Sharing an iPad between two iPhone users

[telefoto]

Hello, I am getting my first iPad this week, and I am wondering what is the ideal way to set it up so my wife and I can both use it with our own mail and messaging accounts (we both use iPhones). Would I just set up separate email accounts in Mail on the iPad for each of us?

Also, as far as iMessage goes, how does that work with an iPad and multiple users?

Or do I need to just buy her her own iPad?

 

[UnseenLlama]

Hello, I am getting my first iPad this week, and I am wondering what is the ideal way to set it up so my wife and I can both use it with our own mail and messaging accounts (we both use iPhones). Would I just set up separate email accounts in Mail on the iPad for each of us?

Also, as far as iMessage goes, how does that work with an iPad and multiple users?

Or do I need to just buy her her own iPad?

My wife and I both shared the iPad 2 for a whole year...and now? Bought one 3rd gen for me...and one 3rd gen for her. Leave ma' iPad alone woman!

On a more serious note...as far as I know, you can't have more than one Apple ID for iMessage. So you would need to keep signing in and out.

As for mail, it would be a unified mailbox. You can always go back and then look at each mail account separately.

 

[pure3d2]

Hello, I am getting my first iPad this week, and I am wondering what is the ideal way to set it up so my wife and I can both use it with our own mail and messaging accounts (we both use iPhones). Would I just set up separate email accounts in Mail on the iPad for each of us?

Also, as far as iMessage goes, how does that work with an iPad and multiple users?

Or do I need to just buy her her own iPad?

Buy your wife her own iPad. The current iteration of iOS doesn't support multiple user accounts like OS X does.

If you set up multiple email accounts on the iPad, one mailbox will be the main one. So whoever is on the other accounts will need to change the "FROM:" field each time they compose a new message. Replying to emails won't be a problem.

As for iMessage, it's tied to the currently signed in Apple ID. You and your wife would have to constantly sign in and sign out. It's not practical, unfortunately.

 

[Night Spring]

If you don't mind each other being able to read the other person's mail, then an iPad can be set up with as many email accounts as you want.

As for iMessage, well, that could get confusing fast. You can set it up to receive iMessages for the both of you, but there won't be a way to tell which message is for whom, and when you respond, you have to pick one of your identities as your "caller ID." So say you set up your name as the Caller ID, then someone who texted your wife would be confused when they get a response seeming to come from you.

So if the two of you both want to be able to text from the iPad, I'm afraid you will each need your own.

 

[mad-jamie16]

Give it a couple of weeks to try to see how you two cope with sharing an iPad and go from there.

 

[telefoto]

I suppose Facetime is the same way? Would I just need to assign one account as the primary account for FaceTime?

Since we both have our iPhones handy most of the time, I suppose if we need to use iMessage, we can just do it from the phone. But...that is one less thing that the iPad is going to be used for, and I need all the reasons I can think of to justify the purchase to the wife!! Oh the humanity!

 

[whtrbt7]

I have my fingers crossed for user accounts in the next iOS. Guest accounts would be nice since people keep stealing my iPad for their uses.

 

[number84]

I wouldn't bother with iMessage. But for mail, say you both have gmail, then I would setup one with the regular Mail app, and download the Gmail app for the other. Would something like this work for you? Otherwise one uses webmail, the other the Mail app.

I would do the same for browsers if you wanted to keep your sessions/bookmarks/etc separate.

 

[SuperRob]

The easiest way to go is to create a third AppleID as your "Family" account. That way, you can still have your own separate accounts used for personal stuff (calendars, reminders, etc.)

My wife and I have two iPhones as well as two iPads. We share my original AppleID as our Family one, so we can share AppStore/iTunes purchases, documents, Photo Stream, Find my iPhone, etc. We also use that as a shared calendar. We use our own separate AppleIDs for Reminders, Calendars, Contacts, Notes, Bookmarks and the like.

Arguably, we could share our Contacts, too, but that would lead to bloated lists, I think.

 

[ZBoater]

Give it a couple of weeks to try to see how you two cope with sharing an iPad and go from there.

Thats if you are still married that is....

 

[greytmom]

If you set up multiple email accounts on the iPad, one mailbox will be the main one. So whoever is on the other accounts will need to change the "FROM:" field each time they compose a new message. Replying to emails won't be a problem.

I have 4 different email accounts on mine, and when I want to send a new message from a particular account, I just go into that inbox, click the new message icon, and the correct "from" email account is already selected.

 

[zurichuk]

What happens with apps and synchronization in this scenario?
i.e. Husband buys 5 apps, wife buys 5 apps, then a sync with ITunes under husbands ID?

 

[greytmom]

They would be sharing their library. As far as I know, you can't sync one iPad to two different libraries (Apple ID's) at the same time.

 

[mad-jamie16]

Thats if you are still married that is....

haha imagine it, divorced because of an iPad!!

 

[Digidesign]

I have my fingers crossed for user accounts in the next iOS. Guest accounts would be nice since people keep stealing my iPad for their uses.

I would love to have that on the iPad, especially the guest account. The cynical side of me thinks that we'll never see multiple user accounts in iOS simply because it forces the users to get their own individual iDevice. It's iOS after all, not WeOS. <--- horrible joke, I will go flog myself now.