whats the iPad really for?

[Redjac]

I'm a full-time musician, and the iPad has been a great tool for me. I have a mount for it on my microphone stand, and I use an app called GigBook that organizes all my setlists, charts, lyrics, fake books, etc. and lets me easily access it while I'm performing.

It also serves as a "press kit" wherever I go. I can show videos and photos to potential employers and so on.

Plus, there's all the other great things it does that others have mentioned. I think it's true that you can't really appreciate how amazing the iPad is until you spend some time with it. I was firmly in the scoffer camp about the iPad. "It's just a giant iPhone without the phone..." but now that I have one I can honestly say it's the most fantastic piece of technology I've ever owned.

 

[mystik610]

I'm a full-time musician, and the iPad has been a great tool for me. I have a mount for it on my microphone stand, and I use an app called GigBook that organizes all my setlists, charts, lyrics, fake books, etc. and lets me easily access it while I'm performing.

It also serves as a "press kit" wherever I go. I can show videos and photos to potential employers and so on.

Plus, there's all the other great things it does that others have mentioned. I think it's true that you can't really appreciate how amazing the iPad is until you spend some time with it. I was firmly in the scoffer camp about the iPad. "It's just a giant iPhone without the phone..." but now that I have one I can honestly say it's the most fantastic piece of technology I've ever owned.

Not sure the iPad being a giant phone is a bad thing. The iPhone is a very capable device.....hindered only by its size. The form factor of the iPad is its biggest benefit IMO.

 

[Redjac]

Not sure the iPad being a giant phone is a bad thing. The iPhone is a very capable device.....hindered only by its size. The form factor of the iPad is its biggest benefit IMO.

What an awesomely irrelevant post! I assume you quoted me accidentally since this has nothing to do with what I just said.

 

[palpatine]

I think the iPad is clearly for media consumption, can't get any serious work done on it though. I now primarily use it while in bed & but usage has gone down tremendously since I first had it.

Is it revolutionary? I think what's revolutionary is how powerful these small devices are becoming, but I say that about all tablets not just an iPad..

Like many reviewers have said, it's by no means a device you need, and I don't think it could ever replace a desktop or laptop, simply because multi taking is severely lacking..

Even having jailbreaked mines I've still only finished one game out of the 160 I have, and only really enjoyed a dozen..

That's like saying a computer is only for word processing. Maybe the iPad is only something that YOU can only use for media consumption, but there are many of us who find it makes a fabulous platform for content creation, so it is obviously not just for media consumption. Personally, I don't play games on the iPad, and I totally lack interest in doing so, but I recognize that the iPad is used that way by other people.

The iPad isn't for everyone, and your mileage will vary, depending on what you want to do with it, but denying its incredible impact on the world is... denial. Up until two years ago, just like generations of scholars before me, I was buying dead tree books exclusively. This year I am working entirely digital, thanks to the iPad. Senior scholars in my field now carry the iPad around with them and use it in classes. This is big.

 

[makefunnyfaces]

I use mine for notes, especially in my math/science courses. The graph paper on penultimate is the best!

 

[TheWheelMan]

dnt get me wrong, i am a huge apple fan, but i dnt get what the iPad is really for or what it can do that the iphone or ipod cannot currently do? what do u guys use it for other that internet, what are your opinions on the ipod and its price? what age do u think its most suitable for? thanks have a gr8 day

It can allow me to actually see web pages and read stuff without going blind from straining my eyes.

 

[drenline]

Only one purpose of the iPad 2.

And that's the jailbreak.

/thread

 

[goodmaj]

Simple, really. It's internet on your coffee table. It's games for your kids. It's a magazine reader. Maybe I'll watch something on a plane. But, is it life changing, or just one of those nice to haves? I'd argue the latter. It's cool, but would I be heartbroken if I didn't have one? Probably not.

 

[genexrocket]

What's an iPad REALLY for?

Making money for Apple and its investors.
I appreciate your purchase.

This. AAPL stock just broke $400 today

 

[Gomez315]

I got mine mostly for my son. He uses it to watch movies and play games for car rides. I also like using it when I am in bed or on the couch.

 

[mystik610]

Just discovered flashtop. Virtualization just made the iPad a hell of a lot more useful for me. Being able to use it as a second monitor goes a long way too.

 

[neutrino23]

If you don't have a very active life, if you sit at a desk all day then there is probably limited need for a device like an iPad. The iPad's virtues are in its portability, light weight, long battery life and ease of use.

I work with a group of sales guys in a large company. We are researching how to just carry an iPad instead of an iPad and a laptop. We're almost there. Probably in six months we'll get over the last hurdles (required, in-house applications). In a year or two there will be little than an iPad can't do that a desktop can. Certainly the desktop will have the advantage of faster hardware and larger screen. The iPad has the advantage of portability.

 

[verwon]

I think it really depends on the individual, not everyone is going to need, or want one.

However, for those it's right for, there are usually many uses and some find they can't live without it.

As an example from my own experience, I'm a pretty tiny woman and always found it difficult to lug around a laptop. Last year I suddenly found myself a heart patient, at a fairly young age and that laptop became even more difficult to lug around. However, I also work online and some days, docs appointments, especially if I have to run to a specialists office can make it difficult to have the time to get things done.

Then, I bought an iPad 2 and had an instant solution. I can use it on the metro, on the way to whatever doc I have to see and get some work done, at the same time. Most docs don't even care if I whip it out to use, when I'm in the office waiting for them to check paperwork, lab results and etc.

Then there's also the apps that allow me to keep track of blood pressure and heart rate, as well as medications. I can pull up a graph and have an overall pic in front of the doc, so they can see what's going on, when I'm not in the office.

And if I add in all the other functionality, it was well worth my money, especially since I can run all day like that and the battery doesn't die, like it does on my Android phone!