iPad: Bye Bye laptop! Jailbroken iPad here I come!

[waa1futs]

Originally Posted by Mainsail

I actually think it boils down to UI. If you can do most of what you need with a touch UI, then the iPad is a great solution.

Now you don't even need to think of the iPad as a touch UI unless you want to, thanks to BTC Mouse. You could use the iPad just like you would a computer with a physical keyboard + mouse.
Check it out:

[Mrg02d]

Originally Posted by iRCL

Congratulations, you're going to jailbreak an iPad and use a tablet for a role it was never intended to fill

Remind us why you're not using an Android tablet

Says who? Pages, keynote, ect ect all say otherwise. Im a big android fan, but know a good tablet when I use one.

Ipad 3 is king of tablets. My GS3 is awsome for a phone due to android and what I use my phone for, but my ipad 3 with iOS is super easy to use for classwork. Its smooth, snappy, and the retina display is easy on the eyes.

[ZBoater]

So you don't own any other gadget that will ever need an upgrade?

And you will never need to watch a DVD?

And never need to go to a site that uses flash?

You are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Like I said, good luck with that. I hope you never have to edit someone else's Powerpoint or buy Jawbone speaker or want to use that one app that needs a real OS...

[MrMacNasty]

Agreed. Good luck to the OP on ditching his laptop. He'll be spending most of his computing time every day on attempting non-stop workarounds.

Originally Posted by ZBoater

So you don't own any other gadget that will ever need an upgrade?

And you will never need to watch a DVD?

And never need to go to a site that uses flash?

You are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Like I said, good luck with that. I hope you never have to edit someone else's Powerpoint or buy Jawbone speaker or want to use that one app that needs a real OS...

[Uofmtiger]

Originally Posted by ZBoater

So you don't own any other gadget that will ever need an upgrade?

And you will never need to watch a DVD?

And never need to go to a site that uses flash?

You are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Like I said, good luck with that. I hope you never have to edit someone else's Powerpoint or buy Jawbone speaker or want to use that one app that needs a real OS...

I personally need a computer for Excel, Photoshop, etc. but I could see how it would be possible to live with just an iPad...although I wouldn't want to.

The MBA gets by without a DVD player, so many are living without it on their laptops now. Photon browser handles any Flash needs ( which, for me, is rare). Jambone has speakers that use Bluetooth which works with the iPad. I use MOG with AirPlay devices around the house all the time.

As I mentioned, I need to have more than an iPad, but people have different needs.

[ZBoater]

Originally Posted by Uofmtiger

?.Jambone has speakers that use Bluetooth which works with the iPad.

Yes, but they have upgradeable software/firmware which will be quite difficult to upgrade with an iPad...

[Night Spring]

Originally Posted by MrMacNasty

Agreed. Good luck to the OP on ditching his laptop. He'll be spending most of his computing time every day on attempting non-stop workarounds.

Not everyone has coworkers who gives them files on USB drives every day. It is possible, depending on a person's usage habits, that you could use an iPad as your only computer for long stretches of time, and only have to look for a workaround every once so often.

That said, I have to say I don't see the attraction of the jailbreak Bluetooth mouse thing. If a task needs a mouse, that's the point where I reach for my MacBook Air or my iMac. To me, the point of the iPad is that it's an instant-on device I can take everywhere with me without need for carrying and setting up extra accessories like mouse and keyboard. Parking an iPad on a desktop feels to me Ike defeating its purpose.

[Uofmtiger]

Originally Posted by ZBoater

Yes, but they have upgradeable software/firmware which will be quite difficult to upgrade with an iPad...

Why would you need to update firmware on a Bluetooth speaker? Seems like a strange need. I have two Bluetooth speakers ( Motorolla & Creative) and they both worked fine out of the box.

I have needed a computer to update my Harmony remotes, though.

[iThinkergoiMac]

Originally Posted by waa1futs

How do I play REAL games with a physical controller?
Snes9x EX (jailbreak app) + wiimote classic controller

Didn't realize you could emulate all the games I play on Steam...

How do I connect an external drive? Capture video from my HDV camcorder? Photoshop? Final Cut? Connect an external monitor for an extended desktop? Burn a CD/DVD (yes, I have to every now and then)?

What about 3D modeling? Website creation? Space to store everything? My iTunes library alone is nearly 100 GB, meaning an iPad can hold just over 1/2 of it.

The iPad has a lot of benefits over a laptop now that the holes above have been fixed (alot of them through jailbreak):
- Retina display
- 10 hour battery life
- Very light and thin
- No viruses to worry about
- Voice dictation
- Can watch videos on the treadmill at the gym
- Apple store customer service
- Low price compared to ultrabooks
- Thousands of apps

In the past even one of these things being missing might have made me hesitant to go 100% pc-free but no longer. I can't think of a single reason though why I would use a laptop over an iPad anymore.

The rMBP has a retina screen (though is obviously far more expensive). Macs don't have any viruses to worry about and voice dictation is EASILY achieved on any laptop OS. Thousands of apps? The number of apps for Windows and/or Mac easily dwarfs the number of apps available for iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch.

Don't get me wrong, the iPad can do A LOT. If you're mainly concerned with web browsing, email, Facebook, a bit of musc, and some fun games, it could easily be all you need.

But, the BIGGEST reason, IMO, why the iPad is not truly ready to be a substitute for a laptop/desktop: inability to self-diagnose. If your computer is not functioning correctly, you can generally fix it with itself or even another computer (so long as it isn't a hardware problem, obviously). Not possible with an iPad. Even if it is possible with a jailbroken iPad, it absolutely must be possible with a vanilla iPad before you could consider it for a primary computing device.

So, if it works for you, more power to you! I'm sure it's convenient. Just, don't ditch that laptop quite yet. If something ever goes seriously wrong with your iPad, you'll need your computer to fix it.

[Uofmtiger]

I would think you could restore from iCloud? Not sure about restoring the jailbreak.

[AppleDApp]

Great thread I sold my laptop last fall I use my iPad exclusively at school. For the odd case where I need a computer there are plenty available to me on campus.

PS mine isn't jailbroken.

[Night Spring]

Originally Posted by Uofmtiger

I would think you could restore from iCloud? Not sure about restoring the jailbreak.

Aaah, good point. For now, you do need a computer to jailbreak your iPad.

[faroZ06]

Originally Posted by waa1futs

- No viruses to worry about
- Voice dictation
- Apple store customer service

Are you comparing this to a MacBook? If so, these three are wrong. Mountain Lion supports voice dictation. There are no Mac viruses as of right now. There is still Apple support.

If you meant to say "malware", not "viruses", you can still get iOS malware if you jailbreak. Malware is not a real threat on iOS or Mac OS, though.

Good for you if you're enjoying using an iPad instead of a PC, but here's something you can't have: extra storage. You can add storage to a PC and not to an iPad. And a PC comes with much more storage than an iPad. But if you're just using it for work and some play, it's not a problem. But you can't manage your photo/video/music library on an iPad.

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Originally Posted by iThinkergoiMac

Didn't realize you could emulate all the games I play on Steam...

How do I connect an external drive? Capture video from my HDV camcorder? Photoshop? Final Cut? Connect an external monitor for an extended desktop? Burn a CD/DVD (yes, I have to every now and then)?

What about 3D modeling? Website creation? Space to store everything? My iTunes library alone is nearly 100 GB, meaning an iPad can hold just over 1/2 of it.

It's for him, not for you. The iPad is a great work machine.

[wellgroomednerd]

I, for one, would like to say congrats on being able to replace your laptop with an iPad. I've been trying for months. The only thing standing in my way is the ability to upload documents to websites and other services.

I'm happy that iOS 6 gives users the ability to upload photographs from the camera roll and photo stream. The only thing left is to upload documents from Pages or even Dropbox.

[3bs]

Originally Posted by wellgroomednerd

I, for one, would like to say congrats on being able to replace your laptop with an iPad. I've been trying for months. The only thing standing in my way is the ability to upload documents to websites and other services.

I'm happy that iOS 6 gives users the ability to upload photographs from the camera roll and photo stream. The only thing left is to upload documents from Pages or even Dropbox.

One of the features on Android that I really love is the ability to share anything to any of the apps that can accept the file you want to send.

[AppleDApp]

Originally Posted by wellgroomednerd

I, for one, would like to say congrats on being able to replace your laptop with an iPad. I've been trying for months. The only thing standing in my way is the ability to upload documents to websites and other services.

I'm happy that iOS 6 gives users the ability to upload photographs from the camera roll and photo stream. The only thing left is to upload documents from Pages or even Dropbox.

I thought you could attach pdf's in iOS 6.

[Mainsail]

Originally Posted by ZBoater

So you don't own any other gadget that will ever need an upgrade?

And you will never need to watch a DVD?

And never need to go to a site that uses flash?

You are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Like I said, good luck with that. I hope you never have to edit someone else's Powerpoint or buy Jawbone speaker or want to use that one app that needs a real OS...

I know this will blow some folks minds, especially on this forum, but there are a huge number of people that don't even know their gadgets have firmware. They could not be bothered with doing an update.

Most people watch DVDs with DVD players on big screen TVs, and have no desire to watch them on a 13 inch laptop. Besides, DVD/CD players will soon disappear from computers.

Most people edit PowerPoint presentations on their work computers, which are provided by their employers... Btw - there are numerous iOS apps that will allow you to annotate documents or PDF of PowerPoint slides, which is not a bad alternative in a pinch.

I understand why it might seem likes a square peg round whole thing to some of us.....but a huge number of people have simple needs and want a simple solution. I suspect most people spend over 90% of their leisure computing time with email, web browsing, maps, photos, calendars, social media, simple banking, and streaming some music and youtube videos. An iPad can certainly handle these things with ease.

[Thegolem]

I'm actually wanting to do this and as a relatively light user of a pc I thought it would be pretty feasible...it's not. It's not because if unjailbroken, (something I don't want to dedicate time to learning about) it doesn't give the user the ability to store,create *and arrange documents and files and folders like a personal computer does...and by personal computer I mean Personal Computers 'in general' not 'just windows PC's. *
What I find curious about this is Steve Jobs himself talked about 'post PC devices' as if he wanted to bring about the demise of the PC,and by that he meant Personal Computers 'in general' not 'just windows PC's,(this was at ATD and Walt Mossberg asked him specifically about this) but when it came to the iPad he could have made it able to pick up some of the hard drive work that personal computers can do. Why didn't he? Do they think it will result in less Mac sales? Is there some kinda secret deal with Microsoft to align against Google that has led them to want to keep PC sales going?

[aliceconer]

With or without a keyboard, creating or editing a document or spreadsheet on your iPad isn't going to be easy unless you make an aftermarket modification.

[dchao]

Good luck fixing that JailBroken iPad (if it goes wrong one day) without another computer.

[ZBoater]

Originally Posted by Uofmtiger

Why would you need to update firmware on a Bluetooth speaker? Seems like a strange need. I have two Bluetooth speakers ( Motorolla & Creative) and they both worked fine out of the box.

I have needed a computer to update my Harmony remotes, though.

Because you can? The makers of Jawbone speakers made them with upgradeable firmware. You can change voices (what they say the you turn them on), you can change their name as seen by Bluetooth receivers, you can add other features. But not with an iPad.

[SeanR1]

Originally Posted by faroZ06

Are you comparing this to a MacBook? If so, these three are wrong. Mountain Lion supports voice dictation. There are no Mac viruses as of right now. There is still Apple support.

If you meant to say "malware", not "viruses", you can still get iOS malware if you jailbreak. Malware is not a real threat on iOS or Mac OS, though.

Good for you if you're enjoying using an iPad instead of a PC, but here's something you can't have: extra storage. You can add storage to a PC and not to an iPad. And a PC comes with much more storage than an iPad. But if you're just using it for work and some play, it's not a problem. But you can't manage your photo/video/music library on an iPad.

----------

It's for him, not for you. The iPad is a great work machine.

Extra Storage

[stuaz]

Originally Posted by ZBoater

Because you can? The makers of Jawbone speakers made them with upgradeable firmware. You can change voices (what they say the you turn them on), you can change their name as seen by Bluetooth receivers, you can add other features. But not with an iPad.

You know his answer will just be "I don't need to do that so it doesn't matter"

[Paito]

You can say that I replaced my laptop with an ipad because I gave my nephew my old NetBoot

[ZBoater]

Originally Posted by stuaz

You know his answer will just be "I don't need to do that so it doesn't matter"

Yeah, I know. What it boils down to is "can I use the iPad as my only computer?" And the answer is "if you only need to do what it can do, then yes".

Duh.