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Finally decided to pull the trigger

Phil A.

Phil A.

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Apr 2, 2006
5,800
3,100
Shropshire, UK
First, a bit of background: I had an iPhone, iPhone 3G and 3GS but was underwhelmed with the iPhone 4 and moved to an HTC Desire. I feel this was completely the right decision for my phone requirements and absolutely love Android as a platform and the Desire as a phone.

When the iPad was originally announced I was unconvinced that it could do the job of a NetBook and decided to wait and see what developed over the next few months. Those months have seen a steady development of the iOS platform with some fantastic apps being released and the soon to arrive 4.x release for iPad. They have also seen a raft of Android tablets being announced, but none of them seem to have the "wow" factor of the iPad and, to be honest, seem like rip-off "me too" products. I'm also unconvinced about smaller screen sizes: 5" is too small for a tablet, as 7" may be too.

So, after what has to be my longest decision making process ever I have finally decided that the iPad is the device I need and will be picking up a 32GB WiFi model this afternoon :D

I know that a new iPad is possibly due in the next few months, but that isn't something that bothers me: I need a device today, not next year and as of today the current iPad is that device.

I went for the WiFi over the 3G one because I can use WiFi tethering to my Desire if I need to access data out and about and the 32GB model as it seemed a good balance between cost and capacity (and is under the £500 psychological barrier to get it past my other half!!)

The great thing I think about having an Android phone and an iPad is that I can continue to use both platforms and avoid the rabid fanboyism from either side - it really is the best of both worlds.
 
Phil A. said:
First, a bit of background: I had an iPhone, iPhone 3G and 3GS but was underwhelmed with the iPhone 4 and moved to an HTC Desire. I feel this was completely the right decision for my phone requirements and absolutely love Android as a platform and the Desire as a phone.

When the iPad was originally announced I was unconvinced that it could do the job of a NetBook and decided to wait and see what developed over the next few months. Those months have seen a steady development of the iOS platform with some fantastic apps being released and the soon to arrive 4.x release for iPad. They have also seen a raft of Android tablets being announced, but none of them seem to have the "wow" factor of the iPad and, to be honest, seem like rip-off "me too" products. I'm also unconvinced about smaller screen sizes: 5" is too small for a tablet, as 7" may be too.

So, after what has to be my longest decision making process ever I have finally decided that the iPad is the device I need and will be picking up a 32GB WiFi model this afternoon :D

I know that a new iPad is possibly due in the next few months, but that isn't something that bothers me: I need a device today, not next year and as of today the current iPad is that device.

I went for the WiFi over the 3G one because I can use WiFi tethering to my Desire if I need to access data out and about and the 32GB model as it seemed a good balance between cost and capacity (and is under the £500 psychological barrier to get it past my other half!!)

The great thing I think about having an Android phone and an iPad is that I can continue to use both platforms and avoid the rabid fanboyism from either side - it really is the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...
Awesome! I bought my iPad yesterday and I really love it, while I wasn't convinced at first either! I bought the 32GB 3G model because it has GPS and of course because of the 3G connection (I've already got a 3G unlimited plan).

Browsing is a beauty on this device (I'm typing this on the iPad!) and it's really awesome. Oh, and you can play .avi movies via the VLC app. :)
 
I was the same way. I originally had a iPhone 3G, got rid of it for a Droid (loving it!), but still wanted an iPad. After several months of deliberating, I finally got an iPad 32GB + 3G. I absolutely love it! But now my Verizon contract is up, and after all of this iOS fun I am starting to want to go back to the iPhone though... :)
 
tj722 said:
I was the same way. I originally had a iPhone 3G, got rid of it for a Droid (loving it!), but still wanted an iPad. After several months of deliberating, I finally got an iPad 32GB + 3G. I absolutely love it! But now my Verizon contract is up, and after all of this iOS fun I am starting to want to go back to the iPhone though... :)
Click to expand...

Loving my iPhone 4. :)
 
Well, I got my iPad this afternoon, and it's absolutely amazing (not sure about magical, though :) ). The extra screen size really gives iOS space to shine and the native apps are a revelation. I've downloaded the iWork suite which is awesome and integrates perfectly with our SharePoint document library.

I'd say to anyone still on the fence like I was to jump in and enjoy the iPad :)
 
What in the **** underwhelmed you about the iPhone 4?? Jesus, its the most significant update the iPhones ever seen.
 
alectheking said:
What in the **** underwhelmed you about the iPhone 4?? Jesus, its the most significant update the iPhones ever seen.
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That's your opinion and you are perfectly entitled to it, just as I am perfectly entitled to my opinion that it underwhelmed me :)
 
Phil A. said:
That's your opinion and you are perfectly entitled to it, just as I am perfectly entitled to my opinion that it underwhelmed me :)
Click to expand...

jallenclark said:
What were you expecting that it did not have?
Click to expand...

I really don't want to turn this thread into yet another iPhone vs Android thread, but personally I prefer the calling features, full multitasking and more open market on an Android Phone to an iPhone. I just think iOS comes to life on the bigger screen of the iPad.
 
I agree that an iPad is great - I like mine. I have an iphone 4 too though - the HTC desire is OK, but it's not for me...

But, my main question is...

"Pull the trigger"? :confused: Really? Is that what we're saying in Britain now? :rolleyes:

Did you "go ahead" too? Before you "pulled the trigger"?
David Mitchell has some advice

Still, hope you enjoy the iPad mate.
 
Phil A. said:
I really don't want to turn this thread into yet another iPhone vs Android thread, but personally I prefer the calling features, full multitasking and more open market on an Android Phone to an iPhone. I just think iOS comes to life on the bigger screen of the iPad.
Click to expand...

You said you were underwhelmed by the iPhone 4, I thought you meant missing features you expected it to have. I think you would have to be crazy to expect Apple to launch anything with those features (not sure what calling features you may be referring to so maybe not that one).

I have never had an Android phone so maybe I don't realize what I am missing. What calling features do you use on your phone? What multi-tasking do you do that the iphone can't? what apps do you like that you can't get on the iPhone (I can agree I wish I had a wireless tethering app with jailbreaking)?
 
jallenclark said:
You said you were underwhelmed by the iPhone 4, I thought you meant missing features you expected it to have. I think you would have to be crazy to expect Apple to launch anything with those features (not sure what calling features you may be referring to so maybe not that one).

I have never had an Android phone so maybe I don't realize what I am missing. What calling features do you use on your phone? What multi-tasking do you do that the iphone can't? what apps do you like that you can't get on the iPhone (I can agree I wish I had a wireless tethering app with jailbreaking)?
Click to expand...

Multi-tasking on Android is just that - any and all apps you start will continue to function in the background so you can (for example), start downloading books in Kindle and then go and do something else. Or, you can have an app that puts itself to sleep and wakes up periodically to do something like a status update. Battery life on my Desire is about the same as it was with my 3GS (maybe slightly better), so I'm not convinced by the "multi-tasking kills battery life" arguments.

I think the notification system Android uses is miles ahead of the iPhone one (particularly for a phone where you might not want to deal with things straight away), the call quality is better and I prefer the dialler on the Android (actually, I should qualify that as it's the HTC Sense dialler in particular which is better). Then you have the option to add widgets to your home screen so you can see your upcoming appointments, recent emails, current weather forecast, etc (not forgetting FriendStream for those that are "into" Facebook and Twitter) without opening the apps themselves up.

Finally, the GPS seems far more accurate in my Desire than it did in my 3GS (not sure if its improved on the iPhone 4) - I tried CoPilot with my iPhone and it would occasionally lose its lock in built up areas, but I've had no such problems with my Desire.

In all, I think Android is a better fit than iOS for a handheld device like a phone for my requirements. However, all those things that make it great on a small device that you might want to glance at to see what's happening are not really required on a larger device such as the iPad that you pick up and use for an extended period.
 
I know how Multi-tasking works on Android, but you didn't list anything that you can do with it that you can't do with iOS version of multi-tasking, I was trying to figure out what you were doing that you can do with iphone. Kindle will download in the background if I leave once I buy a book. The app that puts itself to sleep then wakes it self up, what would be an example?

I agree 100% on the notification system, it is old and tired. I wish they would copy something from webOS and Android for the iPhone.

I can say the GPS in iPhone 4 is much more accurate than any of my older ones, not only that but is finds a signal much quicker. Almost instantly anymore, never have to wait.
 
jallenclark said:
The app that puts itself to sleep then wakes it self up, what would be an example?
Click to expand...

A simple example would be something like a server monitor that needs to wake up every 10 minutes or so and check that a server is still accessible and raise an alarm notification if it isn't. Also, as I understand it the background completion option in iOS (which I presume Kindle uses to finish downloading) is time-limited and apps can't just continue in the background indefinitely
 
Phil A. said:
A simple example would be something like a server monitor that needs to wake up every 10 minutes or so and check that a server is still accessible and raise an alarm notification if it isn't. Also, as I understand it the background completion option in iOS (which I presume Kindle uses to finish downloading) is time-limited and apps can't just continue in the background indefinitely
Click to expand...

I guess that makes sense, I never thought about doing something like that from my phone. Are you really doing this from your phone? If you are using a program to monitor your server from your phone I would recommend some much more powerful and free options like poweradmin.com. They will send you email notifications instantly.

I am not sure about the time limit for background apps. What apps do you need open indefinitely?
 
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