forever to do. No USB, no printing, no file management.

    The Toshiba Thrive and Blackberry Playbook both have USB ports. While the Thrive uses a full blown USB port, the Playbook uses a mini-USB port. The Playbook has file management, not sure about the Thrive as I don't have one. However, I'm sure it does. There is no tablet, including thr iPad, that can presently be used to print. And who knows, maybe there is now an app for that.
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  • Profile picture of the author adribabe
    File management = big iThing downside. My biggest complain about my iphone, aside from that keyboard I still can't find. Where is it?? :p
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  • Profile picture of the author Manie Amari
    R.I.P Steve Jobs and God bless you man!

    I don't know what I would do with out my Ipad. One of the greatest invention in my life time and I'm only a quarter of a century old, lol.

    Get the 64 GB 3G & Wifi, you can't go wrong. If you get anything smaller just remember I told you so! Once you put on a few films, plus all your favourite songs and tons of apps that memory can vanish pretty easily.
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  • Profile picture of the author satrap
    Thank you all for your helpful comments and suggestions. I think I am almost convinced to get an ipad.

    By the way, I keep hearing about kindle fire and how at 1/3 of the price of the ipad, it works almost as good (some say even better) as ipad. Anyone using it?
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    • Profile picture of the author YasirYar
      Originally Posted by satrap View Post

      Thank you all for your helpful comments and suggestions. I think I am almost convinced to get an ipad.

      By the way, I keep hearing about kindle fire and how at 1/3 of the price of the ipad, it works almost as good (some say even better) as ipad. Anyone using it?

      You should watch that video. It's a good comparison between Kindle Fire and iPad 2.
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