So I got a free iPad 2

[Xenedis]

I bought a new car last week, and got an iPad 2 thrown in free.

I've just opened it, and I'm going through the motions of syncing and updating the iOS.

I've always maintained that the iPad is fantastic solution to a problem I don't have, as I have a MacBook Pro (my one and only computer) and an iPhone, and the iPad doesn't replace the functionality of either.

Still, it is an incredibly cool device. It was always something that would be nice to have, but it doesn't address a particular lack of capability in my computing world. Certainly, looking at images on it will be much more pleasurable.

I imagine it's something I might use around the house, but perhaps not as often as my laptop.

Time will tell.

This model doesn't do 3G, which is good on one hand, as I won't need a SIM for it, and I can avoid the associated costs.

So, how are other people using their iPads?

[kiwi]

Zinio

[Roosta]

I'll give you a tank of fuel for it.

[Jules]

I use it for surfing the web in bed (more comfortable to use than my laptop) and for showing off photos. Not much else really. Ours is also a wifi model that we got free with some software. For an internet portal and digital portfolio it's pretty good, but it will never replace my laptop for real work (both photography and otherwise).

[JM Tran]

Owned the original one since it first came out early last year, but have now donated it to a cousin in Saigon.

I loved it for professional photography and backpacking/traveling

1. showing clients photos during meetings when they cannot meet me at my office, or when I do home visits

2. watching movies or listening to music wherever and whenever

3. using it to navigate during my motorbike trip in East Java and Bali last year, with maps saved onto it we would stop every now and then to consult it for directions

4. alleviated my boredom and possible suicide on a 16 hr cramped bus ride sitting next to live chickens from Denpasar to Surabaya

5. wifi connection at airports and hotels and hostels when Im just traveling with a small backpack

the 10 hour + battery life is great

[Analog6]

Owned the original one since it first came out early last year, but have now donated it to a cousin in Saigon.

I loved it for professional photography and backpacking/traveling

1. showing clients photos during meetings when they cannot meet me at my office, or when I do home visits

2. watching movies or listening to music wherever and whenever

3. using it to navigate during my motorbike trip in East Java and Bali last year, with maps saved onto it we would stop every now and then to consult it for directions

4. alleviated my boredom and possible suicide on a 16 hr cramped bus ride sitting next to live chickens from Denpasar to Surabaya

5. wifi connection at airports and hotels and hostels when Im just traveling with a small backpack

the 10 hour + battery life is great

I'd love one for all the reasons outlined. But I'm not planning on buying a new car or enough software to qualify so I guess I'll have to wait a while for one. Enjoy your mew toy!

[Wayne]

Wife has the original, and she wanted to buy me the v2 for my recent birthday, but I told her it would be a waste of $$ as it will get little use given I have the latest versions of MBP, iPhone, iPod Touch. My wife uses it to browse the net in bed, to watch movies and read e-books when travelling. It is also a good girls tool when shopping as they tend to go to the stores, see what they want and then read reviews, price compare to overseas before making buying decisions.

I would only ever see a use for it myself when on planes (which I am alot) to watch video, read e-books (I hate reading) etc..

[reflect]

When I got our Ipad one I was amazed at what it could do, how portable it is, the lovely resolution on screen, how quick it starts up and the great battery life. I still love all these things about it, but now that the macbook air is here, I am realising the limitations of the Ipad. My customers still say wow when I show them their images on the device at a cafe, office or where ever and it does keep me entertained at airports, train stations etc. I wish there was a viable way to shoot tethered to it as its size does lend itself to being great on location.
Just have fun with it, it was freeee!!

[BecM]

xenedis I use my ipad when I travel instead of taking my computer. I also use it to read books, I have a rather large collection of books on there now

[Bennymiata]

For i-Pad users: http://filterstorm.com/

There is also a gadget you can buy for them that plugs into the port of the i-Pad which has a multi-card reader, USB port and other stuff for around $50, and this makes it so much more useful. Top Buy has them.
Personally, if I was to get one, I would only buy the wireless version and use my phone as the 3G connection.

[wrxzook]

My wife has one and uses it for presentations. Wireless connection to her laptop which is connected to a whiteboard or projector and mirroring the laptop via Splashtop and Splashtop streamer. She is also able to open Office documents via Quickffice Pro HD, make modifications and email results and corrections to students from the ipad. She also has purchased a battery operated wireless modem and several more ipads. The modem will allow 5 students to connect ipads to her ipad. This (she hopes) should help with students that have learning difficulties.

Two things that we have found are:
1 Never turn the ipad off, just put it to sleep. It is always ready for use and hardly consumes any battery in sleep mode.
2 Double click the power button and close the apps that are not being used to extend battery life, as some apps (especially if you have games for the kids) keep running in the background.

[ameerat42]

...I bought a new car last week, and got an iPad 2 thrown in free...

I've always maintained that the iPad is fantastic solution to a problem I don't have...

...Still, it is an incredibly cool device...

...I imagine it's something I might use around the house...

So, how are other people using their iPads?

Starting at your last point, I don't have one.

I'd get one if it came with a free new car thrown in.

I've got no use for a new car, though I suppose I could drive it around the streets.

My coolest device is a freezer (two, in fact, but I reckon one of them must be cooler.)

Now I don't feel disenfranchised by not owning an iPad.

[Xenedis]

Starting at your last point, I don't have one.

Neither did I until yesterday, and I had no plans to buy one.

Having said that, I do like it, and it's a pleasure to view photos on it. I always liked it, but couldn't find a proper use for it.

I had a choice of a free iPad or $500 worth of petrol. While petrol costs a small fortunate, I'd have nothing to show for it, so the iPad had much more appeal.

I'll find a use for it, and will probably take it on an inter-state trip rather than taking the MBP.

I'd get one if it came with a free new car thrown in.

That's actually how it happened; I just rearranged what was bought and what was free to make it sound more exciting.

I've got no use for a new car, though I suppose I could drive it around the streets.

Yes, that's what I do with mine. It's very handy when I need to drive somewhere, like to work and back, which is about a 60km round trip.

[Tommo224]

$500 of free petrol would only be 7 tanks of fuel for me =P

iPads are more expensive right?
So you came off better I say haha..


If I could get an iPad for free, I would. Otherwise I just have no reason to justify spending any sort of money on one at all!
They're neat devices I'll admit, but in my life I see absolutely no reason at all to buy one!


I had a 1 day trip to Adelaide (fly down, pick up a car, drive home). My friend brought his iPad. We used it twice the whole time. Once was for facebook for 10 minutes on the road, the other was him showing me some photos he had on it while we were on the plane.

[Xenedis]

$500 of free petrol would only be 7 tanks of fuel for me =P

I'm not sure how far that'd get me in the new car. Given the engine type and size, perhaps I'd get down the street.

iPads are more expensive right?
So you came off better I say haha..

I think the model I have costs $500. Of course, the Apple store is unavailable right now when I want to check...

At any rate, the iPad is something that will last, so it's of inherently higher value than petrol, even though all drivers need the stuff and it's expensive.

If I could get an iPad for free, I would. Otherwise I just have no reason to justify spending any sort of money on one at all!
They're neat devices I'll admit, but in my life I see absolutely no reason at all to buy one!

I was, and remain, in the same boat. It just isn't something that fills a gap in terms of my computing.

If I had a desktop computer rather than a MacBook Pro (I've been using laptops as desktop replacements since 2006), it would be more useful, such as when sitting in the lounge, in bed or in the pishadu.

When travelling, it could be handy, but being a non-3G model, WiFi is the only connectivity available, unless it's possible to integrate it with my iPhone via Bluetooth for HSPA access.

I had a 1 day trip to Adelaide (fly down, pick up a car, drive home). My friend brought his iPad. We used it twice the whole time. Once was for facebook for 10 minutes on the road, the other was him showing me some photos he had on it while we were on the plane.

It seems that iPads are great at proving to other people that they aren't significantly useful. :-D

Despite the fact that I cannot (yet) find a great use for it, I still do like it, and the browsing and photo viewing experience on it is inherently better than the iPhone. When people are over, it's a great way of exhibiting photos or doing other quick online tasks without the hassle of a laptop.

[phild]

Ipad is very useful, if buggy, piece of gear.

It's a useful tool, some of my uses.

Weather & tide forecast (easyweather.au) great for fishing.
GPS street mapping & directions.
PDF reader and storage of manuals (the PDF reader will also read .doc, .xls files).
Marine GPS & mapping
Currency conversion; I buy some stuff from OS and I'm always interested in the current conversion rates.
Astronomy program and control of telescope (SkySafari Pro & Starmap Pro). Satellite tracking.
Email and web browsing when I'm travelling.
Facebook & Photoshop express to allow FB uploads
Asset register.
Occasional internet banking access.
EBook reader; the iPad excels at this. I use Kobo, Ibooks, Stanza and Kindle ebook apps as not all titles are available on any one reader, I love the way the ebook reader saves my page and the fact that no trees were used in the book I read. There are hundreds of interesting titles free from Project Gutenberg.
It's also somewhat useful for remote desktop access using iTap app although the various finger swipe actions take a little getting used to.
I also use it for fast viewing of images, the genuine camera connection kit allows quick and easy upload from all of my Canon stuff.
I have used the iphone for remote triggering for Astro photos (DSLR Remote), DSLRN remote allows remote control of your DSLR and preview of the image once taken. The iPad can be similarly used and I'd imagine that for some other applications DSLR remote may be useful but you do need Camera to PC connection (laptop) and wi-fi connection to the laptop. If the authors of DSLR remote ever get round to writing a decent interval timer in to the software it will be a killer Astronomy app.

I've used it for lots of other applications but the above are the regulars.
Almost forgot......cos I'm a regular Aussie Bloke I use it for reading on the dunny.

[Brian500au]

I considered buying one for ages but just thought I would never use it. I eventually went out and bought a second hand 3G 64gig version 1 (as I did not need the camera). I bought it based on meeting with clients to showcase some of my previous work (just brilliant to showcase photography).

What I did not realise is how much I would use it for other stuff. The other day I was waiting for my son (he is was rowing) and I used the Iview app to watch programs on the ABC. What a great invention - I am hooked.

[farmer_rob]

I use mine all the time. I thought i wouldn't like it, but bought my wife one last year - then my laptop died and I started using her ipad. I'm hooked, and persuaded my wife to give me an ipad2 for my birthday.

I use it for browsing the web, showing photos, checking the weather, catching up on abc shows ( iview), programming the austar box, email, calender/diary, radio (tuneit - listen to melbourne stations in mansfield), maps, newspaper (theage, smh)...

[cam bicknell]

My wife got an iPad 2 for free from her work for exceeding targets and we didn't really find a use for it so we sold it. My wife has an iPod Touch and I have an iPhone, a Kindle and a laptop. Seemed to be a device without a specific purpose that wasn't already done by something else. I could see how it would be useful showing clients photos.

Xenedis you can use your iPhone as a personal WiFi hotspot for the iPad. Go to Setting and it is either ther in the initial screen or it may be under General to start with. After we had used it a few times the button moved itself to the opening screen of Settings. We do this for my wifes iPod Touch when not at home.

[JM Tran]

My wife got an iPad 2 for free from her work for exceeding targets and we didn't really find a use for it so we sold it. My wife has an iPod Touch and I have an iPhone, a Kindle and a laptop. Seemed to be a device without a specific purpose that wasn't already done by something else. I could see how it would be useful showing clients photos.

Xenedis you can use your iPhone as a personal WiFi hotspot for the iPad. Go to Setting and it is either ther in the initial screen or it may be under General to start with. After we had used it a few times the button moved itself to the opening screen of Settings. We do this for my wifes iPod Touch when not at home.

If you work in a high tempo corporate environment or even at courier services you would see why it is a weapon of choice. Many, many other jobs or places that require tablets with a very long battery life too that nothing else can match yet for usability. Showing client photos is a function that a lot of people, even photographers like me - use the least.