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Yeah idk about the OP, but my iPad is in full use almost everyday. It comes with me to school to take notes and write whatever and study, etc.

I use my iphone and older macbook as well, but the iPad is the car of the group. iPhone being motorcycle and MacBook being the truck.

The iPad has definitely become the go to device for so many different tasks, namely because of the instant on and portability of the thing.
The iPhone is the main communicator, but the iPad has countless uses.
 
can't pry it out of my wife's hand

The best thing is my wife never interrupts me anymore to say "i need to log in or do something real quick", she logs into the desktop maybe once a month tops, her iPad has almost totally replaced her need for a full featured computer. If I bought her a sim card reader she would never use a computer again.

The iPad convenience really showed it stars on our recent family trip, pulling up maps and web info anyplace quick and easy. The big downfall of a laptop is you have open it with two hands and set on something, whether your lap or a table and use two hands for input.

The iPad may never be great at Office but there is not a laptop in the world that beats it waiting in line, standing on a street corner, on the couch, or on a hotel bed with quickness and convenience.
 
i use mine every day without fail never really done any work on it but i would be lost without using it everyday if i go on holiday its the first thing i pack much easier to carry around and use then a laptop to check email and surf the web i can get by with mine with a bluetooth keyboard and the best thing about it you dont have to worry about viruses and it also has a great battery life to
 
NOPE! Fraid not. I use my iPad 3 (and used my iPad 2) every day, in fact, it's switched on practically 24/7 and used on and off all day and some of the night lol.
 
I agree that the iPad has its limitations, but it has its perks too. I recently spent 3 full days taking notes on the iPad at a convention, and it worked brilliantly.

My 13" MB would have been too bulky to cart around, and I'm a terrible writer, so paper notes never work very well for me. Wouldn't have swapped it for anything.

I will concede that for sitting down and doing "real" work at a desk, nothing beats a full computer. But that doesn't mean the iPad doesn't have its place.
 
We have had an iPad 1 3G, 2 Wi-Fi and 3 3G. I sold my 1 to my workplace when I got a 3. I use my iPad multiple times a day, every day. Right now I'm using it to prepare for an FCC exam that I will be taking next week. While I use my MBP for most 'productivity' tasks, the iPad is essential for my day to day tasks.
 
I use my iPad on a daily basis, mostly to map surf, check e mail and surf the web. The Apple wireless keyboard works wonders with it paired to the iPad, and I can use it ... sort of... like a laptop.

I have been very happy with my purchase since the day I bought it, even if I have since upgraded to an iPhone 4S
 
So... after the luster has worn off, anyone else relegate their iPads to the dust bin?
Nope.


From a general business perspective, the iPad needs 3 things:

1.) a semi-real Keyboard
2.) MS-Office
3.) The muscle to handle #2.

The keyboard is available and iPads are getting more powerful with each release. The problem I see is getting MS-Office for iOS. Honestly, with Microsoft about to release their very own tablet, it would be stupid for them to make one of their flagship products for the iPad. (And no. Numbers/Pages aren't the same as Word/Excel in a professional work environment. I didn't make that rule... it's just the way it is.)
Yes, you made that rule. Your preference and the preferences of those around you != universal rule. There are plenty of iPads that continue to be used around here for business. It's all a matter of personal preference. If you want to state some sort of wider trend you need a more representative sample than you and 10 people you know.

Consider what 10/millions equals. Pretty close to zero.

Honestly, with Microsoft about to release their very own tablet, it would be stupid for them to make one of their flagship products for the iPad.
No, it wouldn't. MS is a software company and ignoring a large marketshare of customers is what would really be stupid. Again, you're confusing your opinion with fact.
 
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I doubt there are very many people reading an iPad forum while their iPad remains unused. That said, my wife has an original that she doesn't use because she also has a 3, which might get used once a week. She also doesn't read this forum.
 
iPad3

I use my iPad everyday for:

Filemaker pro - access company database
Mail
Notes
Pages
Media reading - Flipboard, Pocket, Facebook, safari, WSJ
Calculator (makes me laugh that I use an $800 tablet for this)
Pay bills

My 2 year old kid:
Movies
Music
Games
 
God help you if MS Office is your reason for having a tablet. In fact if you're stuck in that hot and steamy pit of Hell a career change may do you a world of good.

I'm doing much more fun and creative things with my iPad. Music and video and , if I had a shred of talent, painting/drawing.

Amazing device but nothing will save you from the doldrums of corporate life.
 
I use my iPad 1G everyday, probably more on an hour-by-hour basis than my shiny new rMBP. I think it largely has to do with gaining a lot of experience with the iPad and actually taking the time out to understand how the iPad can be a productivity tool by reading/researching it. Check out some books on how to use the iPad as a creation tool from your local library.

As far as your points, the external keyboards helps, no doubt. I have the Brookstone leather one and it's really nice. As for MS Office, if you did some research you would know that Microsoft is planning on releasing Office for iOS this fall, right around the same time that they are releasing their Surface tablets. Also, until then, CloudOn is a free app that emulates Word, PP, and Excel very closely and basically works like GoogleDocs. It integrates with DropBox, GoogleDrive, and Box (my favorite) and they provide file management--I managed to create folders ten deep on DropBox when I was checking to see if it could handle it. I highly recommend you check it out.

And yes, this was written on my iPad without the external keyboard case.
 
The iPad is extremely good for making notes on PDFs etc. I have been 10x more productive on it vs my computer in lectures.

Of course, it is far less easy to quickly get side tracked as the notes app (goodreader in my case) takes up the whole screen... :D
 
And,I started a thread called Tool or Toy, it's in iPad tips, help troubleshooting as a poll to see how many here use it for more than basic browsing, email, Facebook ... This whole consumption-only thing isn't my experience.

The reason I'm not putting a link to the thread is, I'm writing this on iPad ... Is there a way to post a thread from this otherwise perfect in its way machine?
 
I use mine every day, mostly for streaming music/video and reading news and forums like these :D

A huge thing for me is battery life, weight, ease of use and the factor of not having to take it out when you go through airport security. Awesome for trips
 
Mine gets used everyday and my prior 1 and 2 also get used everyday by family members. This thing has a permanent place in my bag, along with my MBA. There is no way I'm using a laptop for all of the things I do with my iPad. Plus, the retina on the 3 is simply gorgeous.
 
I'm posting from my iPad now. It's the most used device in my house. If you buy something with the intention of using it for something it doesn't do (well), it won't be used. Why would you buy it for MS office when it hasn't been released or officially announced for it? I use mine for email, games, reading, watching videos, Internet, and FaceTime with the parents.
 
My Ipad continues to see heavy usage every day in my line as an elementary school teacher. I haven't touched my school-issued laptop at all save for moments when I really need a computer (keying in marks into intranet, accessing govt websites that run only in IE etc).

Some observations from my experience:

1) I find I don't really need ms office. Most of the time, the iworks suite for ios does the job just fine, though I stress first that I am normally just typing documents to keep on my ipad for reference, and these rarely get circulated around via email and the like.

For instance, I may use numbers to generate checklists to keep track of homework submissions, or to showcase math concepts like graphs. Pages for typing documents on screen (I can upload/email in pdf format to my pupils if need be), and keynote for quick presentations or showcasing math bar models.

Lack of features? I don't use over 95% of them anyways.

Occasionally, it does suck to receive a document which does not open properly in iWork's, and it is troublesome to request colleagues to prepare a separate pdf copy just for me. I suppose I could try out quickoffice, but I don't really need it that much yet to justify the hefty price tag.

2) When I am walking around the classroom with an ipad in hand (and mirroring to the IWB via ATV), the lack of a physical keyboard is actually a boon. I can still type quite comfortably using the split keyboard, and it more than suffices for short sentences and phrases.

3) Multi-touch gestures like pinch to zoom are much more user-friendly than ctrl+/-.

4) Apps like educreations, goodreader, safari, iworks and a myriad of education-themed apps run very smoothly on the ipad. I don't see a need for more muscle at the moment. Better than admin-locked laptops that can't install 3rd party software. :rolleyes:

I hope Apple doesn't change the form factor ever! :D
 
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