iPad MR's Opinion of the iPad?

[Kali Yuga]

Just curious how folks are feeling about their iPad these days. You do not need to restrict your opinion to the iPad exclusively as a reader, unless you want to.

[scottjl]

My iPad...? Precioussssss..

[dmaul1114]

I voted it's ok.

It gets a lot right. Nice form factor (thin and light), great battery life, very fast in opening and closing programs, touch screen is super responsive, the pinch zoom is great, screen quality is great both for video and reading IMO.

But I need a tablet with a real file system that I can mount and just drag and drop files on, a screen an inch or two bigger to better handle A4 PDFs in portrait mode, better stylus support (document mark up is a main need in a tablet for me), Flash etc.

So for me, it gets a lot right, but not enough for me to early adopt one. I'll continue to play around with my girlfriends iPad and wait and see what other tablets come out, what Apple adds for the 2nd gen model etc.

As I've said in other threads, I don't need/want a full tablet PC. But I need something that leans a bit more in that direction than the iPad. I don't want just a media consumption tablet. I want a productivity tool that's also good for media consumption.

[markiehill]

I love my IPad having been a big e-ink fan since the sony libre (remember that). I have never looked back since swapping over , each device has + and - however the Ipad works better for my use case. I agree stylus support and hand writing recognition would be great but I think the capacative screen cannot measure input to that level of detail yet Anyway I love my Ipad , and the PRS505 was sold on ebay this week !

[Sischa]

its ok ... but i love it. :-)

I don't read much books on it. I use my kindle's for that. But it is the best multi media consuming machine i have could call my own. Surfing is great. Videos are uber great. Magazines = great. Newspapers = awsom.

But reading i don't really like. iBooks is no breath stopper for me i really have to laugh me of seeing people praise the turning page function over and over again, i don't really care. When i spent several hours on my work LCD and in the evening i am using my iPad LCD to browse the web, read some magazines and watch some RSS Feeds i don't really have the power to top this by reading a few hours before sleep again on a shining LCD.

But thats me. I like the feature that i COULD read on it at least and it is at least ok to do so. But i prefer Kindle app so much over iBook cause i can use the kindle books on my other devices (DX, K2, PC and iPhone) that bookmark sync is just ... GREAT.

[John F]

I haven't been using mine much. It is a very nice device, it just doesn't have a "killer app" for me. Reading is my main hobby right now, and I'm still using the 505 for that.

[The Old Man]

I think it's GREAT! What I really like are the apps that I am discovering that let me do things I never hoped to do on the iPad. Have been using the Amazon Kindle app to get most of my books, bought and free, using the RSS app to get audio/video feeds without syncing, getting news from everywhere, checking consumer reports, watching the stock market, checking TV listings, watching eBay and Facebook, reading American history, government, astronomy, reading the Bible, playing some games - the list goes on and on.

[JMikeD]

My vote was for "Love it", although that's overstating the case. It's much better than "OK", but not quite in the "Love" category. I don't have any possessions that I "Love".

[drofgnal]

I love it!! For me its a great reader. I developed CSR (Central Serous Retinopathy) and was having trouble reading my Kindle unless I was under a search light. Problem solved with the ipad. Works out doors well at least under the porch and not in direct sunlight. I use the Kindle app for reading. I prefer it to iBooks. I like the muted sepia background look.

The netflix app is really good. Just playing around with it and watched a couple of classic TV comedies. Great picture and sound.

I also like Chess and will be downloading one of its more advance Chess apps.

Just starting to explore apps and uses, but I primarily bought it as a reader and absolutely love it for that.

[mvaldeslora]

I am close to JMikeD's opinion in terms of expressing my "love" but it is safe to say the device has exceeded my expectations. Doing copious amounts of reading - epubs, pdfs of books and magazines, comics (har, a surprise for me) - and watching videos in the laziness of my bed. It's great...

[AprilHare]

I loathes it, I do! I admit it.
It's Apple branded, has that awful LCD display, ties you into buying apps only from Apple, doesn't have a USB port, and is the wanted object of Apple fanboys everywhere.
What's not to loathe?

[murraypaul]

I'd like to vote twice, for 'I'm not satisfied' and 'I love it'.
I'm at heart a PC version, I want to be able to take things apart, figure out how they work, then change them 'till they work the way I want. My first MP3 player was an Archos with custom firmware that I made my own changes to.
The iPad is the antithesis of that philosophy, the triumph of style over substance, of the Apple one-button view of the world. My iPod Touch is an MP3 player which doesn't even have a play/pause button, who other than Apple could get away with that?
Yet I own the iPod Touch, and won't give it up, and it is likely that in the next couple of weeks I'll own an iPad as well, as despite all of (as they appear to me) drawbacks, it is still an extremely desirable device and I want to own one.

[davidrw99]

I'm still lovin' it! I too am finding uses for it that I didn't foresee when I plunked down my cash and took another ride on the Apple reality distortion tour... I've found some really nicely executed apps, and some dogs as well! I do a lot of reading on it and have retired my PR700 in favor of it... I also read a LOT of PDF's on it, and I've found that GoodReader is the best for my purposes.

Once marching season starts we'll see how it holds up as a day-to-day drill teaching companion in place of a physically printed drill notebook. I have high hopes, but we'll see how it works over a tough week of outdoor work at camp.

[rjfarrell]

I responded with an "I love it". It does just what I thought it would do. Its a giant ipod touch. Which is exactly what I wanted. Like swapping the functionality of the ipod from a 13" TV to a 42" TV. Just easier to read and use.

I took mine on a business trip with me. I have the WiFI 3G version. I only would have needed the 3G once on that trip. The airport in Cincinnatti after security had did not have free WiFi. I only wanted to check the weather. Which I did with my iphone 3gs.

The battery life was outstanding. After reading at the airport and on the plane for hours, no issue with low battery.

I have several apps i want to try now at the office. Should be quite good. Web-EX!

All in all, we bought 3 (husband, son, and myself) and we are all pleased.

[Krystian Galaj]

I believe the poll result would be very different, if it was posted in general section of the forum.