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Internet use while sitting on the couch killing time.

I picked up an original iPad from Verizon for $299- honestly, if it were priced any higher than that, I probably wouldn't have bothered.
 
I always tell people my iPad is the most unnecessary thing I ever bought, and that's the best way too put it. I have an iPhone and a MacBook. Why the heck do I need an iPad? It's completely a luxury device.
 
I always tell people my iPad is the most unnecessary thing I ever bought, and that's the best way too put it. I have an iPhone and a MacBook. Why the heck do I need an iPad? It's completely a luxury device.

Exactly. A very fun luxury item at that.
 
Device to help me at work when I am on the go and need a bigger screen to get things written

Also, use it at home with much more ease than a laptop
 
For about a year, I needed/wanted a mobile computer device would allow me to surf the web, check emails, watch movies/TV shows, read ebooks, view photos and home movies, and play a few games, AND to do so comfortably in a variety of situations …sure, I could technically do all of those things on my iPhone or with a laptop had I chosen to go that route…over the months, I did a lot of research and thinking on just what I needed…I knew going into it that my iPhone just didn’t cut it for most of those tasks for an extended period of time…so it came down to, do I go with a laptop/netbook or this new re-fangled tablet idea? If I went the tablet route, which one to get?

Although currently without one, I have had several laptops over the years, and there is nothing wrong with them…they’re powerful, flexible, and relatively portable…but I didn’t really need the power and portability/usability is only ideal if sitting at a table imo…personally, I can’t use a laptop without a mouse, which makes casual use on the couch, in bed, in the car, or on a plane very inconvenient for me…flexibility was the stickler…no question, laptops were more flexible and would do more than the iPad, IF I needed it to do more…but I didn’t need it for work…I didn’t want it for work…

Everything I want to do, the iPad handles perfectly or close enough…in the end, the iPad is what I needed…what I always really needed…unless my job requirements change, I can’t image every going back to a laptop…

I need my iPad the same way I need my 2-story house, my HDTV, my PS3, my Jeep, my New Balance running shoes, my beer kegerator, my planned trip to Disney, etc…I could live without all of those things, but why?

I believe OP meant no disrespect and was asking a honest question, so this last comment is not directed at him/her, but I gotta say, I am getting real sick of the whole justify your little toy attitude…unless you live some Spartan lifestyle, all of our lives are filled with “little toys”…

All shallow nonsense! Except for the kegerator.:D
 
Agree with the above that it's a total luxury.

I think it's a lot better for surfing the net, reading news and pdfs etc., playing some simple games and so on on the couch, in bed, when traveling etc. than a laptop.

But it is all stuff you can do on a laptop or pc, so it's a luxury of paying for another gadget that has a better form factor for some tasks.
 
Main reason: PDF reader. I'm a criminal defense attorney. The prosecutors are routinely handing out discovery (the police reports, etc) on a CD. I used to print them all out and stick them in binders and lug them around to read the file. With typical murder cases that have 300+ pages, I am now loading them all on the iPad so I can have them with me to read whenever I have time.

Luxury? Sure, but with a practical "need".

Aside from pdf files, I can bang out longer, more coherent emails than I ever could on a phone.
 
After seeing the replies, I'm thinking to myself it's probably going to be a luxury, and that only.. ;)

Well there are a lot of luxuries in life such as tvs, cell phones, dvd players, mp3 players, computers, cars, etc. Most people in modernized countries live with quite a few luxuries. Why do people have more than 1 pair of shoes or more than a couple items of clothes or whatever else?
 
Maybe I'm a little more of an idealist, but the primary reason I wanted one is that this is the first tech product in a long time that I've been able to look at and say "yeah, this thing's the future of computing." it took a while to understand, but when you start to mess with the apps and see what a large multitouch canvas can do, you start to get it. And I dont want to be that old guy in the future that complains about all those crazy kids and their touch screens while angrily clutching my physical keyboard and mouse ;)
 
reason

i think ipad is very good for play games ,and my kids love it.we will play together in the evening.lol
 
One thing I like about the iPad is it's portability. My main computer is an Asus laptop, but it's a big, heavy sucker with a 17 inch screen, and the battery doesn't last very long (other than that it's amazing though, my favorite laptop ever), so i keep it in my "office". My fiance works hard, so when he comes home at night, for the most part we watch whatever he wants, and I'm happy to let him have the remote, although of course sometimes he watches things we both like, like movies, animal shows or whatever. Anyway, my point is, when he's watching yet another WWII documentary on the History channel, I can pick up my iPad and entertain myself, and yet still be right next to him, spending time together :) With my laptop I'd have to lug it in here, the power chord would be snaking across my lap, it's heavy, ect ect.

I also use it as an e-reader. I love to read, and it's just so convenient to have a bunch of books right there at my fingertips.

It's also great when traveling, for using GPS apps, staying connected while at hotels, ect.

My fiance has since inherited my iPad 1, and he uses it for Angry Birds and some work-related stuff. He says AllData really needs to make an app, though.
 
I have an iPod touch 4 and an android phone. The next I want is an iPad for more exciting experience of web browsing, movie and games as well. That would be cool!
 
Love of tech gadetry. Period.

I need and iPad for the same reason my GF needs a Prada bag. (Well, OK I don't quite get why she even wants to spend that kind of money on a bag, but point is, both are accessories.

Don't try to justify the iPad. That's not to say you won't find ways to use it productively or that you will migrate some tasks over to it from your mainline computer, for example I love taking it instead of my laptop on short trips. But ultimately the iPad is still in it's "big boy/girl toy" stage. I don't think too many people can honestly say (to themselves) they need it.

This hits the nail on the head for me.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

Beside it's useful to read books I can finally use it to also work away some company emails while commuting. After quite some time my company finally managed to agree to allow iPad to connect to our Exchange server. Plus Citrix for all kind of application. Thoug I find it often difficult to control mouse-based windows application with my finger. Often zoon in and out. But hey, for some tasks like approvals or quick syste
Checks it's perfect.
 
I like to joke that it is the 'iPhone for the middle aged' because of the screen size.

But having a lightweight, usable computer with all day battery life and anywhere internet access is a paradigm shift for me right behind getting high speed internet.

I'm able to access the internet almost anywhere at anytime. I can respond to communications instantly. Take books, documents, utilities, apps, and have access to it anywhere at anytime. Use it to listen to music, audiobooks and podcasts in my car.

I use it for work and play.
 
I think if you are lucky enough to be able to ride the train to work, the iPad is the ULTIMATE companion. But I mainly use it as a couch computer myself. ;)






Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

Beside it's useful to read books I can finally use it to also work away some company emails while commuting. After quite some time my company finally managed to agree to allow iPad to connect to our Exchange server. Plus Citrix for all kind of application. Thoug I find it often difficult to control mouse-based windows application with my finger. Often zoon in and out. But hey, for some tasks like approvals or quick syste
Checks it's perfect.
 
NEED it for watching movies on flights where there is no media entertainment on board (trans-European e.g.) :D

And no, I don't get my MBP out of the bag for this, as I wouldn't be able to put my coffee on the table anymore (though it is a 13.3").
 
I think if you are lucky enough to be able to ride the train to work, the iPad is the ULTIMATE companion. But I mainly use it as a couch computer myself. ;)

It's even better: I take a bus from first station to last station of one line. That means I can sit back in my corner each day and use the iPad/iPhone/MBA.
In a train would be difficult. Much more crowded and mostly no chance to sit down. Yes. Lucky !! :D
 
If you think about it, we don't even NEED cellphones. I mean, I remember putting dimes in public telephones (yes, I am dating myself). We survived. ;)

Now, the iPad has rendered my PC 90% obsolete. I still do Quicken online banking and play COD, but for email and web-browsing its dead. Its all iPad (or Xoom). I can do my surfing anywhere. I carry it with me when I go shopping, and it makes me a smarter shopper. It makes for an AWESOME map. It keeps me amused with music and videos and games.

But, truth be told, and I know this may be impossible for some here to believe, if it broke tomorrow and I couldn't replace it, I'd be just fine. :cool:
 
Mostly I use it while in bed to answer questions on macrumors about how I use my iPad.
 
Main reason: PDF reader. I'm a criminal defense attorney. The prosecutors are routinely handing out discovery (the police reports, etc) on a CD. I used to print them all out and stick them in binders and lug them around to read the file. With typical murder cases that have 300+ pages, I am now loading them all on the iPad so I can have them with me to read whenever I have time.

Luxury? Sure, but with a practical "need".

Aside from pdf files, I can bang out longer, more coherent emails than I ever could on a phone.

Even though that is a very small part of what I use it for the PDF reader functionality was the first thing that made me want an iPad. I'm not in college anymore but when I was I had pages of pages of PDFs every week that I either had to print (wasteful, they became quite heavy, can start to get expensive...) or read on my laptop, which not only is awkward for PDF reading but also I didn't feel like carrying around a heavy laptop just for some reading.

The iPad is absolutely perfect for that. Plus there are awesome apps where you can add annotations, notes...
 
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