Is the iPad "worth it"?
 

I am looking at purchasing the $499 16 GB, non-3G one... is it "worth it", broadly speaking?


Thanks :)

Have you touched one? Hands on for a reasonable time in the store?

It is indeed a thing of wonder and beauty. A lovely shiny bauble. Great screen. Marvelous. I just didn't know what I would use it for.

However, my iPhone does most of what it does when I'm on the move. When I'm sitting down at home, I want a laptop that I can touch type on and that has no limitations on the browser - the reason there are so many apps is that they should be websites!

So, my vote is for no, it's not worth it, if you have a decent smartphone and another computer or two for proper browsing.

No it is not worth it.

Unless you think it is worth it.

Seriously - whether a $500 gadget is "worth it" depends entirely on what you plan to do with it. Buying it merely for games would be a waste of money, but if you plan to use it for email, web and other work related tasks, you could be able to justify it.

Personally, I was not impressed with mine (I got a 3G version). At that price point, I can get a very nice laptop and do 10x more. But if you like the form factor and don't mind the trade-offs, then go for it.

Of course. It's cool. It's a must have. All the important people have one! You can get apps!! Haven't you been following along?

I don't think it's worth it, but I do like this guy's take on the it:

http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2010/05/ive-...-the-ipad.html

Couldn't agree more.

I think that if you have to ask the question, it's not worth it to you. Apple prices its devices at a premium to their features - a premium the market supports solely because people want to buy pretty, sexy Apple devices and believe the marketing.

I'll probably buy an iPhone 4 after three years of holding out because I think the the whole iPhone experience (including the prodigious number of apps) finally justifies the price tag.

I don't need my PC, Laptop or Netbook anymore, since I got the iPad. For people who just consume, it's all you need. If you have to create content, then you would still need a real computer and keyboard. I like my over priced, well designed device from AAPL. (my shoulder does too)

Sorry Dave, But I am really tired of this misinformation that so many seem to enjoy dishing out. Apple's products are not just a collection of off the shelf hardware welded together. They sell for more because they get the consumer experience right. I could have purchased a netbook, my wife has one, what a POS. Slow, limited, no battery life, no touch screen and I have to wait for it to boot up. Much the same can be said for a $900 laptop, but it would be a bit quicker. The iPad is great at what it does and clearly millions of people agree.

As often as we hear about Apple fanboys we should hear just as much about Apple haters. Not saying you are one, but clearly you are missing the point of the iPad.

Which is clearly why I haven't bought one. :)

#marketingfail

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I love the iPad although it does have some shortcomings. It is incredibly convenient for email and surfing. What I like it for most however is reading, both books and PDFs of scientific papers. Also, I use it for marking up PDFs as well. My assistant puts them in dropbox, I make comments of how to deal with them and put them back. I've also written some short docs using the word processor and emailed them as word files to people. I'm still having a bit of trouble with presentations.

I don't have any problem with people buying iPads...if you want one, get one.

But I find your netbook complaints a bit odd:
Inaccurate
I don't see how you could have found a netbook with no battery life. My eeePC lasts at least 7 hours for simple tasks and almost 5 playing movies on a flight.

iPads are even worse
The iPad is going to be slower and more limited than any netbook. Less RAM, less storage, slower processor.

The Tradeoffs
In sleep mode a netbook should wake up within a second, in hibernate mode about 10 seconds. Indeed, a netbook has no touch screen but you do get a keyboard and mouse that the iPad doesn't have.

Ultimately, I don't think there's much point comparing a netbook to an iPad since they're not intended to be used for the same things. Sure, you can do similar things on both devices but the usage model is not intended to be the same. An iPad is for lounging around and consuming media. A netbook is a general computing device. You can browse the web on a Kindle too, but it would be silly to compare an eInk device to a netbook or a tablet!

I have been testing the 32gb iPad 3G extensively for a client. Having now flown quite a bit with it ... and now about to under take a number of trips with only the iPad for my client I can safely say that the iPad will surprise you.

I didn't think it was going to be a great tool. I have an iPhone 3G, Blackberry Curve, 13" MacBook Pro and EeePc 1005 HA netbook with around 8hrs battery life. I didn't know how the iPad would work into my kit.

Well I have completely shed the EeePC 1005 HA and just did a trip leaving the MacBook Pro at home (since it didn't require photo editing as most trips do) and its great. Really ... it is. For e-mail, Twitter, Blogging, word processing, creating client presentations (swapped PowerPoint for Keynote) its a fantastic tool.

What is very important to remember hower ... the iPad is not a computer so if you need the processing speed of your laptop, then stick with a laptop. But even editing image files on my iPad (and my next trip will be with the iPad to edit image files, dropping the laptop) .... you'll be surprised.

Happy Flying!

I keep seeing everyone claiming how great their device is because it has 5K, 10K, 20K or however many apps out there. In reality, 99% of them are crap. What is important is what functions a device can handle, not the fact that someone wrote a whoopie cushion app for Android or a cracked iphone screen gag.

The popular apps like Pandora, readers, weather, browsers, etc. will get written for all major platforms since the demand is there. I'm thinking there are probably 100 or fewer core apps that 98% of the population wants/needs/uses.

The real measure is what can Device A do that Device B can't.

Cnet columnist Brooke Crothers wrote a column on May 23 about how the iPad is "a solution in search of a problem." Many readers wrote in about how he missed the point. His compilation of some of those responses is here.

It's a fair statement that not everyone needs, or wants, an iPad. Not everyone needs, or wants, a road bike, a globe, a coffee grinder, or any number of other devices - yet there are those who find them somewhere from useful to essential. Those who post "it's useless because ..." should rephrase that as "I don't need it because ..." YMMV, MMMV and HMMV.

Wow, spirited discussion ... :)

I am concerned about processing speed - is browsing with Safari decent speed?

Very well said ^

Absolutely. The iPad has been designed with the user experience in mind...everything it does it does well. And the processor it has is quite good for a mobile device, I simply meant in my previous post that it isn't as powerful as what a netbook or notebook is using. The limitations of the iPhone OS ensure that you don't have performance issues...for example, multitasking is limited, so the iPad will always have plenty of power available for the app it's running. With a netbook you can run as many applications as you want. That's both a benefit and a drawback, since you can generally do more multitasking but you can also push the machine until the user experience degrades.

Also, keep in mind that the iPad doesn't support flash in the browser. Another simultaneous benefit and drawback :D

Flying with the iPad is nice since you don't have to take it out of your luggage when you go through TSA. I always hated removing my laptop from my carry on, putting it in a bin, and then zipping it back in.

Skip Safari, download Atomic, which I wrote about here : http://bit.ly/9YUkny


Atomic works for both the iPhone & iPad. Atomic is faster than Safari, as well it also has 'tabs' which makes using the App much easier than Safari. If you see pages you want to read while in a non-connected environment, you can use the off line viewing option to retrieve them once you're on a plane (non-wifi plane).

This really isn't much of an issue since the advent of checkpoint friendly bags.

If you have the money : absolutely. At work we've got eight of them (all wifi only) and when they come back into the office I immediately steal one. So I've had one for about 6 weeks (4 weeks straight and then the last 2 weeks or so (dates maybe a bit off)) and it is a great entertainment device.

I've got a Blackberry only and have never had an Apple product.

So many apps: 5-0 police scan (and ATC), Evernote, Zinio (mags), Echofan (twitter), Kayak flights, Kindle and iBooks, iHeartRadio, etc., etc., etc.

Its almost a device you cannot put down (i.e. its 100a and I'm getting to crash and I just know I'll be up for another hour in bed reading newspaper/youtube, etc., etc.).

Its not for typing, its not for replying with long emails, its not for taking notes. Its a reading device. I'm not a big video/photo person on the iPad yet but I'm sure it will be terrific with such a clear screen.

The battery time is amazingly long (10+ hours).

Summary:

If you have $500.00 to burn - absolutely go for it. BUT I would try and go for the ATT/wifi version just in case you decide you are addicted and want the ATT access.

And, for those who want/need to do all that typing, there is an attachable, 'proper' keyboard!

I don't have one yet, but I'm looking forward to the day...

DD

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You reminded me of another thing I use it for, taking notes. I use a Pogo stylus and a note taking app, Note Taker HD. It works great. ;)

I too am a BlackBerry fan (longtime) and have never owned an Apple product ... is Opera (the browser) available on the iPad? :confused:

I like mine quite a bit (WiFi only version). I've downloaded several books onto it, the entire first season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and (of course) a number of apps. It will replace my laptop as my computing device on my next trip.

(I should note that when I travel, I rarely do much on the laptop other than sending email and surfing the web.)

Whether it's "worth it" is up to you, really. You could ask the same question about any number of non-essential products.

Opera mini is available as an app - I have it on my iPhone but rarely use it since I have no real problem with Safari so I haven't tried it on the iPad yet.

Unless they've released it as a universal app, it's iPhone only -- which means it will work on the iPad, but either only on a screen the size of the iPhone or stretched to fill the iPad screen (and pixilated accordingly).

For me, the web surfing experience is the big one. I used it traveling pretty exclusively this past weekend and once I had activated 3G service, I found myself pulling it out just about everywhere. For me, surfing and doing other "consuming" tasks is far more pleasant on the iPad simply because of the size of the screen.

I haven't been brave enough to travel without my laptop (my company sells Windows software and I could be called on to support it at any time), but on vacation I know I will.

As others have said...YRMV

In my case I bought the wifi version on pre-order and haven't touched my personal pc since. Having my IT guy strip it today and giving to my kids for school.

I recently picked up the 3G version (early fathersday gift) to take advantage of the unlimited 3G plan before it expired June 7th. I have it with me everywhere and use it for both work and pleasure. I handle 50% of my company email on it, have all important documents on file with GoodReader and office2HD and am able to take notes in meetings fairly well. The keyboard takes a bit of getting use to and I don't care for the lack of a good spelling/grammar check function....which just makes me work a little harder at proper English. (not always successful)I have the Bluetooth keyboard but haven't found a reason to open it yet. I use the multi media dongle for ppt presentations and just run them off of the iPad. I for one love it and can't imagine doing without it. I am able to leave my pc at the office and run with just iPhone and iPad now saving about ~7 pounds in my briefcase.

As others have said, browsing and media interaction are fantastic. The speed is easily 2x faster than my laptop. On another note, I tried to give my wife the wifi model to replace her pc....she just couldn't do it. She didn't like the keyboard or having to hold it rather than lay it in her lap (viewing angle) So the device is not for everyone, but certainly does the trick for me.

Again....YRMV. :)

No.....

Yes.

(That's as useful a response. :D)

And as accurate :)

Indeed.

Worth it?

Not sure, think you have to answer that question.

However for me it was for the following reasons:If you're on the edge I'd suggest picking up an iPad from BestBuy (milo.com will search local inventory for you) and try it out for two weeks. If you like it, keep it. If not take it back to BestBuy and return it (BB charges no restocking fee, at least per the 3 store I talked to in the greater IAH area.)

Hope that helped.

A lot of people are buying it? Well – game, set, match then. :D

What I find the most interesting about the iPad is the degree to which their owners will tailor their work/leisure habits in order to conform to what the iPad does – or more specifically what it doesn’t do, rather than the other way around – in order to convince themselves that they really need an iPad.

My own views of the iPad aside you will never hear me suggest that Steve Jobs isn't a genius, even if only in the way that say, P.T. Barnum was also a genius.

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Well, this is simply untrue. For me it is much better for browsing or watching movies than a notebook. It is enormously useful as a reader. Im not tailoring my reading to that unless you want to call reading more because it is easier tailoring to the device. So I'm a sucker because I no longer have to carry a bunch of Pdfs with me in order to read when I travel? Whatever.

I have no doubt that some will find the iPad to be a thoroughly useful and complimentary device, I never suggested that the iPad didn't have a couple of legitimate uses, not at all. But is this true for "millions" of people, I doubt it.

But if for example the iPad is for someone really just a sexed-up Kindle, or PSP, or P-DVD player then IMO there really isn't anything all that revolutionary about it, save for the price.

Having used a friend's iPad a bit recently I will say that the first of the big deal killers is having to hold the damn thing. Unless one is seated at a desk it is beyond annoying trying to hold the thing up in order to use it, a problem my friend discovered early on in his ownership and has tried to ameliorate [not solve] with a $70 leather iPad case with a kick stand that works only slightly better than manipulating the device by itself.

All told he has invested darn close to $1000 on his iPad WiFi, cases, dongles, etc. which just strikes me as odd when there are any number of laptops/netbooks out there of similar size, weight, battery life, and screen size/resolution that can do significantly more than can the iPad and that also come with an articulating screen that can be used comfortably in far more situations.

Just my observations, YMMV.

I've got a good friend who's in RD here in IAH with HP, and as an Apple guy, we have a lot of heated arguments thoughtful exchanges of ideas.

Mainly the premise of his arguments revolve around functionality in that Apple deprives users of this and how there's so much more your generic smartphone can do over the iPhone (or netbook over the iPad.)

And he's right, there probably are a lot more things those devices can do. But that's the funny thing, those devices seem to do everything except what I want them to do. Can I partition my iPad to run multiple O/S's, have command line interface, or install any random piece of software I want?

Nope.

However, what he constantly does not get is that I don't *want*, much less need, to be able to do that. What can I say? Somehow I've just never gotten the itch, much less the need, to switch from Windows 7 to Linux while sitting in 1B at 36,000'.

What I do want to do is email, internet, tethering and browsing with the occasional game. That's what I do on my laptop and thats what I do on my iPad --- and on a side note I always find it amusing how my gadgets always seem to work better than his, at least for those simple functions, but oh well. Different strokes for different folks.

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Someone here or in a review somewhere made a very salient observation about this. The observation was that most devices are designed primarily to create content. The iPad is primarily designed to use content. The vast majority of people primarily use content. And that is what the iPad excels at, with enough creation ability to make it very useful and replace most of what I use a computer for in content creation while traveling as well.

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By the way, the $39 Apple articulating case is a must have accessory in my opinion. It totally changes the feel of the thing.

Sure, I can understand that, and for anyone who neither has nor wants a real computer [laptop/netbook] then perhaps the iPad is a great choice.

But if one already has a competent, relatively compact and modern laptop/netbook then there just isn’t anything the iPad can do that those devices can’t save for the fact that the iPad looks cooler.


As I wrote [quipped?] in another thread:

If this is what the iPad was indeed designed and marketed for then cheers all around, let’s just all be up front about about… :D