Should I get an iPad 2.0?

[buffcoat]

I can't think of anything I HAVE to have it for, but I kind of want it.

[fonpr]

I can't think of anything I HAVE to have it for, but I kind of want it.

Stay free, Buff.

[Sarah]

No. 

[fish]

You could get me one and I'll let you know how it is... BECAUSE I'M NICE!

[Pidgeon]

Steve Jobs: Who on Earth would support such a dummy...and WHY!?

[yesno]

My iPad is super useful.  I'm just baffled by how many people are against tablets on principle.  I assume they're all using Autocad all day or something.  And the iPad is much cheaper and better put together than the current crop of competitors; read the reviews of the Xoom.  It has plenty of flaws that people will be happy to point out.  Here are the pluses.

--I no longer print out long PDFs at work (legal briefs, reports, etc).  The iPad can display PDFs without zooming.  This is why the screen size has to be about what it is (roughly paper size).

--Books:  I don't travel with them.  This save enormous weight.  I use the Stanza reader (and QuickReader).  I generally read Project Gutenberg/Google Books ePubs or I buy Kindle books and strip the DRM off of them and convert them to ePub (which has pretty much won as the standard format for eBooks).  The iPad is a really good ereader, as long as you avoid iBooks or getting locked into Kindle.  You can also read comics and graphic novels and watch TV shows on it.  And Instapaper.  This is reason enough to have it for me.

--Laptop replacement:  You still need a computer obviously, but for 90% of what you actually use a computer for, the iPad works just fine.  I never travel with a laptop anymore.  Laptops are compromised computers--I still use one at work because I only use it for writing, but I just use a dual-monitor big kid computer at home.  The iPad is fine for web/email/calendar.

--Keyboard.  I do travel with a bluetooth keyboard for  it, so I can do writing in the hotel or whatever.  But most of the time, the virtual keyboard or a program like Notetaker HD is fine.

--Games:  The iPad is the best gaming system I've ever had.  I mostly play Scrabble and Backgammon and Catan--board games or turn-based strategy games or little casual games.   It is perfect for them.

--Dropbox.  With the Dropbox app I always have access to all of my files.

[Paul DeLouisiana]

I say if you can afford it, go for it. Same goes for most technology imo.

[colonel panic]

I was gifted an iPad v1 so I wasn't even considering buying one. But now that I have it, it's hard to imagine not having one.

Things my family use it for (it immediately became a family device because it is so kid friendly):

• literally reading the morning "paper" at breakfast (i always feel like 'yep, this is what it's like in the future')
• music pdf's for my wife to play piano to and my daughter to yell/sing at the same time (mostly Joseph and the Amazing Techinicolor Dreamcoat numbers by Paul F. Tompkins (er, ALW)
• campfire song pdfs that i play guitar to and "sing" to my children
• i put the entire jazz FakeBooks on there so i jam w/ my work buddies over our lunch jazz outs (i don't even know what jazz is but i'm still invited because i have a bass and amp)
• i use a stand and look at the recipes from the internet on it while i cook
• Daily Show and Cobert in the kitchen while cleaning
• hulu and netflix in bed
• i show web clients 'art' and stuff on them; it's a really nice way to review websites because people can point and the websites respond
• my 3 year old does a matching game that has some educational value
• netflix on the ipad is also nice for a 3 years old "Barney" time as the iPad is virtually indestructible

there's other stuff that i try to use if for (note taking, homework, etc.) but the above list is just the natural uses of it. the music pdf one is kind of shocking to me in review because we probably never would have done that music stuff without the iPad. it is so much more useful (in ways) and different than a laptop.

[buffcoat]

My (somewhat) older (than me) friends: Thanks for your technology votes.  They kind of help me make a decision... in the other direction.


YesNo: What keyboard do you use?  A rollup one or what?


Chaotic Neutral Elf:  Most of your reasons don't apply to me (no music, no kids), but I begin to see some of what I'd use it for.  I have a MacBook Pro, and it's great, but it's somewhat ungainly still. 

My local newspaper is "coming out with teh iPard app reel soon," as in "first part of 2011" (ha), but their site said "there are no plans to develop an iPad app" as of two months ago, so I'm not holding my breath.  This would be a primary use for me, so it's a bit frustrating.

LogMeIn would be a great help, as well.

I'm definitely leaning "towards" at this point.  Maybe in a couple of weeks.

[yesno]

I use a normal Apple bluetooth keyboard.

It's only useful on desks--you can't type on your lap etc.  You *can* do that with the clamcase and similar items, but at that point it seems like you're starting to leave behind the weight and size advantages of a tablet vs. a laptop. 

I look at the difference between a laptop and a tablet as the difference between portable and mobile.  A tablet is truly mobile.  I will take my iPad into the work kitchen while I wait for the kettle.  But my laptop just moves from one desk to another desk at work, and because I have one that's somewhat pleasant to use day-to-day it's a huge pain in the ass to travel with.  And my home computer stays on all the time as a server which is just weird with a laptop.  When I used to use a laptop as my only computer when I was at home it just ended up being "docked" all the time to various geegaws and when I travelled with it it had none of my media (which were all on external hard drives).

My real struggle is whether it's worth having a smartphone anymore.  The only thing keeping me paying for a data plan every month is the Google Maps + GPS + Compass combo, and the fact that without one I'd probably end up traveling with an mp3 camera and a camera.  Before the iPad I had a rule where I'd never buy a new kind of gadget--I'd upgrade, but I really liked having just one device where before I had three.

[buffcoat]

I use a normal Apple bluetooth keyboard.

It's only useful on desks--you can't type on your lap etc.  You *can* do that with the clamcase and similar items, but at that point it seems like you're starting to leave behind the weight and size advantages of a tablet vs. a laptop. 

I look at the difference between a laptop and a tablet as the difference between portable and mobile.  A tablet is truly mobile.  I will take my iPad into the work kitchen while I wait for the kettle.  But my laptop just moves from one desk to another desk at work, and because I have one that's somewhat pleasant to use day-to-day it's a huge pain in the ass to travel with.  And my home computer stays on all the time as a server which is just weird with a laptop.  When I used to use a laptop as my only computer when I was at home it just ended up being "docked" all the time to various geegaws and when I travelled with it it had none of my media (which were all on external hard drives).

My real struggle is whether it's worth having a smartphone anymore.  The only thing keeping me paying for a data plan every month is the Google Maps + GPS + Compass combo, and the fact that without one I'd probably end up traveling with an mp3 camera and a camera.  Before the iPad I had a rule where I'd never buy a new kind of gadget--I'd upgrade, but I really liked having just one device where before I had three.

How do you carry your iPad? (This is for everyone who has one).

[colonel panic]

I just set it in my laptop bag w/ no case. It has a zippered pouch so it doesn't bang up against my laptop.

[yesno]

front zipper pouch of this bag.  it fits better there than any laptop area.  the iPad fits very well in a map case or smaller messenger bag; I just don't use one of those because of all the other shit I carry.

[buffcoat]

The new one has that wacky cover. 

My concern is that I don't usually carry any kind of bag or anything.  I don't want to set this thing down and come back to the coffeeshop 10 minutes later vainly hoping that it'll still be there.

[Lothar_Brightblade]

I can't think of anything I HAVE to have it for, but I kind of want it.

Stay free, Buff.