- Joined
- Apr 9, 2003
- Posts
- 9,109
And I've been spending some time with them lately, and I must say, they're even less impressive than I thought they would be.
We also switched from Blackberrys to iPhones recently, and I don't even see the business utility for iPads outside of a lighter travel accessory for short trips where you don't need the full functionality of a laptop.
My iPhone does exactly the same things the iPad does, albeit on a smaller screen, but small compromise to not drop an extra $800 bucks on a novelty device. I like the iPad for marketing purposes as a conversation piece at trade shows, conferences and the like, but the newness and novelty of that will wear off soon enough.
In a home environment I could maybe see a few relevant uses for the iPad, but not enough to buy one at retail price.
Here's what I could see it for at home.
In a business environment I find it to be pretty pointless outside of the previously mentioned short business trips.
It's horrible for word processing, or even web surfing if you plan to type more than 50 words in an hour.
It can't even be used for easy data transfer.
You have to add a stand and keyboard to make it usable in most environments (why not just have a laptop?).
It doesn't support near the software a desktop or laptop does, and it can't make phone calls like the iPhone, it's not expandable in any way whatsoever...
I mean, really, I wasn't very intrigued by the iPad before it launched, and now all of my doubts have been confirmed.
Keep in mind I'm a long-time Mac user too, and I own 5 iPods and 2 iPhones...so I'm not just another Apple hater (though they are a shitty company), but this product is horribly non-utilitarian at this point in its lifecycle
Anyone else had time to spend with an iPad since our last thread? Any uses for it I'm missing?
We also switched from Blackberrys to iPhones recently, and I don't even see the business utility for iPads outside of a lighter travel accessory for short trips where you don't need the full functionality of a laptop.
My iPhone does exactly the same things the iPad does, albeit on a smaller screen, but small compromise to not drop an extra $800 bucks on a novelty device. I like the iPad for marketing purposes as a conversation piece at trade shows, conferences and the like, but the newness and novelty of that will wear off soon enough.
In a home environment I could maybe see a few relevant uses for the iPad, but not enough to buy one at retail price.
Here's what I could see it for at home.
* Good for kids b/c they can sit on the couch and use it in a community area where you don't have to worry about them, it's easy for videos and such for kids too (lol no Flash though)
* A home automation controller to replace my Harmony 1000 or whatever other control solutions you're currently using, though the iPad is far bulkier and you have to have one with an IR port (read, expensive models)
* A digital picture frame, at least when it's docked, but that's a pricey frame
In a business environment I find it to be pretty pointless outside of the previously mentioned short business trips.
It's horrible for word processing, or even web surfing if you plan to type more than 50 words in an hour.
It can't even be used for easy data transfer.
You have to add a stand and keyboard to make it usable in most environments (why not just have a laptop?).
It doesn't support near the software a desktop or laptop does, and it can't make phone calls like the iPhone, it's not expandable in any way whatsoever...
I mean, really, I wasn't very intrigued by the iPad before it launched, and now all of my doubts have been confirmed.
Keep in mind I'm a long-time Mac user too, and I own 5 iPods and 2 iPhones...so I'm not just another Apple hater (though they are a shitty company), but this product is horribly non-utilitarian at this point in its lifecycle
Anyone else had time to spend with an iPad since our last thread? Any uses for it I'm missing?