I bought myself and Ipad about a month ago, partly out of curiosity
about how Apple do things, but they also looked handy. Those smart
phone screens are just a bit small for me.

I have to admit, I've been pleasantly suprised. No more waiting
a week for my Economist to arrive, books instantly downloaded
at a fraction of the price. The list of things they can do and
new apps being written for them, is endless, most only costing
a few Dollars, or free.

I've bought a little case with a strap for mine, so I can sling
it over my shoulder and take it anywhere. Great for boring
meetings :), or waiting at the dentist, etc.

Various tablet computers are now coming on the market and I note
that Amazon are already selling more ebooks then paper books.

So I can envisage that tablets could change how we do a number
of things in our everyday lives.

Any thoughts from others?

well yabby you are a follower of fashion
im glad you liked the latest consumable

i thought too long and hard on the thing..to want to go out and buy one..[transhere of data being the big one]...so suggest you find something like cloud..to store stuff off tablet

i say like cloud because cloud isnt working

the free apps look great
i suggest you use them all
[cant you get bil shock clicking them?]

see i got suckked into this constant update of teqnoligy for far too long..to fall for this latest fad...what may seem cheap [the first time you 'buy' it..shall get monotinouse the 5 th time you need to buy it..

i say this knowing..the formats will change in time
[how much of the stuff on ya old computer have you managed to put onto the new i/pad]

sounds like a womans thing
no weonder men take the name tablet
[just remember a tab is what you get at the end of the night
and let is something we do with an empty room]

but i know iots your new baby
so i will just say...she's is sooo pretty

googoo
gaga

at least the latest model has a camera
the next ones might even allow an input port

what we need
is you bought the rights..
now those rights dont need be bought again

but thats not how it works

i got suff on 8 track/reel to reel..78/45/33
i got things on floppy disk/to hard diskette..
beta/vhs...blueray/digetal

and many other obsure formats
im sort of over the whole game
but im glad your glad

watch out for bill shock

I've had a kindle for a while now and love it. Just for reading but the screen clarity (even in full sun) is amazing. Every now an then I plug it in to charge it, it's not gone flat yet. Book's are at about 1/2 the paper price and available within minutes not weeks.

I've been eyeing off the Android tablet's. The top end of the market is more than I want to pay and the rest of the market looks like they are still a little way off being good enough.

I do think that the tablet's (and variants) will be game changing for some stuff, I suspect that the e-book readers as a stand alone item will be short lived. Fantastic though the Kindle is I can't see enough scope for it to stay ahead of the tablets over the next few years.

I suspect that the day's of paper publishing are numbered. There are just too many advantages to electronic publishing for paper to keep it's hold. Likewise for hard copy music, movies etc.

R0bert

Eventually you'll buy this kinda technology at the checkout in the supermarket for $22.95 and then throw them in the bin when you want to get the next model.

Maybe even the newspaper will come in one of these rather than paper and we'll have bundles of kindle type devices worth the wage of 20 chinese families a day stacked under the coffee table.

A solution searching for a problem.

Does it enrich your life enough to justify the exploitation?

Interesting Yabby. I don't like reading from a computer screen for larger documents and books so have not explored too thoroughly the Kindle or the Ipad. How do you find the Ipad in this regard? I imagine this sort of computer device is more portable for you busy executives on the move. :)

Pelican, I'm actually semi retired these days, mostly doing the
things I want to do, rather then the things I have to do, unlike
those on the tread mill.

As to reading, I find the Ipad easier to read then a normal screen
or then papers or magazines. You can adjust the font as you like and
position it as you like, as it has a handy little roll back cover
which acts as a stand. Roll it back, its on, roll it down, it
switches off pretty well instantly, no waiting.

Hopefully some of the newspapers will soon launch apps for the daily
download. I really don't need all those kg of classifieds and
magazine inserts, so my paper consumption will drop dramatically
when they do it electronically.

Robert, I looked at the Kindle, but now I have a Kindle app for Ipad,
as Amazon has a better selection of books then Apple. My nephew
was here at the weekend and brought a book he'd bought, which interested me.
His cost at the airport was 27$, the same book
from Amazon 7.90$. No waiting or freight costs.

What I find handy is that they are quite a bit smaller then a
notebook, so easier to cart around, yet have a much larger screen
then a smart phone, so good for reading stuff or typing a few notes
etc. So for instance, its easy to prop it up in the corner of the
kitchen, to cook a saved recipee from the recipees app. But I'm
still learning about all this stuff, I just think there are heaps
of applications I haven't even thought of yet.

'I just think there are heaps
of applications I haven't even thought of yet.'

As I said, a solution looking for a problem.

Oh the privelege of our lives when our needs are so taken care of, and even our wants are so taken care of we buy something then figure out what it may be useful for.

Come now slaves, I need more shiny trinkets. Maybe I'll get one for my cat while you toil away for a piece of bread.

*Oh the privelege of our lives when our needs are so taken care of, and even our wants are so taken care of we buy something then figure out what it may be useful for.*

Not quite so Houllie, for of course some of the uses were clear
beforehand and justified the price. I just think that alot more
uses will evolve and tablets might change the way that we do
a number of things.

As to buying them, I'd suggest that anyone on OLO could buy one,
its just a question of priorities, how we each spend our money.
I don't do drugs or the pokies, pay for no kids etc. So its
purely a question of choice, even for you.

Oh come on yabby, why aren't you impressed with my social conscience? Other people get all this kudos for caring about the plight of others, and when I try it, it doesn't work. Oh well.

Hey about priorities, I would rather a gram of coke, one night of exhilaration and dirty sex than 3 years of reading the paper on a tablet rather than on my pc at work.

PS: You don't have to justify your purchase. Even to yourself;-

Houllie, not so in my case, I do try and justify what I do and spend,
even to myself.

It comes from having been self employed virtually all my life. Its
not like you can blow the paycheck and then another one arrives next
week.

I've never tried coke and maybe luckily so. I have enough vices
without adding any more :) As to the dirty sex, well that is
great on its own. It seems to me though, that women change. In
their 20s-30s, they will have great sex just for the fun of it.

In their 50s, many focus on the grandkids and become more calculating.
They'll have great sex when they want something from you.

As to the tablets, I noticed this morning that the first ones are
being offered much like phone plans. Sign up for 7gigs a month at
50 bucks and they will throw one in as part of the deal.

Dear Yabby,

I'm jealous. My Iphone has been a revelation although I could have cheerfully thrown it against the wall the first few days I had it.

I thought I might be so bold as to recommend some apps I thought a fellow OLOer might like.

The ABC app is a given. Can be a bit clunky on live view but my go to news source over 50% of the time. Watching Insiders on a Sunday morning while still in bed with a cuppa and toast is a treat. With the pad you can also access Iview which is a bonus.

BBC News app is okay but not as friendly as it could be. Pretty slow at times.

Al Jazeera app is brilliant. Probably my favourite. The live feed is usually quick and fairly stable. Some great programs, extremely good looking presenters, and with a technology/social media program I try not to miss.

Huffington Post app is one I go to for longer dissertations. Their religion section is hard to beat.

PBS News hour app is better than average for American political news and I did like the 'push notification' last week that let me know the space shuttle was launching in 10 minutes and gave me a live feed.

Pretty amazing thinking I was sitting in a kitchen in country Victoria watching a space launch on my telephone after being tapped on the shoulder. I'm old enough to appreciate how much things have changed in my lifetime.

For something slightly right of centre try the Free Domain Radio app. Quirky but addictive.

Oz Weather app is pretty good especially having the ability to easily set it for where ever you are. The radar tab is good for me as knowing how long I will be rained off a job is very handy.

All the apps are free and I'm assuming all have Ipad applicability. Oh and 'At the Movies' is worth a look.

I have many others of course but probably more taste specific.

Cont..

Cont..

Itunes U (university) from the Itunes store is very rich in content. All free. I am currently making my way through four video lectures on the King James Bible from Oxford University. Their first year philosophy series is great. The New York Public Library lectures are brilliant. The last one I downloaded was Dr Oliver Sacks, an absolute treat.

Religion 101 from Missouri University series is worth a look as are Stanford University Hoover Institution talks. TED talks are tops as well.

Then you have the normal podcasts from Big Ideas, C-Span, Times Talks etc.

Enjoy.

Csteele, thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to check out some
of them. When I do check out the app store, its a bit overwhelming
just how many are available!

Mind you, this Ipad is only the wifi version, which I can use
through my home modem, connected to the net anyhow. If I bought
another one, I'd probably go for a 3g version, so I can switch
from one to the other.

So far, since birth, I've never spent a night in hospital, but I
can imagine that boredom is a major problem there. So a 3g
equipped Ipad would be great to solve that problem to some extent.
As they don't have a HDD, they are not as touchy as netbooks, in
terms of moving them around whilst they are operating. So on a
train, or on a bus, or in a car, they should work just fine.

Dear Yabby,

To really enjoy it a chunky data plan is preferable. I am on 200GB at home but hardly download anything on 3G. The bulk of the podcasts or rather vodcasts I spoke of in my second post are fully downloadable rather than streaming. I have over 100 hours of content on my phone I have yet to get to. Perfect for long drives or when I am on the tools. There are plenty of free wifi hotspots around too like the libraries and some of the shopping centres. My fav cafe has one as well. Great for checking email or shares.

One would only be a time waster for me, and my smart phone does everything I need it to do. I get on the net and Twitter, and play a coupla games.

Personally, I don't need an ipad or such, but I can see how some like them.

Csteele, where I live, out in the sticks, luckily there is a mobile
tower not far away. The copper wires are too old and stuffed for
broadband. So its all 3g.

So its 7 gigs a month, make do with it. Mind you, that's all relative, its much better then the 1 gig I was one for a long time.

I am saving for an ipad as we speak Yabby, and I am jealous of anyone who already has one :(

I love my iphone, and wonder how I ever lived without it, but I would love to be able to read books on the bigger ipad.
I adore reading books, but am sick of not being able to afford all the new releases I want.

I want one....bad!

I never thought I even consider buying a Tablet Computer for reading. I so enjoy settling comfortably with a book, a nice cuppa, a couple of pets stretched out beside me, while winter rains turn fern fronds into dainty filigree.

However, the technology has really improved, there are books I want to read that are either too expensive locally or only available via the internet. The latest releases are available instantly online via well known books sellers or in E-form, for example a book I see recommended on the Daily Show.

So I am seeing my future and it includes some brand of tech that makes reading whatever I want, when I want very desirable. Now if they can start making computer tech from recycled more viable, I would be guilt free. I recently bought a refurbished PC with 4 times the memory of my old one, just the basic Windows (I use Ubuntu), so don't need the expense of Windows Office. Won a new LED screen for an absolute bargain on one of those online trading centres, have a new modem/router for merely extending my contract with my ISP - with whom I am happy with their service. My old printer still works.

When I see adverts for the most simple tablet for more $ than I paid to revamp my old system, I can wait for the right technology and the right price.

Suze, patience is a virtue! You'll get one. But if you only want
it to read books, then an Ipad would be an expensive way of doing
it. Amazon flog their Kindle for a fraction of the price. But
that is all that it will do, ie great for reading books.

The Ipad seems to come into its own, for doing a bit of everything,
but with a reasonably sized screen, unlike the Iphone.

Interesting and worthwhile comments.

I have pdf's coming out of my ears and am looking for something more portable to read them. The beach, the pub, the cafe, late at night in bed, even the shared seats in the mall would break up being stuck in the office.

Would love a stand alone pdf reader but there isn't one.

The iPad has been on my radar for awhile now and as my family, friends, peers and colleagues have all offered their 2 bob I wouldn't mind an opinion from people I never met!

Neutral, I had a bit of a look at the App store and under the
business section I saw a couple of high rating pdf reader apps.
One costs $1.19, the other costs $5.99. Both had pretty good
reviews from people who had bought them.

I'm starting to understand why people pay a bit extra for Apple
products and why the company is booming as it is. They really
put that bit of extra thought into things, unlike MS, who tried
to force Bing and Ninemsn down my throat, when I upgraded my
computer to Windows 7. Even with Windows 7 I'm getting some
technical issues which nobody seems to be able to answer.

So far I've had no issues at all with either the Ipad, which is
version 2, or the Mac laptop, which I bought at the same time.

No wonder the institutions are calling for the CEOs head at
Microsoft, they are falling behind, it seems.

Yabby, yeah I have checked out the pdf apps and it all looks good.

I suppose my query was more around 'the practability and robustness of reading the screen in different locations' rather than the pdf readers themselves. Some people reckon yep no worries the iPad will do the job for you while others say it's all hype and wouldn't be rugged enough.

I note your MS comments and would suggest that moving to 7 from XP (or wotever) is a downgrade rather than an upgrade.

As an old dos->linux hand I well understand the angst of MS users. It is a topic worthy of it's own thread!

Neutral, well yup, the tablets do look a bit lightweight, the Ipad
is pretty thin. So far mine has survived, despite the dog jumping
on it. I think the little roll down cover which they sell as
an extra, is worth it, plus a padded case so that you can bang them
around a bit during transport etc. Certainly in my case, anyhow.

There are alot more tablets on the way, some using Google software.
We've actually had the Linux, Apple, MS debate on OLO. Each to their
own I guess. I don't want to frig around and want something that
works how I expect it to work, when I switch it on. Then I can
turn my mind to other things. But there are a number of Linux fans
here.

Yabby, how long have you had yours?

I like the sound of it surviving the dog ...a few weeks ago I had to walk around the back yard between licks and tummy rubs ringing my mobile until I found the spot to dig it up. Also found a spare set of keys, my favourite stubby holder and a bone.

Have heard the roll down cover can get magnetically askew??

I'll probably buy one ...just typing away enough to justify and convince myself.

My wife just said "If you can put the 20 tonnes of top soil you got today for the garden exactly where I want it, you can have an iPad."

There ya go...

*between licks and tummy rubs ringing my mobile until I found the spot to dig it up.*

Lol, I don't know if Ipads would survive burial by the dog :)

They arn't waterproof. I've only had mine for a few weeks. I ordered
it when Ipad 2 was released, as I figured that in version 2 they
should have solved any bugs. But it took a while to get here.
They sold about 15 million Ipad 1s.

The way I understand it, they are basically like a cross between an
Ipod and an Iphone, but with a much bigger touch screen.

The way I understand it, anything with internal flash memory, is
alot tougher then anything with HDD memory, although of course
the memory is much smaller. Its a shame that Apple don't let you
plug in extra memory.

So far no problems with the magnetic cover. What I find handy is
that if say I'm reading an Economist article and need to do something
else, I simply drop down the cover and it shuts down. When I next
want to continue reading, I'm already on that page, ready to go,
no shutting down things and closing applications etc. No waiting to
power up either.

They also have a little speaker, so for music, no need for earphones.

Neutral, the Kindle handles pdf's. Not as well as the dedicated format but still pretty well. If you don't need color then it's fine for most stuff. I suspect that other readers would to.

Ammonite, I used to detest reading from screen's, in my view the electronic ink screens in the Ebook readers are so good now that they are better to read than paper. Changable font size helps to. I'd been reading some novels in the 500 page range and not holding those up for a couple of hours of reading is sweet.

Robert

Ok ...thanks Yabby and R0bert.

Robert

I'll take your word for the improve in readability.

Until such equipment is mostly from recycled, renewable materials I am going to hold out.

I have other priorities right now, and, after having (reasonably) responsibly upgraded my home PC will rely upon the local library, second hand shops and the like.

I am taking the same attitude towards buying a car. My next will be a late model, which can be converted to gas, then (when) a practical version of the Tesla is available I'm there. I can't afford to take the lead on our technological advances - but I can learn and wait.

Cheers

I am still working out what all the fuss with iPads is about. My fellow educators have gone out and got iPads and I am now the only one at meetings with a netbook. As an IT professional, I see the Apple iPad as a hand held tablet computer, with a touch screen and applications for gesture input. It is not the first such device and most likely will not be the last. Apple have applied their expertise in user interface to make it very easy to use. But Google with their Android tablet computers are catching up fast.

Part of the attraction of these devices is the simplified user interface imposed by the small screen and lack of keyboard. These interfaces are finding their way into larger, more traditional computers, as are "apps". I have suggested building an interactive whiteboard which will work as a giant tablet computer: http://blog.tomw.net.au/2011/05/interactive-whiteboard-as-large-tablet.html

*Apple have applied their expertise in user interface to make it very easy to use.*

Ah Tomw, that is part of the key! I am not an IT professional and
don't want to be. I am just a humble user, who wants things to work,
wants things easy and doesen't want to be bombarded with adverts every 2 seconds, as usually anything with MS or Google seems to be the case.

I have resisted buying anything Apple since the 80s, when I saw the first Apple Mac. So for me this was a bit of an experiment to
understand the Apple culture and why they have been so hugely successfull in the last 10 years or so. Now I know why.