What's the most annoying thing about the iPad in your opinion?

[palpatine]

I hate the way Safari renders PDF documents in frames.

Doesn't sound so bad? Well, it is for me! I take some online classes, and the software my college uses (Blackboard) is horribly loaded with frames. Some of the professors put their lessons in PDF files. When I click the link, the iPad loads the PDF in the frame. Problem is, when the PDF is in a frame it can't scroll, so I can only see the first page. (I can't click, hold, and choose open in new page either, since all the links are Javascript links. Great web design! )

Too bad, since for non-PDFs, the iPad is fantastic for reading online lectures. My workaround is to load all the PDFs on my PC and put them in Dropbox. Hopefully they'll fix this in a future iOS, though I'll probably be done with my degree by then.

I would say this is not an issue with the iPad. It is a software issue. There are three solutions.

1.
The PDFs I upload for my students can be viewed just fine on the iPad. I am not sure why you cannot, but I would guess that either the professors are uploading the files and not selecting the "open in new window" option, or your university's BB software is out of date. Talk to your professor and ask if they can select that option (it is not a big deal).

2.
However, in the end it really doesn't matter if they can or cannot. Instead of reading PDFs in the browser, use the "open in" option in the upper right portion of your screen to read it somewhere else. I strongly recommend purchasing iAnnotate or GoodReader. These are full of features that will make your life as a student immeasurably better. For example, take notes in the PDF (highlight, annotate, etc.) and you can email a copy of all the notes and highlighted sections to yourself. Very, very cool.

3.
Or, just use a different browser and see what happens.

 

[mrboult]

The ONE THING that would improve my iPad immeasurably is:

Arrow/Cursor Keys on the Keyboard.

They could be semi transparent sitting above the keyboard, they could be in an unconventional layout running across the top bar of the keyboard. . .

It would make correcting/editing typing so so much quicker over the 'use your finger to position the cursor in the magnifying glass that is mostly hidden under your finger' method.

 

[bursthead]

Having to use itunes to sync to the ipad".

 

[vaugha]

This goes for iphone as well but asking for pw every godforsaken time whenever I try to update apps has gotten on my nerves. Galaxy tab 10.1 doesn't have an annoyance like this. I'm sure it's for security purposes, but still annoys me.

 

[graystone]

The camera, by far. No, I don't want to use it for snapshots, but there are a number of apps that I would use but do not work, or do not work well, on the iPad because of the low resolution camera. Examples: bar code scanner, business card scanner, remote deposit banking. And of course FaceTime would be more enjoyable with a better camera.

 

[Foxykhat]

I love my iPad2 but I do agree with some that it would be nice to:-

1. Have a better camera (this one sucks)
2. Be able to lock my emails (other than locking my iPad). So that if someone else borrows my iPad they can't go directly to my mail as it would require a password.
3. Not having to use the home button to get back to the home screen.

Still I would not trade this for any other tablet out there.

Foxy

 

[B.A.T]

A five finger pinch eliminates the need of the home button Foxy.

 

[darngooddesign]

Having to use itunes to sync to the ipad".

How is that still an issue for you?

 

[Dolphinesian]

Multi-user support.

 

[Foxykhat]

A five finger pinch eliminates the need of the home button Foxy.

True but I was kinda leaning towards not having to close the app I'm presently using (unless I missed this somehow), so sort of minimizing. Then going back to what I was doing. I honestly though keep forgetting about the five finger swipe

I'm still fairly new to fully understanding Apple's operating functions so I could have missed something somewhere.

Foxy

 

[APlotdevice]

True but I was kinda leaning towards not having to close the app I'm presently using (unless I missed this somehow), so sort of minimizing. Then going back to what I was doing. I honestly though keep forgetting about the five finger swipe

I'm still fairly new to fully understanding Apple's operating functions so I could have missed something somewhere.

Foxy

The five finger pinch behaves exactly like tapping the home button. [So long as it supports backgrounding] iOS will keep the app in a suspended state, only closing it if more memory is needed for the current task.

 

[wrkactjob]

The biggest hassle is not being able to upload pics to forums or websites from the device.

Why is this impossible?

 

[Al1n]

- Lack of flash
- ****** cameras
- huge bezel

 

[APlotdevice]

The biggest hassle is not being able to upload pics to forums or websites from the device.

Why is this impossible?

The iCab browser has an upload feature. Though it doesn't work with all sites. For pictures I find the easiest and more reliable option is upload them to photobucket, using the photobucket app, and then link from there.

For whatever reason Apple chose not to support file uploading in the iOS version of webkit.

 

[DollaTwentyFive]

That my wife keeps taking it from me. Must. Buy. Another. iPad.

 

[Foxykhat]

The five finger pinch behaves exactly like tapping the home button. [So long as it supports backgrounding] iOS will keep the app in a suspended state, only closing it if more memory is needed for the current task.

I'm not sure I fully understand but I guess I will eventually figure it out. I do know you have the ability to drag the screen of the app you're using upwards and see all the other apps on the iPad, and you can launch them from there. What I don't understand is. How does the app I am presently using become suspended? And where is it while it's suspended? For instance if I'm using The Eurosport app to catch up on some tennis scores, and it for some reason is taking for ever, and I want to switch to the ATP/WTA live app but not close the Eurosport. I know can finger pinch the ES, launch the ATP/WTA, but to me the ES disappears totally and had to be relaunched from scratch. Unless I have been doing the wrong all along

I also do understand the need for an app to close if memory is needed and I'm by no means complaining about the iPad, just trying to figure out stuff and maybe catching up on things I might have been missing.

Foxy

 

[iCMB]

You can't upload pictures; i.e. when you try and change your avatar, the upload button is always grayed out.

 

[fmjordan23]

is the awful camera. I don't really care about the front facing camera because it's for video chatting, mainly and it does that well enough. The reverse camera though is just terrible. I was really surprised that apple would put such a substandard camera into their otherwise excellent tablet.

It's basically 'OK' for video recording but the stills are noisy, often to the point of uselessness. I've posted about this elsewhere, but from what I've been able to tell, the iPad 2 has a lousy sub-megapixel camera made lousier by aggressive autoISO.

Who takes pictures with something that big?? Really?? If you have an iPad you probably have an iPhone....take your pics with that....at least it is small enough to actually take with you for pictures?? Sheesh?!

 

[bufffilm]

Who takes pictures with something that big?? Really?? If you have an iPad you probably have an iPhone....take your pics with that....at least it is small enough to actually take with you for pictures?? Sheesh?!

sheesh yourself! i have an ipad2 but don't own an iphone. a co-worker is the same. i doubt we're the only two on the planet that fall into that category.

i have my ipad with me all the time...it would be nice if it was capable of taking a nice quality pic. i tried to take a snapshotof a sunset a while back, the pic was useless because the camera is crap.

stop making stupid assumptions about what devices people have and what they might want to use their ipad for.

 

[Airmark1]

sheesh yourself! i have an ipad2 but don't own an iphone. a co-worker is the same. i doubt we're the only two on the planet that fall into that category.

i have my ipad with me all the time...it would be nice if it was capable of taking a nice quality pic. i tried to take a snapshotof a sunset a while back, the pic was useless because the camera is crap.

stop making stupid assumptions about what devices people have and what they might want to use their ipad for.

Totally.

If I wanna take a "large format camera" with me (and we're talking stand, hood, flash thingy etc) I will. I use it to take pictures of my meal receipts for the expense reports. The problem is finding a person to dress up as a cowboy and hold the receipt still.

But yes. The iPad camera is a little cumbersome and it's not exactly what most would use to take every day pictures. But if that's all ya got, so be it.

 

[IllIllIll]

Most annoying thing? The stupid nanny-state App Store.

I don't need self-appointed censors at Apple telling me what I am and am not allowed to install on my iPad and failing to follow consistent standards with regard to their app approval process.

There's nothing wrong with porn and nudity.

 

[Yr Blues]

That when I need to replace the battery I have to send it to Apple and I won't get my own back.

It sucks that it's not user replaceable.

 

[APlotdevice]

That when I need to replace the battery I have to send it to Apple and I won't get my own back.

It sucks that it's not user replaceable.

While this is certainly a big drawback to them, non-user-replaceable batteries also have their advantages. It makes it easier to seal the device from the environment, removes some of the internal bulk, and allows for more flexible placement of the electronic components. From the consumer perspective this can either result in a thinner devices or a larger battery at the same size.

 

[Yr Blues]

While this is certainly a big drawback to them, non-user-replaceable batteries also have their advantages. It makes it easier to seal the device from the environment, removes some of the internal bulk, and allows for more flexible placement of the electronic components. From the consumer perspective this can either result in a thinner devices or a larger battery at the same size.

I completely understand. And I agree its benefits outweigh user serviceability. If they would guarantee my originally owned iPad back, I wouldn't have a problem.

 

[touchmonkey]

The ONE THING that would improve my iPad immeasurably is:

Arrow/Cursor Keys on the Keyboard.

They could be semi transparent sitting above the keyboard, they could be in an unconventional layout running across the top bar of the keyboard. . .

It would make correcting/editing typing so so much quicker over the 'use your finger to position the cursor in the magnifying glass that is mostly hidden under your finger' method.

Steve was cursor key-phobic.