Ask HN: Four months since launch: how are you finding the iPad?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1574979

by AlexMuir • 16 years ago

58 89 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I'm curious as to what people's thoughts on the iPad now that the dust has settled.

I use mine almost exclusively for reading blogs in the evening. My girlfriend enjoys just browsing about on it. That's about it - no photos, no videos, no audio. Minimal gaming. I also use Goodreader for technical PDFs.

Aside: It's been four months and there's not really a sniff of a competing product yet.

jawngee• 16 years ago

Honestly, I don't think the iPad becomes truly useful for a couch surfing thing until iOS 4 is released for it.

I started out using it with a bang, but the flow of iOS 3.x was no where as smooth as just using my laptop. Reading in Safari, switching to email, switching to the iPod, etc. it's still clunky and mildly frustrating.

Also, my fingers are getting fatter as I get older, so I'm constantly tapping the wrong fricking thing which is uber frustrating.

AlexMuir10• 16 years ago

Even with iOS 4 I think multi-tasking will be crap. Copying and pasting from a web-page to an email is a real slog. The power of multi-tasking comes from having multiple windows visible at the same time and this will never happen.

danudey4• 16 years ago

After using the multitasking implementation on my iPhone in iOS4, I can heartily disagree here. Copy/pasting back and forth wasn't too much of a chore before, but it's lightening quick on iOS4.

The reason for no 'multi-tasking' is that people generally do one task at once. You read twitter, you click on a link, you post it to Facebook, you play a game, etc. Most people I know fullscreen their apps on computers anyway, so switching back-and-forth to copy/paste something is already the normal use-case. It's really not that big of a deal.

Dav3xor• 16 years ago

Pilots love using them for mapping. There are a couple of very nice apps for it too. I'd bet you could make really good money if you can ferret out more niche markets that it's perfect for.

aaroneous2• 16 years ago

Lots of great aviation possibilities, but overheating has been an issue for several I've talked to.

Zev• 16 years ago

I use it on the muni/bart ride every day. Games, occasional video, reading a book or something saved on Instapaper. I think it suffices to say that it does what I wanted it to do when I bought one.

scott_s• 16 years ago

My parents loved theirs so much they bought two. I used it for a few days when I was at their house - I thought it was unparalleled for browsing the web. Swipe, swipe, touch, swipe. And I could hold it in positions that were far more natural. More like holding a book than holding a laptop.

My parents bought one because they are both recently retired, and wanted a computer they could bring on the many trips they take.

hanshasuro• 16 years ago

Mine has become the place I prefer to do my evening reading. Twitter, RSS, Instapaper, eBooks; my iPad is my coffee-table/bedside computer.

AlexMuir10• 16 years ago

That's where I'm at too. It doesn't cook your nuts like a laptop.

petercooper2• 16 years ago

Game changer for me. Somehow, the format lends itself to reading "properly" in a way a desktop computer does not. So I've actually started reading e-books instead of print and have gone through a ton of academic papers. I also no longer take my MBP out with me. I can present and do most things I want on the road with the iPad. It's also great for getting the "silly" browsing of the news, Reddit, etc, out of the way in bed or at the dinner table.

jokull• 16 years ago

Right on. Munching through volumes of text on the laptop now feels unnatural. I find myself shelving things off to Instapaper frequently, then later sitting down and actually reading as opposed to skimming ADHD style with the interweaved alt-tabs to Twitter, email, chat etc.

It also helps me be productive on my laptop because I can mentally associate work with the laptop and leisure with the iPad.

Tycho2• 16 years ago

I like to keep the dinner table sacred... But it occurred to me the other day that's where speech recognition would be really useful. Prop the iPad up and tell it what websites to visit, dictate emails etc. Could be a viable mass market opening for voice recog tech (cause otherwise I tend to agree with that recent Spolsky blog - who really wants speech recognition interfaces?)

AlexMuir10• 16 years ago

There's Dragon dictation software available for it, no idea if it's any good though.

petercooper2• 16 years ago

See, I would find that makes the table a lot less sacred because it's where a lot of conversation goes on, and barking orders at my iPad isn't going to be popular ;-) Not only that, I'd rather my wife didn't know I was goofing off instead of working, ha!

Tycho2• 16 years ago

It'd glorious. I would much rather do any casual net browsing on the iPad because it's easier to read. Then throw in the fact that you can be much more comfortable, take it more places, and not feel like a dork sitting with a laptop while everyone else is watching TV. I loaded a whole bunch of family photos onto it which really becomes 'magical' when you're visiting relatives etc. It's also easy to pass around or crowd around.

Makes consuming academic papers and online lectures much more palatable (that's the main reason I bought it). I'm pretty fast at typing on it only problem is often I hit N instead of spacebar.

Not into the handheld gaming scene but it's got me back into online chess - iPhone screen was too small for that.

Not done a lot of book reading but on the other hand I installed a pagedump of Wikipedia for offline access, so as a reference tool it's brilliant (I also have a Python Docs app). Makes a good compliment to desktop computers for when you need a second screen for something. Or use it as a TV/radio.

And of course I'm sure many great apps will be invented in the future.

P.s. It's worth stressing just how great the battery is - genuinely lasts all day, greatly enhancing the portability factor

AlexMuir10• 16 years ago

Battery life is simply outstanding.

thenduks2• 16 years ago

often I hit N instead of spacebar

I often hit spacebar instead of N! Perhaps meeting like this will cancel out our habits... :)

staunch2• 16 years ago

Netflix streaming is awesome. It even works okay over 3G, which shocked me (and my data usage).

I really wish there was a VLC client that could stream all video/audio I have on my LAN.

AlexMuir10• 16 years ago

You tried Air Video? It's good but you need to have Air Video Server running on your PC (free and painless enough).

d_r• 16 years ago

Second that. I use Air Video on a Mac. It was painless to set up and it converts video on the fly while playing. There's a free version of the app, too. (The "crippling" appears to be that it only shows up to N files per folder.)

staunch2• 16 years ago

Awesome. Thank you. If only it had a Linux server version!

tyweir• 16 years ago

I use my iPad every day for email and browsing. My wife and I pass it back and forth to play Small World and "still-iphone-only" Carcassone. My daughter swipes through photos and mashes on the piano app Virtuoso.

It's a purchase that I feel no regrets for making, even though it's a first version and the next iteration will be better.

potatolicious• 16 years ago

I love mine. For the first time I've been able to leave the laptop at home entirely when traveling - need restaurant lookups? Map where you are? The iPad does all of that, for much lighter, and is about a million and half times more usable than your standard netbook.

It's a "laptop lite" so to speak - for most basic uses it's brilliant. When I'm on vacation and I don't want to write code (or pen long, important emails), the iPad is pretty sweet. It's also gotten me reading again, which is a nice plus.

I have the 3G version, so it's also a really nice way to just chill out somewhere and check Facebook or something without having to worry about WiFi (or carrying a dongle).

Also: as an enthusiast photographer, I find it incredibly useful to show people photos. It's an incredible screen - better than most desktops and laptops have - and it's just perfect. I've had multiple pros express the same sentiments.

aaroneous2• 16 years ago

Like others have said, I too use it in the morning and evenings, either in bed or at the couch. It's not a device for the office, but it excels at casual web & email (which is probably what 90% of the Internet population uses their computer for anyway).

Non-techie adults seem to be proficient after <5 min of explaining basic operations and I liken the intuitiveness of its interface to that of an elevator - once you've got the basic concept you're good to go.

I don't think the current iPad is itself a revolution, but I do think it's the first step.

iksis• 16 years ago

Bought it for reading papers in pdf, does that reasonably well, though there is no good annotation software yet (with smooth ink). Not bad for movies. Cool feel of "100% interface." Completely lacks a viable input method (keyboard too small for touchtyping, too big for thumbs, and the pen apps just aren't there yet); input on the iPhone is far more comfortable.

AlexMuir10• 16 years ago

I've found the complete opposite - I can hardly work an iPhone keyboard now. I'm amazed at how fast typing on the iPad is - although I've still not worked out where I should be looking keyboard (for finger placement), or text (for typos)

commieneko2• 16 years ago

On the iPad I find the portrait keyboard much better than the landscape keyboard. Not great, or even good, but good enough for simple tasks. I avoid using my iPod Touch for text input at all costs. I expect this is an area where everyone's mileage will vary considerably.

I suspect there is room for improvement via keyboard scaling/tuning for different size hands and input needs. I _really_ wish I could drag and drop my own keys onto the various keyboard layouts...

DocSavage• 16 years ago

My mother (almost computer-phobic) has been using it for months and now loves it. She uses it for e-mail, loading up pictures from her camera, and some music. Since she has poor satellite internet bandwidth, the iPad isn't very useful for video at her location.

I've been using my iPad extensively. My main apps are:

- Evernote with auto-sync to my MacBook Pro. It's great for simple note taking. Still wish it had a stylus and sufficient touch resolution.

- iAnnotatePDF and Goodreader for PDF reading. I use the former if I need to markup the text.

- Netflix. The streaming video is awesome if you have good Wifi.

- Dropbox. I loved my Dropbox account before, but with the iPad it's now irreplaceable. My 50GB dropbox account serves as my extended iPad disk system. Any paper, ebook, etc., can be opened in my iPad app of choice.

- E-mail and Safari, of course.

- Flixster, IMDB.

I have the cheaper 250MB 3G account and only use it when I'm away from decent WiFi.

AlexMuir10• 16 years ago

+1 on Dropbox. Apple really mashed up the file uploading.

silverlake• 16 years ago

My mother is also computer-phobic yet adores her iPad. Every week she's telling me about some new app she's figured out. Apple has inadvertently nailed the Seniors market.

thenduks2• 16 years ago

I absolutely love it. I use it for everything but development/work... and I mean everything: browsing, email, reading, ordering pizza/food, as a reference when making food, buying stuff online, researching stuff to buy offline, listening to music, sharing photos (like, physically I mean), checking the weather, playing board games (and other multiplayer stuff) as well as single player games like Osmos and Angry Birds. I use it to keep up on Facebook and Flickr happenings as well as managing twitter accounts... The list never ends, really. If it broke I would absolutely go right out and buy another one immediately.

ghshephard3• 16 years ago

I have read five novels ( Carpe Jugulum, Blackout, The Graveyard Book, Never Let me Go, and the Accidental Time Machine) and and find it far more convenient than my Kindle1/K2 for indoor reading - Ironically the battery is always charged on my iPad (I tend to let the kindle run down) and until the graphite kindle comes out, the ability to read at night is the deal breaker.

When I go on vacation though, I expect the Kindle will be in heavy rotation as my primary reader though - particularly out in BRC during the day.

Netflix, even with it's so-so iPad interface is frequently in rotation, and when Hulu-Plus -finally- sends me an invitation, I expect to get a lot of use from it.

Videos are in frequent rotation.

I've spent way to many hours on Games (PvZ, Build-a-Lot,BloonsTD)

DropBox/Good Reader/Instapaper get rotated every other day. Innovative Use: I have a Go program that I worship (SmartGoPro) - and every Friday Night, when I get together with a Friend for our six-hour Go session, we go through a bunch of Life-Death problems, both new and old, on the iPad.

All-in-all I really like how the iPad and the iPhone compliment each other. I use the iPhone for taking pictures, Blogging, GPS, SMS, eMail, instapaper a lot. But I find that general browsing I now typically reach for the iPad.

The Laptop at home gets very little use - only when I need to hop onto Terminal.App or use Remedy (Grrrr Flash) do I actually bother to open it up.

WSJ is killer - I open it up every morning and read it on my walk to/from work + they keep improving the App! The WSJ really, really are good. What's going on at the NYT - they've totally lamed out on the iPad.

Of the three magazines I read - Time, Popular Electronics, and Wired - Only wired really wowed me, and now I actually look forward to the new magazine coming out. I haven't looked forward to the day a magazine comes out in 20+ Years (Dragon Magazine).

So, for me - iPad is a huge win. Looking forward to iPad with a retina display. :-)

jackowayed3• 16 years ago

> until the graphite kindle comes out, the ability to read at night is the deal breaker.

Could you explain this? The only thing that's been holding me up from preordering a K3 is that I'm not sure if I want white or graphite.

ghshephard3• 16 years ago

I said Graphite, but I really meant "K3" - the K3 has a $60 cover has support for night reading. http://www.amazon.com/Lighted-Leather-Chocolate-Display-Gene...

I went through three (3) night lights on my Kindle(s), and was never happy with any of them. Glare was really annoying, which is tragic if you think about how well the Kindle normally handles (sunlight) Glare.

Here's hoping the Amazon Night Light solves it. Kindle + iPad have really inspired me to start reading again.

fleitz• 16 years ago

What are you bringing for device protection out in BRC?

ghshephard3• 16 years ago

I've brought my K1 out two years in a row, and my K2 one year - 60+ hours in full Playa environment - I actually had to use my recharger _twice_ in one week on the K1, it got so much use - (Sun+Dust+Hot/Cold) - banged all over the place with no issues - just the Amazon Kindle cover for protection. Nothing else.

pragmatic• 16 years ago

I've found this light to be fantastic: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CMLDT6/ref=noref?ie=UTF...

very adjustable, read hundreds of hours with it, no glare problems.

AlexMuir10• 16 years ago

Is there a market for a screen darkening overlay? Even with brightness right down it's too bright for me at night, and I think it disrupts my sleeping slightly.

dlsspy• 16 years ago

My macbook is my new desktop machine and my iPad is my new laptop.

Dropbox + omnigraffle + numbers + keynote + safari + mail means I basically have all the information I need when I'm out in usable form.

I do have a ridiculously large case, though. I've been wondering if I should go for the apple case as opposed to this incase thing that makes the footprint larger than my Dell mini 9.

aresant• 16 years ago

99% reading blogs, managing emails, quick checking calendar on couch, in kitchen, in bed.

Killer app is the start-up speed / always-on state for those uses above.

tptacek• 16 years ago

I read the middle third of _Infinite Jest_ on it while I was on vacation. It was outstanding. The footnotes were hyperlinked, it was trivial to refer back to the bookmarked page that lists what all the years are, and every time I came across a word I didn't know, I could just touch it on the screen and get a definition.

I've also found (and this is goofy I know) that because an iPad page is shorter than a book page, I have an increased sense of momentum reading long-form books; pages are flying by faster than they did in the actual book, and I always know how far I am from the end of a chapter.

This probably would have been true for the Kindle as well (I don't own one), but the Kindle didn't come with an excellent web browser or a zillion games my kids like, so I was disinclined to buy one.

fierarul• 16 years ago

I know HN is US-centric but I would just like to point out that it's only been about 2 months since the iPad is available in large EU countries like France and Germany and 2 weeks since it's available in other (Austria, Belgium, New Zealand, etc). It doesn't even sell world-wide yet.

The same about the iPhone 4 which although available in the US for almost 2 months, has just been released to some other countries.

c1sc03• 16 years ago

It's not just the devices that are US-centric, it's the whole iTunes experience. I find the selection of Movies & Books available through iTunes Germany to be sub-par insofar that I've bought all of my eBooks in Amazon Kindle format.

nlh• 16 years ago

I find it to be a spectacular device. The best part about it is that I don't feel it to be "forced" in any way -- sometimes with new gadgets you'll use them even if you don't necessarily need to. The iPad just fits at certain times.

For example, I was sitting and waiting for a friend outside of JFK yesterday, parked in a long line of cars. I wanted to go through some emails and resumes that had come in. Sitting in the driver's seat of the car, I found the iPad to be absolutely perfect for this task -- it was too cramped to pull out my MBP, and no reason to squint on my iPhone.

I hate to sound compromising, but the iPad really is the ideal "in between" machine. There are times when you only need the phone (on the go), and there are times when you need a full-sized machine (MBP or a desktop). The iPad is letting me discover those random times when an in-between device just fits.

muhfuhkuh• 16 years ago

My wife and I fight over it. She for games (Plants v. zombies, Super 7, etc.) youtube, and magazine reading; I for ebooks/pdfs, surfing, and listening to Podcasts (thanks to the HNer who recommended "A Life Well Wasted" podcast, friggin' brilliant) and NPR before bed. We both use it to stream our episodes with Air Video during mealtimes.

When I was on vacation back in June, I was floored that I needn't even take my laptop with me. An iPhone and iPad was all that was required (the iPhone was the GPS, too), and we could plot out stuff to do, read restaurant reviews, and check with work stuff all without feeling like "work", if you can understand that.

It's like the mythical "third place" of computing technology. That thing between the little smartphone and the big smart computer: A "smart" thick client, a mainline into exactly what you need. Even the fact that it doesn't do multitasking (yet, but even when it does, not really) makes you focus on what it is you're doing at the time, stopping "wikidiction" and other time sinks that persist when using a computer and all its multitasking splendor (and horror).

mrkurt• 16 years ago

I use mine to read books, mostly, though I'll sometimes play games on it when I finish a book and don't have another lined up.

There was a week or so where I used Instapaper a ton, and I also read a series of comic books on it.

I'm decidedly meh. You could steal my iPad and it would likely take me several days to notice.

Reading on it is not my favorite, I much prefer the Kindle. My wife has the same problem. :) When I get a new Kindle the iPad will likely be relegated to its dock for reference PDFs.

johnswamps• 16 years ago

Can someone with both the iphone 4 and an ipad comment on how the screens compare? The iphone 4 screen is so great that I'm worried the ipad screen will seem disappointing by comparison.

jm4• 16 years ago

The iPhone 4 screen is, without question, vastly superior to the iPad screen. The difference is so plainly obvious that there is no comparing the two. That said, the iPad screen is still beautiful and is perfectly suitable for reading. My Kindle has been all but abandoned in favor of the iPad so I can read in the dark.

gaius• 16 years ago

I love it. So much so that I think the next time I upgrade, I'll get a desktop not a laptop as my main machine; the iPad meets all my on-the-move needs.

I use it for media access (movies/tv shows), documents (books/PDFs) and a little web browsing. Email stays on the BlackBerry tho'. Actually even at work I'm using it, as a third screen for reading documentation on.

PStamatiou• 16 years ago

I've become rather accustomed to my netbook setup actually: http://paulstamatiou.com/thoughts-on-netbooks-part-2-asus-ee...

elblanco• 16 years ago

Considering how many people here seem to be using it for simple browsing and book reading, perhaps a better question is, is it a $500-900 value or would a lower price point make more sense considering the typical use-case?

danudey4• 16 years ago

The high point is the versatility. It makes a great eBook reader, but it also makes a great comic reader, a great web browser, a great YouTube watcher, a decent twitter client, a remote control for my home theatre, a game console, a Skype phone, an interactive map, a Scrabble board, an image editor, a newspaper, an RSS reader, the National Film Board of Canada's digital archives, an IM client, a way to stream video to anywhere in my home, an iPhone locator (MobileMe), a dictionary…

The point is, it's incredibly versatile, and it does a lot of things very well. On top of all that, it's light (but feels sturdy), it's small (but not too small), it can go a few days of casual usage without a charge (so I can plug it in whenever is convenient), and it's easy to use.

I paid $850 Canadian or so for the 32 GB 3G version, and other than the first day, when I was trying to get a hang on what to use it for and where it fits into my life, I've never wondered about the purchase. Using it to read news articles and RSS feeds, then switching it over to recipes so my girlfriend and I can make truffles before we curl up in bed and watch a movie on it, it's really a wonderful device. I could do all of that on my laptop, but it would be more cumbersome, take up more space on the counter, run out of battery faster, weigh more, etc.

commieneko2• 16 years ago

I don't love it anymore. I don't thrill every time I pick it up. It is no longer an idee fixe. It's ... simply there. I use the hell out of it; like my laptop and cel phone (and my bathtub and car.) A part of life.

And no, you can't have mine.

I'm sure Steve will be along in another few months to sprinkle a little magic dust on the product and start up the waka waka machine...

SmokenJoe• 16 years ago

It is brilliant. It is better than a laptop at just about every thing I use it for and has incredible battery life Serious video editing writing and storage are not so easy which will mean I won't get rid of the tower anytime soon but it is well worth the price. The size is a little troublesome though. A smaller benzle would do a world of good. Even with my xxxl hands I type faster on the 4G. Websurfing could be smoother on picture lad end sites but if for reading content it can't be beat.

Flemlord• 16 years ago

Love it. We use it as the primary entertainment (education?) device for our 6-month-old daughter. She'll pay attention to the flash card app whereas she's quickly distracted with paper flash cards. We also have a few sing-along book apps that highlight the words as they are sung. She's just starting to figure out that she can touch it but her fine motor skills aren't quite there yet.

My favorite app is a purple dinosaur that repeats anything you say in a higher-pitched voice. She'll spend ten minutes alternating between making baby sounds then pausing for the dinosaur to repeat them.

josefresco2• 16 years ago

I'm glad you found apps for your kids because I haven't had luck. How did you find these apps? Research via the web, random searching via the app store or what?

smiler2• 16 years ago

Anyone bought the WiFi only version and regretted not getting the 3G?

AlexMuir10• 16 years ago

Opposite for me, bought the 3G and have used it twice out of the house. Maybe just that I'm not travelling much - I'd be getting a mywi though I think as then I could use the dataplan across multiple devices.

smiler2• 16 years ago

That's my fear over getting the 3G - thinking I need it but then never actually needing it. Good point about a mywi device.

I now have to decide whether to get one or not _now_ or wait for v2

tsycho• 16 years ago

I own my iPad for almost 2 months now, and I still love it.

I use it primarily for email (default app) and reading (Kindle + GoodReader) during my commute to work. I watched a couple of movies on it during some recent long flights, it was a much better experience than watching on my laptop mainly due to the amazing battery life. I also play some games on it - FlightControl, RealSoccer, some Chess app.....but not a lot.

I do not use it at all for photos (due to the pain of copying pics over, and no real use case) or music (my iPhone is much more useful for that).

Strong positives: Great reading device, amazing battery life, very good screen, much lighter than my laptop.

Complaints: Can't do any real work on it (the touch keyboard is a pain), and it could have been a bit more lighter (~0.5 kg ideally)

jsolson2• 16 years ago

I'm loving mine. I mostly use it as a reader and a convenient way to get around the web without pulling out my notebook.

Shameless plug: since you mention GoodReader, I'd like to point out that we've written a PDF reader called Folio ~ The PDF Reader, more details about which can be found at http://ballisticpigeon.com/folio, which does an excellent job with technical PDFs. In particular, we do up-front fulltexting of your whole library and let you search across it as well as providing very fast results (with context, highlighting, etc.) inside documents. We do the usual family of things you'd expect (Dropbox and MobileMe integration, integration with iTunes and Mail, etc.), but you can find out more about that on our website.

Bonus: iPhone version (as a universal binary, free upgrade) coming soon.

olifante• 16 years ago

Folio is nice, but it's missing what for me is the killer feature of GoodReader: the ability to crop the white margins for all pages of a PDF. This immensely improves PDF readability in portrait format.

The Folio Fit-to-width functionality (only available in landscape mode) is already able to detect and automatically crop white margins at the top and at the bottom of pages, so why not create a mode that automatically crops all 4 margins in portrait mode?

Another much needed feature is text highlights and text notes. Since Folio already has the ability to select text, it should be no big deal to add this to the app. Make the highlights and notes syncable a-la Kindle, and I'm sold.

One minor nitpick: Most apps seem to place their Back/Up button in the upper left corner. The Folio "Library" button should be on the left and the search button on the right.

jsolson2• 16 years ago

Thanks for the feedback. I agree with almost everything you said, and most of it is coming. You can probably stop here unless you care about details, I rambled on a bit :).

Your killer feature for GoodReader is an important one, we're agreed on that, but I hate GoodReader's implementation. I don't like the idea of making the user do something manually that can be done well heuristically. We're hoping to ship a smart crop feature that does good margin detection on most PDFs in one of the next couple point releases. With the iPhone/iPod Touch version coming soon this feature goes from "really nice to have" to "necessary".

Highlights and notes with syncing between Folio instances is coming soon (which will make more sense when we introduce the iPhone/iPod touch version). We've also got plans for syncing with things like SkimPDF and exporting plain old annotated PDFs, but syncing between Folio instances will come first.

> One minor nitpick: Most apps seem to place their Back/Up button in the upper left corner. The Folio "Library" button should be on the left and the search button on the right.

Done in 1.0.2, showing up in the App Store when Apple feels like getting around to it. I had reasons* for putting it where I did that, at the time, I thought were good ones, but you're right that it really is a back button and we should just treat it as such.

Again, thanks for the feedback. It's always nice to hear ideas from people actually using the app, especially when they confirm that we seem to be on the right track for future direction of the app.

* In case you're curious as to how it ended up where it is: I wanted the "Import" button in the library to be in the same place as it was in the iWork apps, and I wanted the search button to be in a consistent location between the two views. Also, I saw the "Library" button as more of a "Done" than a back button (in fact, it sends the doneReading: selector to our reading view controller), and Apple is somewhat inconsistent about where those go.

josefresco2• 16 years ago

Have had mine for a month or so. Love my 3G iPad for mobile use as I don't have a modern smartphone.

Haven't synced any photos, music or videos as iTunes is atrocious and I really don't care to deal with it at all (except for OS updates)

App store organization and usability is also atrocious. I I have yet to be able to find games applicable to my pre-school aged kids. The process is completely random now, trial and error which is great when you have an impatient 4 year old and a crying 2 year old.

I've bought 1 app for $0.99. A Craigslist app which I like but it feels silly considering I can browse the same data via the web.

I'm now traveling so I wish I did have some photos and video that I could use to entertain the kids (since I can't find good games!) and also myself as I have no TV late at night.

I expected some dual use for business/sales meetings (I'm a web developer) but have yet to pull it out for that reason.

Also feel kinda douchey telling/showing people about it so that has me concerned as most see it as a very expensive toy (which it is).

Have to say not having Flash has been somewhat of an issue. Also some web apps like Google Analytics don't seem to work at all.

kilian• 16 years ago

The iPad has been out for two weeks here in the Netherlands, I bought it on release-date.

I now read all my feeds on my iPad or iPhone. Reeder makes this awesome and syncs between the two. This frees up a lot of "check for new feeds" time on my main pc, a.k.a. procrastinating.

Reading, using stanza or Kindle is great.

What I'm disappointed about is the app offerings. No facebook app? No spotify app? No skype app?! As you said it's been four months since it's out. The lack of apps is just...wtf. (That being said, the available apps are top notch: Flipboard, Reeder, IMDb, Eyewitness etc.)

vaporstun• 16 years ago

I absolutely love it.

It truly has changed huge portions of my life. I initially bought it somewhat second guessing myself thinking I was buying an over-expensive toy that I would regret, but have changed my mind drastically. Now someone would have to pry it away from me.

My laptop used to be tied to me wherever I was in my house, but now it has essentially become a desktop because I have almost no use for it. It is larger, clunkier, gets very hot in my lap, has far shorter battery life, etc. I had a netbook but almost never used it because it was so slow it was unbearable. To jump into a browser and get to GMail was a few minute endeavor which quickly left me so frustrated I'm surprised the thing did not end up out my window.

The iPad is fantastic for most of my everyday things such as checking my email, web browsing, etc. It's always on and FAST, so I am never frustrated as I was with my netbook. I no longer have to take my laptop with me on trips as the iPad will suffice in most scenarios. If I'll be gone for awhile, I bring a bluetooth keyboard and have iSSH which I can use to connect to any of my servers on the road. Once I've got an SSH session open, it is not really much different from using a laptop. When I'm on a plane, I can spin up multiple movies back to back and its 10+ hour battery life means that I'll almost never run it out by the time I land. No laptop could compare to that and it is in such a small, convenient package.

I still use my "real" computers for development, but for almost everything else, I use my iPad. In fact, it is very nice to separate my development from my time-wasting viewing. Now I do nothing but development on my laptop and have my iPad for casual browsing. That separation is very nice.

And one of the uses I did not anticipate when I first got it is the photo sharing aspect. Now anytime I am with family or friends and I mention something such as a trip I took, I can pull the iPad out (I take it with me everywhere because it is compact enough...I did not do the same with my laptop) and casually flip through photos, giving them visuals to accompany my stories.

My latest "killer app" is OmniFocus; their iPad implementation is stellar. It truly has changed my workflow and my ability to keep things prioritized. I previously was using the iPhone version of the app doubled on the iPad and it just wasn't all that great.

I would seriously recommend one of these to most family/friends looking to pick up a computer because it would do everything they need and be quite a value. My sister asked for a recommendation on a computer and was looking at some systems that were $1000+. Since all she does essentially is check her email and browse the web, I coaxed her into getting an iPad. She saved a few hundred dollars and has loved the device far more than a laptop. For more developer types, it is less viable as a replacement and more of a lifestyle augment, but it was a purchase I would make again in a second.

npp• 16 years ago

I'm just curious; how can you recommend it to family/friends looking for a computer, since currently you still need an extra machine to sync the iPad to? Is it that they have a desktop and wanted a laptop?

AlexMuir10• 16 years ago

I can't really recommend it to people as a computer because there's quite a bit that it simply can't do. Even if I limit it to simply internet access I still come across sites where I can't book something/choose a date because the JS doesn't work. That'd be a real shitter if it was your only computer.

wmeredith• 16 years ago

You can just have them sync or activate it at an Apple store. You really don't need to do it again after that. OS updates would be out of reach, though, which are important. I'm still not sure why Apple tied the iPad to an iTunes install. It's such a brilliant device (wife and I love our 32gb wifi model) but this is a serious flaw.

bobx11• 16 years ago

Like it a lot... dislike braindead simps trying to make jokes about it which they read online.

zzzmarcus• 16 years ago

I like it, though for as much as I use it, I can't seem to fall in love with it like I did the iPhone.

I use it principally for:

-Reading. iBooks is awesome. I love how it syncs your place so you can pick up on the phone. I haven't used the Kindle app much (which does the same) because most of the books I read are old and freely available in epub or PDF. I also use, to a lesser degree, Instapaper and Reeder. I used to use Stanza but the lack of sync is a deal breaker. Sad really because it's such a nice app.

-Playing Music. I use it as a banjo tuner with OmniTuner (an iPhone app) and I also use TabToolkit and GuitarTookit as well as PDF's with written music and tab. It's more convenient than lugging around books or loose leaf paper.

-Listening to Music. The speakers are good enough to make moving it around from room to room and using it for background music nice.

-Occasional Browsing. I really don't like browsing on it and it feels like the only browsing I do on there is wasting time. I get the nagging feeling that I should just be reading a book, or doing something off-screen altogether, rather than browsing. The tabs are clunky, the browser is slim on features and typing is too slow.

-Mindmaps, Mockups. I don't think it's the ideal tool (yet) for either of those activities, but I sometimes do both if I don't have the laptop handy. iMockups is pretty nice. I'd put OmniFocus on there if I hadn't already spent so much on it for my Mac and iPhone. I'm not dropping another $40 for it.

-Etc., Games, Email, Evernote, Netflix, YouTube. I play Carcassone and Settlers. I use Flashcard apps to try to teach my baby to read. I respond to emails and write notes in Evernote. I'm not a big fan of typing on the iPad (I prefer the iPhone keyboard) so I use it for email less than I expected, but still, it's nice to have it there. I thought I'd use it for video all the time, and the times I do, it's wonderful. I'd guess I watch a movie on it twice or three times a month.

Overall, I'm glad I have it, I'd probably miss it a lot if it was gone and, as you can see from the list above, I've integrated it many areas of my life. Strangely though, I don't have a strong emotional attachment to it. I don't get excited to defend it and I don't sell it to friends/family. With the iPhone I couldn't wait to recommend it to everyone I know.

danudey4• 16 years ago

iBooks is easily the best PDF reader I've used on any platform. I find myself syncing PDFs to it to read instead of scrolling through them in my browser, even when I'm at the computer anyway.

We use it for a lot of browsing. I have a laptop and a Mac Mini connected to the TV, so when my girlfriend is over (often) she uses it to browse, browse YouTube clips, catch up on news, Twitter, etc. it's quite handy.

I got a copy of Air Video and the associated free server for Mac, and we use that to watch TV or movies in bed (we watched Lisa's Wedding the other night to celebrate Lisa's wedding).

For games, I finally got her into PvZ by loading it up on the iPad, and then putting the thing down for a few minutes. There's also Dig It HD, stick golf, and a few other casual time-wasters. Also planning on getting Scrabble and the Scrabble word tile iPhone app for myself and my girlfriend (and other friends), to try that out. Interesting use of technology.

I started reading comics as well, though I only browsed through a few free or cheap issues available on Comixology. I also found myself getting frustrated with books, so I loaded up digital copies of Scott Pilgrim on it, and found myself reading much faster than I normally would.

Likewise, I read more on the iPad (and now, my iPhone 4) than I have in recent years, mostly because of the convenience of having books anywhere. I mostly use the Kindle app, just because the iBooks store was devoid of non-free content when the iPad launched in Canada, and Amazon has a better selection (plus I can shop from my laptop).

Losing it wouldn't be devastating, but it's incredibly convenient. I take it with me most of the time when I leave the house (I have the 3G version) and it's nice to be able to just load something up.

dgallagher• 16 years ago

Still love it (had one since release day). I use mine several times a day. Common usage:

- playing simple games

- watching video's on YouTube

- reading websites or magazines

- listening to NPR or Pandora radio

- weather reports

- calendar

- email

Stuff I thought I'd use it for but really haven't that much:

- reading PDF programming books (still prefer hard copies)

- reading eBooks

My brother and parents got one each too. The other week my Mom told me she was Googling all over the internet. She's semi-computer novice and really hasn't been online much since getting the iPad. Its opened up her eyes. All of my friends who have one love them too.

ugh• 16 years ago

There was a lot of talk about how you couldn’t use the device for ergonomic reasons prior to the launch. Anyone care to share experiences about that? An Gorilla Arm experiences? How/Where do you use it?

mattdw• 16 years ago

I temporarily screwed my wrist/forearm reading books while holding it up one-handed for a good week or so. Switched to two-handed or sitting it on my lap/table/whatever and problems went away.

That was only for multi-hour reading sessions, too. Casual usage is perfectly fine.

danudey4• 16 years ago

I use it:

  - Sitting on the couch
  - Lying in bed, on my side or back
  - Sitting at my desk, holding it or with it sitting flat on the table
  - Walking down the street (if I need to look up something)
  - At cafes, etc.

Perhaps I just have large hands (~9 inch handspan) and can get more leverage to hold it properly, but I haven't had a problem. Your arm will get tired eventually if you're not being ergonomic, but generally I haven't had a problem.

c1sc03• 16 years ago

I love it for reading, I never expected to spend more money on books than on apps. And I'm using the Kindle app, not the iBooks one (not enough selection in Germany). I'm swapping my WiFi one for a 3G version in 2 weeks. Love it love it love IT!

sn• 16 years ago

I don't have an ipad and it sounds to me like everyone uses it like I use my cell phone. Is it just the screen that makes it better?

kirpekar• 16 years ago

Wow. I'm certainly in the minority here. I returned mine after about 3 weeks of use.

For me it's just a very expensive browser. I spend 10 hours a day in front of a computer screen at work. When I come home in the evenings, I like to minimize my screen time. I usually limit myself to checking email/facebook/twitter for about 5-10 minutes only. On weekends too, I like to spend less time in front of a computer. And if I do, it's work, so I have to use my work laptop.

So the iPad did not really make any sense. Check email, check out CNN, HN and check out twitter. 5 minutes a day and $600?

The other thing I noticed is that there are significantly fewer apps for the iPad as compared to the iPhone. And iPhone apps look plain ugly in the iPad.

Basically seems like an overkill for me. I know, different strokes...

superk• 16 years ago

So you're surprised that there are significantly fewer apps for a device that's been out for 4 months versus one that has been out for 3 years?

candeira• 16 years ago

A question: how do you use delicious/ffffound on an iPad?

thewileyone• 16 years ago

For me, it's just an appliance. I read stuff off the web, e-books, comics, and light gaming though I do watch movies and TV shows on it. For everything else, I've got my XPS laptop.

frankus• 16 years ago

Mine's a WiFi-only 16GB model that I've had since day one. It's a pleasure to use but it hasn't really become indispensable to me.

The things it does really well are:

- Cooking using recipes from the Web - Instapaper - Tumblr (reading, that is) - Watching ABC TV programs - Reading eBooks (I've only done Kindle stuff so far) - Catching up on missed TV shows via iTunes - Reading instruction/repair manuals from the Web while using/repairing stuff - WeatherBug - Reading Apple's developer documentation

The things it doesn't do:

- Flash video, audio, and games - Objective-C/Cocoa Development - Multitasking (but soon, probably iOS 4.2)

If I weren't occasionally developing iPad apps I would consider selling it, simply because I probably have more useful things to be doing with $500.

coverband• 16 years ago

"I would by an iPad if..."

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1579062

Ask HN: Four months since launch: how are you finding the iPad?

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