ipad 3g

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

I'm looking at buying an iPad and trying to figure out if it is worth paying extra for the 3G model.

The main use I envision for me using the iPad is to be able to read electronic documents outside. (Summer is approaching and I'm spending more time tethered to the laptop than I'd like. And I'm not dragging the laptop to the park let alone using it there.)

I have a smartphone so I have access to e-mail outside. And I have a wifi network in the apartment so I can connect to the network there to download stuff that I want to read on it. As such, my gut tells me that the wifi model is enough. Plus a lot of parks and public spaces in NY have free wifi.

But a big deal was made about 3G support making me curious what I am missing.

[Janeice DelVecchio]

You'll prolly be okay without the 3G, but beware if you're reading the ipad outside, it's got a ton of glare and it's hard to read in the sun.

If it's mostly for reading, you may consider the ereader by sony, the nook, or the kindle.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Janeice DelVecchio wrote:If it's mostly for reading, you may consider the ereader by sony, the nook, or the kindle.

Janeice,
Good point. Reading is what is driving me to get it. But I imagine I am going to want to write on it to. (blog post length things; not a novel) I think I need to try each one (iPad, Kindle) out before I decide for sure. I lean towards the iPad because I'm thinking that once I have it, I will find more uses.

[Scott Selikoff]

Right now writing on the iPad is awful, so if you need to do a lot of writing, a Netbook is your best choice. There is announcements of iPad cases with built in keyboards but none have actually materialized. In theory, they could provide the writing feature the iPad is sorely missing. And for those who will say the iPad already has an external keyboard and stand... I'd love to see one of you try to use that on a train, subway or car.

[Bear Bibeault]

I don't have any issues reading on mine outside -- no different than any laptop I've ever owned. And I'm such an awful typist that I have no problem writing on it. A touch typist might find it more difficult but I wouldn't know because my typing skills are orders of magnitude beyond sub-par!

Every day that I use this thing I find it more and more useful, and keep finding really nice apps. To me, that's the big differentiator between a Kindle -- the iPad can do so much more.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Scott Selikoff wrote: And for those who will say the iPad already has an external keyboard and stand...

Does that not make it a computer? I already have one of those!

Bear Bibeault wrote:I don't have any issues reading on mine outside -- no different than any laptop I've ever owned. And I'm such an awful typist that I have no problem writing on it. A touch typist might find it more difficult but I wouldn't know because my typing skills are orders of magnitude beyond sub-par!

I touch type on a computer. I slow finger type on a mobile device. I consider the iPad to be mobile device like so that doesn't worry me. I'm not writing long things on it anyway.

Bear Bibeault wrote:Every day that I use this thing I find it more and more useful, and keep finding really nice apps. To me, that's the big differentiator between a Kindle -- the iPad can do so much more.

That's why I lean towards iPad. It will support the things I don't know I want it to do yet!

[Vikas Kapoor]

Scott Selikoff wrote:Right now writing on the iPad is awful

+1. The difficulty is how and where to stand/adjust the wrist and start typing. This is necessary for typing.
On laptop we have empty space where we can stand the wrist.



On Desktop (independent keyboard) , we have slope.



On iPad my fingers are hanging while typing.

Or create the slope yourself.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

A coworker let me borrow his iPad today and take it outside. It's bad in the sun, but fine under a tree. I tend to sit in the shade anyway, so I don't think this is a big deal.

I was also able to (slowly) touch type which was a pleasant surprise. Slow touch typing is faster than hunt and peck for me. Probably because I never get to "practice" my hunt and peck.

Market research complete. Now later in the week to go to the actual store.

[Christophe Verré]

Jeanne wrote:Summer is approaching and I'm spending more time tethered to the laptop than I'd like

Does anyone know how hot the iPad can get ?

[Bear Bibeault]

I'd say that selling over a million units in a month is pretty hot!

Oh, different hot....

I've noticed no heat whatsoever. I keep mine in its case, but even before I got the case I never noticed any heat.

[marc weber]

I've noticed a little heat while gaming, but generally I'm surprised at how cool it stays.

[Mark Spritzler]

marc weber wrote:I've noticed a little heat while gaming, but generally I'm surprised at how cool it stays.

Mine has stayed very cool. And I haven't had issues reading outside.

As far as typing, I tend to put it down to type, and find the typing almost as fast for me as a regular keyboard.

I don't think you will need the 3G.

Mark

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Thanks guys. Going to the Apple store tomorrow after work.

[Christophe Verré]

Give us your thoughts after you get one Here, it's going to be in the stores at the end of this month.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Christophe Verré wrote:Give us your thoughts after you get one Here, it's going to be in the stores at the end of this month.

I hope I get it before that. There's a "wait list" in the store. They won't tell me how many people are ahead of me or how long they expect it to be.

Better than how Nintendo handled things with the Wii. Nintendo World refused to have a wait list and suggested coming first thing on a Sunday morning. I didn't. I waited a good while. But I want the iPad for the nice weather. Which is coming soon.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

"Wait list" was one day. I now have the iPad. Feedback coming.

[Jesper de Jong]

Congratulations!

[marc weber]

Interesting. Does the iPad really run a "phone" OS? Or does the iPhone run a tablet OS?

According to Steve Jobs...

"...the minute you throw a stylus out, and you have the precision of a finger, you can't use a PC OS. You have to create it from scratch."

Walt then asks him why he built that operating system on a phone first instead of a tablet. Jobs then drops a reveal: "I'll tell you a secret. It started on a tablet first."

He had an idea of a multi-touch display you could type on, and six months later his team had a prototype display to show him. After handing it off to Apple user interface experts who "got the inertia rolling," Jobs realized, "My god, we can build a phone out of this," and shelved the tablet because at the time the phone was more important.

Ref: CNN - Steve Jobs at D8 on Flash, iPad and the post-PC era.

Personally, I wish they hadn't used the word "phone" in the OS name. Something with the word "touch" might have been more appropriate. Imagine an "iTablet" running the "iTouch OS" instead of an iPad running an iPhone OS. (On the other hand, they're doing fine without my input...)