I'm sure some other people must have tried or is trying to go iPad only(no main computer, just iPad). I know I could go iPad only if the storage wasn't an issue. I've been trying to find a way to add external storage without any success. Has anyone here successfully gone iPad only?
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Going iPad only
- Thread starter itcheroni
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I know some who have tried without success. Unfortunately, as much as I love my iPad, it just can't do everything. Even today I needed to pull out my computer to render a PDF embedded in a website properly.
i read about this a while ago, but never bought it. It might solve the problem of external storage, but idk.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-57403094-58/get-a-kingston-16gb-wi-drive-for-$45-shipped/?tag=txt;title
it's called a Wi-Drive.
But as far as going solo with the iPad. I have tried it (ie. just use my iPad, and try not to use desktop or laptop, and it didn't work out for me. One reason was of course flash and browser issues (college homework for chem was online and I needed flash and an appropriate browser) Other than that, i could not download or even view embedded pdfs on a website (very important for one college class).
If i am on my desktop, I won't pull out my iPad just to browse the internet. But i would much rather browse the internet on my iPad than my MBP. I would say to have some sort of combination (be it MBA + iPad or iMac + iPad) etc. the iPad is a great device, but it just perfectly act as a desktop/laptop replacement. It isn't built for such purposes.
This is slightly off topic, but I wonder if the Windows 8 Tablets will act as a better laptop/desktop replacement.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-57403094-58/get-a-kingston-16gb-wi-drive-for-$45-shipped/?tag=txt;title
it's called a Wi-Drive.
But as far as going solo with the iPad. I have tried it (ie. just use my iPad, and try not to use desktop or laptop, and it didn't work out for me. One reason was of course flash and browser issues (college homework for chem was online and I needed flash and an appropriate browser) Other than that, i could not download or even view embedded pdfs on a website (very important for one college class).
If i am on my desktop, I won't pull out my iPad just to browse the internet. But i would much rather browse the internet on my iPad than my MBP. I would say to have some sort of combination (be it MBA + iPad or iMac + iPad) etc. the iPad is a great device, but it just perfectly act as a desktop/laptop replacement. It isn't built for such purposes.
This is slightly off topic, but I wonder if the Windows 8 Tablets will act as a better laptop/desktop replacement.
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Too early to tell at this stage, but it appears that there are some questions about developer support for the Metro UI used in Windows 8. If that is true, then Microsoft may have a difficult road ahead as far as selling people on Windows 8 is concerned, as an OS without applications would be worthless to many people.
Goodluck with going iPad only!!
Thanks. But everyone here is saying pretty much what I'm fearing. I might have to pair my iPad with a mac mini (I currently have a mbp I'm going to sell). I might use gotomypc and just access my files that way. I can be traveling through Asia and access all my files. Hmm, now I wonder if I can pull up videos or watch hulu through gotomypc and watch american tv (you can't access hulu from china).
What kind of stuff do you do on the ipad? I have relatively simple needs, so I think I might be able to do it.
PDF stuff
Printing
Scanning
Other things I can't think of at the moment once you do it you'll never go back to lugging a laptop around.
Thanks. Nice to see other people trying it.
What do you do to keep all your old documents? I've got a lot of documents I don't need to lug around on my ipad: hundreds of college papers, my movie and tv show collection, etc. You know, stuff I don't really need but don't want to lose.
Not really possible is you do a lot of general purpose computing. You would realy have to embrace cloud computing, have a 24/7 high speed connection, buy the keyboard and possibly even still have to jailbreak it. A lot of the websites I use require file managers and upload files, flash and java - no not just to watch videos but for actual productivity. I know Apple's answer is that every web developer should either optimise for IOS or develop an app but thats not going to happen.
I'd say 95% of my leisurely computing is done on the iPad but I have a PC and backbook at to do the 'real' work.
I haven't used my computer since the jb came out for the ipad2.
I can download and play any torrent via itransmission and avplayerhd, by moving the downloaded file via ifile.
I can download, manipulate, sign and print any pdf via docusign ink and iannotate.
I can scan any document wirelessly with my hp printer via vuescan.
I have added additional storage via the cloud with dropbox and can send links to anyone that needs a file from there. All my photo's and documents autoload to dropbox as they are created.
I do all my online banking via apps from the app store like Chase.
If I need to I can remote log in to my computer via splashtop.
I can shop ebay, amazon and craigslist with the apps.
I have pages and keynote to handle my document writing and powerpoint stuff.
Tapatalk handles all my forums.
Photoshop Touch and psd viewer can handle my photoshop needs for photo manipulation.
I can send photos wirelessly back and forth between any idevice and computer with transfer app.
If I felt so inclined, I could download any song from Pandora in mp3 format.
Flash is handled via Photon web browser.
There is basically nothing I can't do on my ipad, except load a cd or add expandable memory, but these are hardware liitations.
I can download and play any torrent via itransmission and avplayerhd, by moving the downloaded file via ifile.
I can download, manipulate, sign and print any pdf via docusign ink and iannotate.
I can scan any document wirelessly with my hp printer via vuescan.
I have added additional storage via the cloud with dropbox and can send links to anyone that needs a file from there. All my photo's and documents autoload to dropbox as they are created.
I do all my online banking via apps from the app store like Chase.
If I need to I can remote log in to my computer via splashtop.
I can shop ebay, amazon and craigslist with the apps.
I have pages and keynote to handle my document writing and powerpoint stuff.
Tapatalk handles all my forums.
Photoshop Touch and psd viewer can handle my photoshop needs for photo manipulation.
I can send photos wirelessly back and forth between any idevice and computer with transfer app.
If I felt so inclined, I could download any song from Pandora in mp3 format.
Flash is handled via Photon web browser.
There is basically nothing I can't do on my ipad, except load a cd or add expandable memory, but these are hardware liitations.
no. ipad alone isn't enough for me. it gets about 90% of my work done (reading, writing with external keyboard), but it is that last 10% that i need the mbp (or a school computer) for.
1 combine scanned pages into a pdf and ocr them
2 upload files to blackboard (icab cannot do it)
3 use certain websites that no browser can handle on the ipad (frames and poor web design)
it's not much, but it is an issue. dropbox provides plenty of storage, along with evernote and other cloud services. i just need a few little things and i can be free of the laptop. the good news is that i will probably not have to buy another computer again.
in china, if you can use vpn you ought to be fine accessing university resources and hulu. cina can be tricky, though, so if there are files you need, at least bring along a portable hard drive to plug into a friend's computer for access if needed.
1 combine scanned pages into a pdf and ocr them
2 upload files to blackboard (icab cannot do it)
3 use certain websites that no browser can handle on the ipad (frames and poor web design)
it's not much, but it is an issue. dropbox provides plenty of storage, along with evernote and other cloud services. i just need a few little things and i can be free of the laptop. the good news is that i will probably not have to buy another computer again.
in china, if you can use vpn you ought to be fine accessing university resources and hulu. cina can be tricky, though, so if there are files you need, at least bring along a portable hard drive to plug into a friend's computer for access if needed.
Almost there, but not quite yet. I need the following:
1) a full MS-compatible word processor and spreadsheet app
2) ability to render Flash websites with no issues (some sites on Photon or other such browsers still choke)
3) touch version of Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop. I know there's an iOS Photoshop, but it's not sufficiently featured yet.
4) ability to upload files via a web browser easily
Give me these three things and I can very nearly cover everything I'd need to do. These are all primarily software issues though. Aside from Flash, I wouldn't be surprised to see each of these addressed in the next 3-5 years. I can say without a shred of doubt (ok, maybe a sliver) that I will be using a tablet as my primary computing device by 2015. This might mean that I dock to something more powerful sometimes, but most of the time my tablet will do everything I need it to do.
1) a full MS-compatible word processor and spreadsheet app
2) ability to render Flash websites with no issues (some sites on Photon or other such browsers still choke)
3) touch version of Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop. I know there's an iOS Photoshop, but it's not sufficiently featured yet.
4) ability to upload files via a web browser easily
Give me these three things and I can very nearly cover everything I'd need to do. These are all primarily software issues though. Aside from Flash, I wouldn't be surprised to see each of these addressed in the next 3-5 years. I can say without a shred of doubt (ok, maybe a sliver) that I will be using a tablet as my primary computing device by 2015. This might mean that I dock to something more powerful sometimes, but most of the time my tablet will do everything I need it to do.
This is a very interesting thread. I still having my eyes open to find a comfortable file management solution. Dropbox is a great opportunity but I wanted to rename files. Googreader had a iCloud solution for iOS devices but is not a real file management service and as I wrote just "had". I hope that Apple will come up with a new iDisk for iCloud this summer.
I wish I could but tablets don't quite have the computing power that I need yet. I need Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and XCode to get a lot of my work done.
Not being able to set up a file and file folder system on my iPad is my one single largest GRIPE! Yes, I know there are some apps but they are all work arounds and do not let me exploit my 64gb of RAM that I purchased. Apple's failure to do this will always keep my iPad in the realm of a Internet appliance rather than a serious business device.
Seagate makes a wireless hard drive that will do what you want and I am sure that it will,store more info than you could ever want. It is not what I want to carry. I use DropBox but even it is crippled and will not work like it does on my computers and you must download a file before you can use it. DropBox is as close as it comes. Apple will not change and makes me still interested in the new Win8 tablets to arrive later this year.
I want more freedom from Apple and iTunes!
There is this for external storage but I don't know well it works.
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-gb/products/external/external-hard-drive/goflex-satellite/
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-gb/products/external/external-hard-drive/goflex-satellite/
I've been thinking about going this way as my work mobile device.
The main things I do on my current mobile work laptop (Mac Book Air) are:
Email - no problem with that, seamless apart from the ease of attaching files, but hopefully that will improve;
Internet - again, no real issues with only the occasional website not being supported by Safari;
Office documents - with the addition of a wireless keyboard, I can get by with the iOS offerings (Pages & Numbers) for simple documents, but the file management is cumbersome and lacks the simplicity of opening/saving/importing/exporting of documents that is part of everyday life on OSX or Windows;
Photo albums - the iPad is ideal for this;
Presentations - I haven't yet tried Keynote on either the iPad or Mac, but the reviews do look good, again apart from file management issues. It appears that with the addition of a VGA adapter these can be displayed on a projector and can even be controlled using an iPod or iPhone as the remote.
So I'm almost swayed if the file management can be improved on the iPad, but at that point I'd be wanting to store all my data on the iPad and I'm already close to the limit on my 128GB Mac Book Air. So, bring a 256GB iPad with better file management and I'll be sold!
The main things I do on my current mobile work laptop (Mac Book Air) are:
Email - no problem with that, seamless apart from the ease of attaching files, but hopefully that will improve;
Internet - again, no real issues with only the occasional website not being supported by Safari;
Office documents - with the addition of a wireless keyboard, I can get by with the iOS offerings (Pages & Numbers) for simple documents, but the file management is cumbersome and lacks the simplicity of opening/saving/importing/exporting of documents that is part of everyday life on OSX or Windows;
Photo albums - the iPad is ideal for this;
Presentations - I haven't yet tried Keynote on either the iPad or Mac, but the reviews do look good, again apart from file management issues. It appears that with the addition of a VGA adapter these can be displayed on a projector and can even be controlled using an iPod or iPhone as the remote.
So I'm almost swayed if the file management can be improved on the iPad, but at that point I'd be wanting to store all my data on the iPad and I'm already close to the limit on my 128GB Mac Book Air. So, bring a 256GB iPad with better file management and I'll be sold!