Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Should I get an iPad?

Z

zachnelson

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 23, 2010
753
0
I currently own a 13" MacBook Pro for which I do word processing, video/photo editing and use it for daily web browsing and sometimes music streaming.

I also own the Samsung Droid Charge smart phone for which I take calls, texts and use for communication via several social media platforms.

I've really considering getting an iPad for fun/entertainment as well as music, but is it worth using for business/productivity as well?
 
Depends on what sort of business you work in.

I am an IT Admin for local government, and use mine for remote admin of servers, VM Hosts and local machines, but as far as heavy word processing and presentations go, I tend to stick to my laptop.
 
It depends. There are many threads about this, including ones I have begun to explain how I use it to get stuff done. Search around and see what you think :)
 
No I wouldn't recommend it for business unless there is a specific use/App you have in mind to utilize it.

There are no real other advantages over a smartphone apart from screen size, and you have a laptop for when you need a computer.

You can also tether your computer to a phone's 3g if you don't have a 3g dongle

I love my iPad, and although I "bought it for work", i only used it for a couple of weeks, now it is used for browsing the web at home and throwing in the car to be an ultraportable computer for when we go away.

Now if you want at ultraportable mobile device with good battery life and 3g capabilities for leisure I have no reservations on recommending the iPad (and for me it is work the money for just that)
 
NO! :)
The novelty will soon wear off! Trust me on this one.
The 13 MBP you got is a joy to use with its great trackpad.
 
If you like gadgets and toys, sure, go for it. But I like tools, after having an iPad2 since introduction, I think I will stop at this version unless they do some serious upgrades to the OS for productivity reasons.

It's just another toy for getting distracted from the real and tactile world in that you are glued to it via web browsing or even more low IQ stuff like gaming.
 
Don't buy anything if you need to ask strangers for their opinions. But, if you're using it to justify the purchase, sure! Of course.
 
Go for it. Even if it's just to entertain your passengers while on road trips

Do it for your friends. And make sure it's the 3G.... Sheesh ;)
 
zachnelson said:
I've really considering getting an iPad for fun/entertainment as well as music, but is it worth using for business/productivity as well?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is worth using for business/productivity.

I use it to review and markup PDFs of agreements, term sheets, etc. (GoodReader)

I use it for writing documents. Generally I write text with the onscreen keyboard with one of the simple writing apps (I use Nebulous). I do formatting and drag tables and illustrations around using Apple's Pages App.

I do invoicing, quotes, and expenses in Apple's Numbers App.

I use the WordPress App to update company blogs and websites for my products.

I store most of my documents in either iCloud or DropBox so they are always up-to-date on my Mac as well as my iPad.

Evernote is also an App I use a lot for work.

I organize notes, research, project plans and other documents using MediaWiki. (I used it so much, I wrote an App for MediaWiki, it's an awesome Wiki platform.)

I do cloud software, so I connect to my company's cloud using F5's Edge Client VPN/Security and work directly on my Linux (iSSH for ssh and vnc) and Windows (VMware View / Wyse Pocket Cloud). I can also manage servers on RackSpace / OpenStack through the Rackspace App.

When I travel, I leave my MacBook behind and just bring a Wifi Keyboard and my iPad 2. I have the Incase "Origami" case that protects the keyboard and folds into a stand for the iPad. It really works great. I live in Hawaii, so I end up taking a lot of long flights. I've never had a problem with working a full 10-12 hour day with the iPad's battery.

So, I'm not sure what kind of work you do, but for me at least, the iPad really has become a work-horse machine. My MacBook hardly gets used now. My 27" iMac has a great screen, and I love it for coding -- but I end up using the iPad for almost everything else: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, Reading News (I use Zite) and so on.

It's just extremely comfortable to walk around, or sit down anywhere and get things done.
 
While only you can decide if an IPAD is worth it, I use the Ipad for business all the time.

Reading file: I rarely read long docs on my computer if I can avoid it. So much easier on the Ipad. And easier to take notes.

The paperless meeting notebook: I refuse to print out a stack of paper for meetings anymore, just to through them out the next day.

Taking notes. More options than a computer or physical notepad. Plus, unlike a notepad, I don't have to figure out where I left stuff and unlike a laptop I don't have to worry about shutting down my regular laptop, battery life, making a lot of noise in meetings with clattering keyboards, or other people seeing what I'm doing.

Calculator. Seems minor, but it's way easier to use an Ipad calculator when I want to do calculations with numbers on my computer screen.

Citrix. I have full access to my desktop wherever I go. Awesome.

Business travel. If you travel for work - get an Ipad. Sure, you'll still need your work laptop. But the Ipad saves you bringing books, magazines, other business docs that you may need when your laptop is off or in use. Plus, you can watch videos while using your laptop. (Note you could do all of the stuff in this paragraph with Kindle fire. I think the Ipad does them better, plus you can do all the other things I mentioned.)

I could go on, really.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back