iPad Is it realistic for a Windows user to own an iPad?

[macbook123]

I plan to give an iPad Air as a birthday present to my mom but she is a Windows user. I stopped using Windows years before iOS devices came out and don't know many people who use this combination. Hence I know little about whether it is reasonable to do this.

One feature I really like with my iPad is that I get photos automatically ported from my Aperture (OS X) library. Is there anything one can do to achieve the same functionality with Windows?

 

[The Doctor11]

Is it realistic YES that way PC users can do every thing that there PC cant do on an iPad. As a PC user (wish I wasn't.) I don't think you can get your pictures from the iPad to go to PC automatically. You need to plug it in to the computer and import the pictures.

 

[PDFierro]

So many people own iPads and iPhones yet run a Windows PC. Totally do-able. I'd say a small portion actually use a Mac with their iOS device.

 

[Primejimbo]

Is it realistic YES that way PC users can do every thing that there PC cant do on an iPad. As a PC user (wish I wasn't.) I don't think you can get your pictures from the iPad to go to PC automatically. You need to plug it in to the computer and import the pictures.

Or use Dropbox or something to transfer picture. I use Skydrive for this and works great.

 

[luckylisp]

Very realistic. I have a Windows laptop and use an iPad.

 

[TimeFlow]

iCloud does what you are looking for.

 

[ZBoater]

Realistic? Yes. Desirable? No. iTunes for Windows is possibly the worst software in the universe. As a Windows user I suffered through this until I got my MBA. Amazingly, my iPad experience was significantly improved ever since I switched, from iTunes to iPhoto to syncing to iCloud, everything works great on OS X and has little "quirks" in Windows.

I wonder why that is...

 

[MisakixMikasa]

Realistic? Yes. Desirable? No. iTunes for Windows is possibly the worst software in the universe. As a Windows user I suffered through this until I got my MBA. Amazingly, my iPad experience was significantly improved ever since I switched, from iTunes to iPhoto to syncing to iCloud, everything works great on OS X and has little "quirks" in Windows.

I wonder why that is...

No need to used iTunes... I do everything using iTools... You just need have iTunes installed and never use it

 

[Primejimbo]

Realistic? Yes. Desirable? No. iTunes for Windows is possibly the worst software in the universe. As a Windows user I suffered through this until I got my MBA. Amazingly, my iPad experience was significantly improved ever since I switched, from iTunes to iPhoto to syncing to iCloud, everything works great on OS X and has little "quirks" in Windows.

I wonder why that is...

I have yet to sync my iPad with iTunes. If you don't put music on it or movies there isn't a need for it at all. To move pictures I just upload them to Skydrive and down load them to my Mac.

 

[ZBoater]

Sure. There's 50 workarounds. No need for them if you have a Mac. iTunes for Mac works great. And I prefer it to keep my media library organized and to manage my pics and movies on my iPad.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

As noted, for transferring photos, iCloud will work. The iTunes installation includes an iCloud control panel for Windows. That allows for automatic downloading/saving of Photo Stream photos, plus syncing contacts and calendars with Outlook.

Yes, it's possible to use iPads/phones, etc. without iTunes on a day-to-day basis, as long as iCloud is fully setup. But backup is a critical concern. The best thing you can do for your relative is to make sure there's a proper backup plan - regular syncing or automatic backups in iCloud. I feel iCloud is safer these days - not because the cloud is more trustworthy, but because regular syncing is a tough habit to establish.

 

[Lloydbm41]

Realistic? Yes. Desirable? No. iTunes for Windows is possibly the worst software in the universe. As a Windows user I suffered through this until I got my MBA. Amazingly, my iPad experience was significantly improved ever since I switched, from iTunes to iPhoto to syncing to iCloud, everything works great on OS X and has little "quirks" in Windows.

I wonder why that is...

I have a new XPS 8700 running the latest Windows 8.1 with dual touchscreen monitors. I have iTunes loaded and running without issue. Just factory reset my iPad Mini to iOS 7.0.4 to jailbreak it, and did both a PC and iCloud backup prior to the jailbreak. I have several hundred apps and music and have yet to run into an issue using iTunes. Sure, it is a bit clunky and not very intuitive but it runs just fine. I have an iMac 27" as well, but do everything on my Windows machine since I use Windows Phone, iOS and Android.

Me thinks you exhaggerate a bit much.

 

[snow755]

Nop. I own a iPad air and iPhone 4S and have a window 8.1 laptop. I uses. iTunes. All the time on my laptop if you did not have a laptop. And have iTunes. Install. You can not do some things that you can not do. With. The iPad like down lode and install beta soft ware for you IOS. Wish you need iTunes. For then the IOS betas update over the air after words after the 1st beta install. So there are some. Thing you need a PC. For in Oder for some things two work on your iPhone or iPad

 

[VicVendrell]

Is this thread serious? Vast majority of iPad and iPhone users would use a PC running Windows.

 

[AppleFanatic10]

Is it realistic YES that way PC users can do every thing that there PC cant do on an iPad. As a PC user (wish I wasn't.) I don't think you can get your pictures from the iPad to go to PC automatically. You need to plug it in to the computer and import the pictures.

...Or you could just use iCloud and enable Photo Stream?

 

[Michael CM1]

My mom just got an Air and she uses Windows. With iCloud functions, you need an actual computer a lot less. About the only drawback is not being able to view Photostream on the computer.

 

[AppleFanatic10]

My mom just got an Air and she uses Windows. With iCloud functions, you need an actual computer a lot less. About the only drawback is not being able to view Photostream on the computer.

You can view it. The Photostream folder should be in a folder in Photos Library in Windows.

(Not my photo btw).

 

[BSDanalyst]

I use an iMac and I'm an iPad and iPhone user.

But I use windows at work because

 

[takeshi74]

Is it realistic for a Windows user to own an iPad?

Of course it is. Millions of them already own iPads. Do you think only non-Windows users buy them?

 

[TimeFlow]

I never got it when people said said iTunes on Windows was "bad". I've been using it for years and it's never given me any problems. I've also used it on OSX and it's more or less the same thing :/

 

[Michael CM1]

You can view it. The Photostream folder should be in a folder in Photos Library in Windows.

Image (Not my photo btw).

Thanks! I'll see if I can find that next time I'm over there.

 

[ZBoater]

I never got it when people said said iTunes on Windows was "bad". I've been using it for years and it's never given me any problems. I've also used it on OSX and it's more or less the same thing :/

Then you have been fortunate. Glitchy, buggy, restarts, reboots, freezes, you name it. I guess I won the unlucky prize.

 

[Zorlac]

Realistic? Yes. Desirable? No. iTunes for Windows is possibly the worst software in the universe. As a Windows user I suffered through this until I got my MBA. Amazingly, my iPad experience was significantly improved ever since I switched, from iTunes to iPhoto to syncing to iCloud, everything works great on OS X and has little "quirks" in Windows.

I wonder why that is...

Because apple sucks writing software for windows? How is it Microsofts fault that Apple can't be bothered writing a decent port of iTunes for windows?

 

[Mainsail]

Most of our family friends have Windows PCs, iPads, and iPhones. So, from my very unscientific sample, it seems more common than an all Mac household. I think a lot of folks learned about PCs at work, and they don't want to bother learning a new operating system.

However, I have noticed that many of the Windows users are a bit behind the curve in using icloud for syncing media and documents. I am not sure if this is a technical limitation, or if they just got used to plugging their idevices into their PC to sync rather than using the cloud. Probably the later.

In general, I think it is easier to use a Mac with your idevices, and my house is 100% Apple. Nevertheless, the initial cost of a Mac is going to usually be higher than a PC......so, I understand why many folks stick with Windows machines. Also, as folks use PCs less and mobile devices more, the PC is becoming more of a media and document storage unit that performs pretty simple functions. A lot of folks don't need top end home computers, and they don't need to replace them very often.

 

[ucfgrad93]

I don't see any problem using an iPad/iPhone with a Windows computer.