What would YOU use the iPad for?

[Kaido]

Even though the iPad (seriously? iPad?) has most of the features I want, I'm not very excited about it...I'd rather have a Verizon iPhone. Anyway, I thought about all the things I actually WOULD use and thought I'd see what everyone else was thinking. Here's my top features list:

1. iCal: Giant, touchable calendar. Touch to expand. Awesome. I'd probably buy it for this feature alone.
2. AirVideo: Stream my movie collection anywhere (but I usually watch TV & movies together with my wife, so...?).
3. Internet: Just for looking stuff up, easier than on the tiny iPhone. Plus with 3G...Internet anywhere.
4. Email: That'd be pretty handy, especially like this (but I was perfectly happy with the iPhone for email).
5. GPS: 10" GPS in my car. Holy awesome batman.

But...none of those really make a strong enough case for me to spend $499 on it. I'll probably wait until Rev.2, or just get the most basic one if I can find enough compelling features about it (if they have some good cinematography stuff, like a Smart Slate app, that'd be pretty awesome). For me, the iPhone is just a much more usuable device. Just wish it came in Verizon flavor.

Right now I am NOT planning on buying an iPad, as much as I'd like to have one to toy with. I honestly don't think I'd use it that much. I'll be anxiously awaiting reviews and usability reports to see how it actually fares in real-life. Reading would be super neat on it, of course. But I pretty much use my computer for everything, and the iPhone when I had it. I dunno. I don't know if even having an iChat cam would make a difference, because I don't even use my webcam now! The GPS would be neat, and really the coolest feature for me right now is iCal, lol.

How bout you - what would YOU use an iPad for?

 

[aphex]

Primarily for internet/web browsing, but i'm waiting for revision 2 of this product.

 

[Ns1]

doing lines

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Woooo 2.0 of this product will be awesome.

 

[QueBert]

iCal would be sweeet, also will make Logmein KILLER! If I can access clients PC's from my couch and not have a bulky ass laptop or a small'ish iPhone I'll be in heaven. I also want to play ZombieVille USA & FieldRunner on it. And while big, it could possibly make the most uber, over the top HTPC remote ever. I was looking at a Phillips Pronto touch screen that was $1,200 bucks. And all it did was control tv's and shit. This could kill the Pronto as a remote I bet, and a lot cheaper too.

 

[slugg]

Too big to fit in my pocket... too limited to do any real work... Hmm, what could I use this for?

Social status? But then again, that could be bad.

You've got me. I have no idea what I'd actually use the iPad for.

 

[Kadarin]

Unlike my Droid it's too big to be really portable as a casual device (i.e. I'd have to plan to take it with me somewhere), so I'd probably use it around the apartment as a casual web browsing, iTunes streaming ebook reader. However, aside from the ebook aspect, I already have devices for these tasks. If the Kindle is a better ebook reader (no monthly fee for 3G and e-ink screen), then I'd just get a DX.

I'm just not seeing a compelling use for it yet. If I ever do then I can justify buying the thing, but not now.

 

[Imported]

If it had an SD slot and I was able to install Photoshop.. it'd be a dream for a photog and probably what I'd use it for.

I don't have a reason to have one.. have an iPhone, laptop, and I'd rather get a Kindle if I needed a ebook reader.

@Quebert, is there a universal remote app yet? Last time I looked it up, it didn't exist.

 

[speg]

Coffee table computer. Something to keep by the side of your bed. Something to have at the table with your morning coffee.

That's pretty niche. My iPhone and MacBook cover everything else.

I don't think the iPad is for us (geeks). But for the more casual crowd who may not have a laptop but still want to a portable way to surf/email/read/etc, consume media.

 

[Eug]

Even though the iPad (seriously? iPad?) has most of the features I want, I'm not very excited about it...I'd rather have a Verizon iPhone. Anyway, I thought about all the things I actually WOULD use and thought I'd see what everyone else was thinking. Here's my top features list:

1. iCal: Giant, touchable calendar. Touch to expand. Awesome. I'd probably buy it for this feature alone.
2. AirVideo: Stream my movie collection anywhere (but I usually watch TV & movies together with my wife, so...?).
3. Internet: Just for looking stuff up, easier than on the tiny iPhone. Plus with 3G...Internet anywhere.
4. Email: That'd be pretty handy, especially like this (but I was perfectly happy with the iPhone for email).
5. GPS: 10" GPS in my car. Holy awesome batman.

But...none of those really make a strong enough case for me to spend $499 on it. I'll probably wait until Rev.2, or just get the most basic one if I can find enough compelling features about it (if they have some good cinematography stuff, like a Smart Slate app, that'd be pretty awesome). For me, the iPhone is just a much more usuable device. Just wish it came in Verizon flavor.

1. My iPhone already has iCal.
2. Not interested. My laptop can already do this, and I have the iPhone for on the plane (or my laptop if necessary).
3. iPhone on the road, but usually my laptop at home. The biggest problem with the iPhone is lack of Flash support, just like the iPad.
4. iPhone
5. I already have a GPS in my car.

So, I can't figure out what I'd use an iPad for, at least in its current iteration.

 

[Andrmgic]

I'm planning on using it as a coffee table/kitchen counter computer.

I'd use it for looking up recipes, vnc control of my linux media pc, displaying photos and videos in my living room (no need for a digital picture frame with this)

The screen looks gorgeous, it looks like a really fast device well.

I'll just get the wifi version, probably 16GB..

 

[TheStu]

I could see it as a kitchen computer, random 'lets look this up' device that I could leave laying around, digital picture frame, home controller. Past that, I am not sure with Rev 1, but frankly, I am not spending $500 for that.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I have yet to find a hospital that doesn't flip out if you use a work PC to do anything on the net, I'll be buying a low end model to take to work and surf the net, email, trade stocks, etc during my breaks.

And yeah, it's not intended for the hard core tech folk, it's a essentially a multi touch Apple netbook.

I don't think anyone imagined soccer moms using an iPhone when it was introduced, but I can see my 80 year old mom finally doing email on an iPad.

 

[Koing]

It's too big to be portable enough...no attached keybaord but then thats the point of the thing...

I have my iPhone and my MacBook takes care of simple video editing and emails. iPhone does light web browsing and everything else...

If it does "10hrs of movies" that would be pretty f0cking amazing and would be useful for flights.

Koing

 

[Kaido]

1. My iPhone already has iCal.
2. Not interested. My laptop can already do this, and I have the iPhone for on the plane (or my laptop if necessary).
3. iPhone on the road, but usually my laptop at home. The biggest problem with the iPhone is lack of Flash support, just like the iPad.
4. iPhone
5. I already have a GPS in my car.

So, I can't figure out what I'd use an iPad for, at least in its current iteration.

Yup, my thoughts exactly. Give me my dang Verizon iPhone, Apple! lol.

 

[sourceninja]

I liked the iPad before it was released, the reality of it has made me say "WTF is this good for?"

1) No flash (means no web games)
2) No background processes (means it's just as restricted as an iphone)
3) Still uses an app store (100% means I won't buy it)

I wanted scaled down OSX, not increased resolution ipod.

 

[jpeyton]

It needs a front-facing camera for iChat before I even entertain the idea of buying one.

It needs Flash support, too, but I truly doubt Apple would be stupid enough to not add it in iPhone OS 4.

 

[amdhunter]

It needs a front-facing camera for iChat before I even entertain the idea of buying one.

It needs Flash support, too, but I truly doubt Apple would be stupid enough to not add it in iPhone OS 4.

You really believe that? ...really?

 

[Ka0t1x]

The jailbreak community could make this one work for me.. with the backgrounded apps, god knows the thing can handle it, as my iPhone 3G can do quite well. But no flash is a killer, especially since most of the web contains flash.

I really like the layout of things, contacts, mail, etc. it works really well. But the limited ability of the thing just makes me not want it, as most have described.

 

[amdhunter]

On topic with this thread -- I do think my iPhone has one of the best browsing experiences with the web. I might buy the iPad solely for the web. I could care less about anything else on it really.

I just wish I could run MSN messenger in the background, that's it.

 

[fatpat268]

I can't find a use for the damn thing.

First, it's an ergonomic nightmare to use. How the hell do you type on it without straining your neck or straining your wrists? Second, it's not even flat on the back, so sitting it on a flat surface to type isn't ideal either.

Usability issues aside, it's an intriguing device, but it doesn't do anything particularly well. If I want an e-reader, I'll get a kindle. I'm not going to stare at a backlit screen while reading the whole time. If I want a word browser in a small format, I'll get a netbook. It'll be a lot easier to type on that. Sure, you could use the keyboard dock with the iPad, but it doesn't look very portable given its shape.

I wouldn't take this thing around with me, as it doesn't fit in a pocket, and it doesn't really boost any productivity with it. It'd be OK for home use, but that's about it. It's a massive fail that they plan to have keynote on it, but don't offer anyway to connect to external display.

Honestly, I just can't find a use for the damn thing. Like I said earlier in another topic: I'm not sure what people are expecting either. A large tablet is a little bit unwieldy. As of right now, until I see anything else from Apple, it's just a toy. This thing will ultimately fail just like the apple tv has.

 

[Andrmgic]

I think this will be far more successful than the Apple TV.

Most people have absolutely no use for a device like the Apple TV and the people that do have come up with more widely compatible solutions for their needs.

That device fills the same niche as my Ion based Linux HTPC but doesn't do nearly as good of a job of it.

The iPad will be a big hit, I think. The people who own netbooks may not switch to this device, but they will find a market. Personally, I dislike every netbook I've ever bought. I've never kept one longer than a month. The screens are terrible, the keyboards mostly suck (recent exception being the keyboard on my mini 110.. best netbook keyboard I've used) and the battery life is lacking, at least on mine.

The atom cpu is far too weak to properly handle an OS that was designed for beefier hardware and Android wasn't designed to be used with a mouse and keyboard. I see no reason to use a netbook to surf the internet when a full-sized desktop is a few feet away.

With a device like the iPad, I can pull it off of the dock in my living room, sit down on the couch and cradle it in one arm and use it to access websites or remote control my XBMC machine without having to hunch over my coffee table or put a hot-running netbook in my lap and type on it as it wobbles and slides around. It would also mean that I don't have to keep my clunky wireless keyboard in the living room.

 

[kalrith]

i don't pad, iTampon.

 

[BigSmooth]

It's not really clear but it appears that the non-3G models won't actually have a GPS chip, so you'd have to pay at least $630 to use an iPad as a GPS. If you somehow tethered the WiFi-only model that would also work, although not as well.

I can see why Apple was able to price this thing lower than expected. All iPads are somewhat crippled in terms of connectivity but the $499 model is particularly stripped... no GPS is one thing, but 16GB of non-expandable storage is what really gets me - this is a media-consumption oriented device and that's just not enough. If someone is going to buy one of these, they'll want more storage so they'll step up to a higher capacity model. Then of course they'll also want GPS capability and 3G so they can use it anywhere...

Throw in spendy accessories and whatever cut Apple will get of the $30 unlimited 3G plans (the $15 250MB plan is a joke) and they're making a mint even if they had priced them "starting" at $299 or $399 - I'm actually a bit surprised that they didn't. People are going to end up spending WAY more on their iPads than they might initially anticipate.

 

[jalaram]

I could see it as a kitchen computer, random 'lets look this up' device that I could leave laying around, digital picture frame, home controller. Past that, I am not sure with Rev 1, but frankly, I am not spending $500 for that.

Ditto. That is the best purpose for this item, but not for $500.

The jailbreak community could make this one work for me.. with the backgrounded apps, god knows the thing can handle it, as my iPhone 3G can do quite well. But no flash is a killer, especially since most of the web contains flash.

I really like the layout of things, contacts, mail, etc. it works really well. But the limited ability of the thing just makes me not want it, as most have described.

Since it's iPhone OS 3.2, there's a chance of it getting jailbroken. JB apps could do so much with the better hardware. But, Apple probably made it harder to do like they did with the 3GS.

On topic with this thread -- I do think my iPhone has one of the best browsing experiences with the web. I might buy the iPad solely for the web. I could care less about anything else on it really.

I just wish I could run MSN messenger in the background, that's it.

Agreed. Can't be much of a kitchen computer if it can't allow 3rd party apps to check on email/SMS/IM etc in the background.