First time ios/ipad user tips / guides

[Nvidiaguy07]

Well not really first time, but it has been a LONG time since I used an ios device.

I just bought my mom an ipad. She needed a new laptop, and I decided for what she does, she would probably be better off with a tablet. My first thought was to get her either the nexus 7 or 10, since Im more familair, and I set her up with a android phone a few months ago. Sadly, I think for her and MOST people, the ipad still beats the crap out of android tablets in many ways.

I just set up her account, and downloaded a few apps, but as someone who has been any from it for so long, Im a little lost. For example, just found out about how to kill apps in the background :/ (double click home button)

I only have a day or two to mess around, and get it set up for her, and then have to explain how to use it, so any tips i should know would be great. Primarily im interested in:

Any other gestures and other crap i dont know about (like the double click of home buton)
Word processing apps: This is supposed to be her laptop replacement, and I told her that I would be getting her a keyboard to go with this. Google docs would be OK, but how is it on this? Is there a version of office out for ios yet? Or something similar?
How to print (she uses dropbox, so i could probably rig something up there if i have to)
APPS - which are recommended for just about everyone
GOOGLE STUFF: why are all google apps rated so poorly on ios? Are they really that bad? Should she use the gmail app, or the mail app?
Which cases do you recommend? Is there a nice keyboard/case they sell anywhere?

Trying to think of what else I would wanna know. I just know as an android user, Id know exactly what to do, but im a little lost. And im not gonna have time to mess with it after i give it to her, so anything you can think of please lemme know.

Thanks!

EDIT: crap i forgot there is a separate apple forum. Can you please move this there.

 

[Mopetar]

Any other gestures and other crap i dont know about (like the double click of home buton)

For the most part no. You can configure a triple click of the home button to do a few different things, but it's mostly useful for accessibility features. There's also an option to turn on 4/5 finger gestures which can be used to switch between apps or pull up the multitasking bar. Honestly I find the double home button click to be easier, so I never bother with it.

Word processing apps: This is supposed to be her laptop replacement, and I told her that I would be getting her a keyboard to go with this. Google docs would be OK, but how is it on this? Is there a version of office out for ios yet? Or something similar?

I don't think there's a version of Office out yet (I think one is coming fairly soon though.) but Apple has a version of Pages available for $10. Otherwise there's a built-in notepad, but it's not going to be as feature rich. There are other note apps available as well, some with additional features. I suppose it really depends on what you want to do.

The iPad will read MS word documents without too much trouble, so you won't need anything extra to view files sent from others. I haven't tried out Open Office documents though, so those might not work.

How to print (she uses dropbox, so i could probably rig something up there if i have to)

As for printing, I believe you'll need a wireless printer to use the built in printing functionality, but there may be other apps that allow some other solutions. I haven't tried with mine, so I don't have much experience here.

APPS - which are recommended for just about everyone

Once again this really depends on what you want. I'd suggest Netflix, Hulu, etc. if she subscribes to any of those services. The Kindle app is great if she has a Kindle and wants to put her books on the iPad as well. Even if she doesn't have a Kindle, a book app of some sort is probably a good thing to have.

GOOGLE STUFF: why are all google apps rated so poorly on ios? Are they really that bad? Should she use the gmail app, or the mail app?

Beats me. I've got both the Google Maps and YouTube app and they both work fine. The only thing I can think of is that some of the Google apps don't offer as much functionality on iOS, but I don't have any complaints. I haven't tried using the gmail app, but the built-in mail app works well so I don't think there's a big need to replace it.

Which cases do you recommend? Is there a nice keyboard/case they sell anywhere?

As far as cases go, you're probably best off getting a cheap one from monoprice so you don't spend an arm and a leg on it. Otherwise I don't have much experience with keyboards/cases so someone else might have some better information for you there.

 

[lopri]

If it's her first tablet ever, I recommend Angry Birds.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

@mopetar Thanks for the response!

Few more questions:

I downloaded chrome for her - but is that just gonna make things more difficult? - since you cant really set chrome as the default browser for ALL programs.

Should I consider rooting - so I could do things like get rid of that password bullshit everytime you get a free app, and set chrome as the default for evertyhing? If it were for me I would, since id be able to mess with it often, and fix any problems that pop up, but i think since I wont be able to mess with it, and shell have it, I probably wont.

what sort of format does pages save to? I really am just looking for a good word/open office/google docs equivalent, but I think opening and altering .docx files might be something she might need to do.

Printing -anyway to just to print to pdf?

ebooks: I use aldiko on android, and find its much better than the kindle or nook app. Anything like this out for ios?

mail app: How to you select multiple emails to delete?

And thanks for suggesting monoprice - I totally forgot that they sold that.

 

[jiffylube1024]

For the iPad: go to settings > general and make sure that multitasking gestures are turned on.
These iPad gestures are amazing:
-5 fingers (close fist) - closes current app. Just like the home button but IMO faster
-4 fingers swipe upward - brings up recent apps. Swipe to the righht on the recent apps tray and it brings up easy toggles for rotation lock, volume, brightness, and play/pause.

 

[Geekbabe]

If she is an Amazon Prime subscriber get her the Amazon video app so she can watch a ton of Prime movies & TV shows for free. The PBS app is also excellent, Flipboard for her social media .

Don't know how old your mom is but I'm in my 50's and adore my ipad. I get a lot done with it & the device has given me a ton of pleasure in the year that I've owned it.

As far as games go Candy Crush is a MUST!