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How do you use your iPad?

M

maddux530

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 5, 2011
25
0
I have an early-2009 iMac, a mid-2011 MacBook Air, and an iPhone 4S. As a tech fan and a lover of Apple products, I've always been fascinated by the iPad and follow the launches of new products. Yet, I can't figure out how I'd actually use an iPad, so I've never bought one.

I feel like I've got my bases covered: music/photos/movies (iMac), travel/school/work (MacBook), games/text/communication (iPhone).

What am I missing? How do you use your iPads? What function do they serve for you? Sell me. :cool:
 
I used mine instead of my MacBook for (graduate) school (with external keyboard) was so much easier / lighter to carry. Now that I've graduated I use the iPad when we go away for weekends and such instead of bringing the MacBook.
For me It also keeps my husband and I from needing a second laptop. One laptop and the iPad and we're fine.
 
maddux530 said:
I have an early-2009 iMac, a mid-2011 MacBook Air, and an iPhone 4S. As a tech fan and a lover of Apple products, I've always been fascinated by the iPad and follow the launches of new products. Yet, I can't figure out how I'd actually use an iPad, so I've never bought one.

I feel like I've got my bases covered: music/photos/movies (iMac), travel/school/work (MacBook), games/text/communication (iPhone).

What am I missing? How do you use your iPads? What function do they serve for you? Sell me. :cool:
Click to expand...

I've got all of these as well, and the iPad. Do you need it? Flat out - no. But will you love it if you have one? Yes. I use mine as my primary Kindle e-reader. Could also read Kindle books on my iPhone and MBA, but neither of those are ideal. It's also the first thing I pick up in the morning and the last thing I look at before I go to bed at night (usually to browse through my RSS feeds, check/reply to email, surf the web). Works very well as a content consumption device. On the road, it's always with me as well. It's nice having all my photos, music (via iTunes Match) and movies with me, accessible in a couple of seconds. And through a variety of different apps, I have access to all of my critical business files as well.

But to be honest, the iPad is in such a "tweener" state right now, that I just don't really need it. Ideally, I would LOVE to replace my MBA with it. I would LOVE to be able to hook it up to an external monitor and run full fledged desktop apps on it. I think that's certainly the direction we're headed in, but the technology isn't quite there yet.
 
I'm a high school student, so my use might not be the same as yours would be. I use mine for web browsing, Twitter, email, iMessaging, editing and sharing photos, streaming music, drawing (with a stylus), and writing papers. I also use it for note-taking (with the aforementioned stylus and verbal) in school and stuff like that. I don't have a physical keyboard for it, as I actually prefer a touch screen now.

The school provides us with netbooks for school, but I prefer my iPad, which doesn't need as much maintenance, weighs less, has a smaller footprint in my bag, more customizable, and is more flexible. My netbook has essentially turned into a printing terminal while at school, and a paper weight at home.

I also have a smartphone, but most of the time I just tether my iPad to it or text with it. My desktop is a media hub and CADD machine mainly. I also use it for creating visuals for my school's robotics team website. My iPad is usually used as a wireless second monitor during desktop use.

My iPad gets the most use out of my gadgets for sure, and I find it to be the near-perfect computing device for someone who is very mobile like me, especially in conjunction with other mobile devices. With all the apps available for it, however, it is easy to find uses for it. But your workflow and lifestyle might not be well-suited for the iPad.
 
I have a mac mini as my main computer and am going to purchasing a MBA very soon for some light gaming and for writing. I mostly use my iPad for web browsing and reading, with a game here and there. It's great to have sitting on my coffee table so if I want to look something up while I am watching tv or playing xbox i don't have to go into my office. I have splashtop streamer on mine as well, so I can login to my parents computers if they need tech support help. I also use it to watch netflix on my lunch break at work. In my opinion as I am sure plenty of people on these forums have said, it's definitely a consumption device. It can be used to create, but at least for me it's mostly for consumption, which is a great thing.
 
Thanks very much for your responses, dwburnell, bettaboy123, Fattytail, and Rufian829! They were very helpful.
 
When I was in grad school, I had the 2010 Macbook Air. I used it to take notes, typing papers and analyzing data with excel. After graduation, I only use it for surfing the internet and music etc. I just got the new iPad and I think it can replace my air completely.
 
I'm a researcher, and used the iPad to go paperless in my office. It's excellent as a pdf reader (especially the iPad 3 gen with the retina screen), so I no longer have piles of paper sitting around my office but read everything on my iPad. Screen is great, everything is easy to retrieve and syncs seamlessly via Dropbox.

I also use the iPad as my digital note book. No more searching around the office for bits of paper, or not having the right notebook with me when I'm travelling.

I use the iPad as my main day to day portable device, and find it superior to my Air for that purpose due to the combination of long battery life, 3G access and stylus input. I bring an external keyboard along as needed. I never have to worry about running out of battery or finding a way to connect to the internet, and I can easily integrate drawing and figures as I take notes.

When I go on longer trip I take my Air with me, and while I do write a fair bit on the iPad, my Air is still my main device for content production.

I find that they complement each other very well.
 
I use mine daily at work as a music device (battery lasts for ever). Also when around the house as a device for web surfing. I often download films/TV shows and plug into the TV via HDMI adapter. Yes you can do all this with a laptop, but it's so much quicker. Being so small means you can take it almost everywhere and coupled with a smartphone that supports tethering, you have a decent internet device on you at all times.
If I go away on holiday, I always stuff the iPad with TV Shows and Music for the journey.
Last weekend I went for a bike ride, ended up at a nice park where I was able to enjoy the sunshine while at the same time using the web to find out more about the area and read a book. Again smartphone + paper book would have worked, but this was more convenient.

So yes you probably don't need one, but you won't regret it if you did get one.
 
I wake up in the morning and use my iPad to check emails etc... I read through web comics, news and forums while I have my breakfast. I use it intermittently throughout the day for work and personal reasons. When I'm traveling and not behind the wheel I usually have a book on it and when I go to bed I'll have it loaded with some videos or YouTube.

I'd say I get my use from it. ;)
 
maddux530 said:
I have an early-2009 iMac, a mid-2011 MacBook Air, and an iPhone 4S. As a tech fan and a lover of Apple products, I've always been fascinated by the iPad and follow the launches of new products. Yet, I can't figure out how I'd actually use an iPad, so I've never bought one.

I feel like I've got my bases covered: music/photos/movies (iMac), travel/school/work (MacBook), games/text/communication (iPhone).

What am I missing? How do you use your iPads? What function do they serve for you? Sell me. :cool:
Click to expand...

I'm not a salesperson so am not going to "sell" you an iPad. Personally as a medical student, it's awesome to take it around the wards while seeing patients. No way you could do that with a laptop and doing so with an iPhone is annoying and looks unprofessional.
 
My iPad is where I do 90% of my email, reading, browsing and general computer using. My MBP is basically treated like a desktop, I don't carry it around with me unless I really need to. The iPad is great for any sort of student IMO.
 
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