New iPad2 - many questions - 1) how to move files to iPad

[donnyb]

I am a PC guy that just bought my first Apple product - an iPad 2, so will probably have many questions here. The first one is about moving files, and I assume that all are the same. The files are MP3, PDF, and other documents. I do have an iTunes account, but do not understand how to get the files from my PC to the iPad. Anybody care to enlighten me?

Edit: By the way, after the first 24 hours, I think I am going to like this thing. I have email set up and I have downloaded a few apps from the App store, and can access iTunes from the iPad, and, yes, I have version 10.5.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Do you have iOS5 on your new iPad?

Tim

 

[donnyb]

yes

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

OK - then you'll be able to move these files through iCloud. (there are other ways, too, but iCloud will keep them synch'd automatically). So, my next question is do you have an iCloud account. Up to 5GB storage is free, but you do need a valid credit card to set up the account - just like in iTunes.....


Tim

 

[s2mikey]

Just as an alternative - Ive been using DropBox to move & sync files between my PC-based laptops and my iPad2 and its been working great. Thats another options if you dont want to do Cloud. Just pull down the free DropBox app onto the ipad and then onto your PC or whatever systems you want to move files back and forth with.

 

[jsh1120]

Donny,

Since you're a "PC" guy, I'll anticipate some of your other questions. Hopefully some of the following will be helpful for you.

() No. There is no common file system that you can view and access. iOS keeps all files on the iPad in "walled gardens" associated with specific apps. Thus, you cannot access a given file from separate apps. Each app will maintain its individual copy of the data object (file.) For the most part this is not a deal breaker (and can be overcome if you jailbreak your iOS device but that is not currently possible with iOS 5) but it can be confusing and annoying (to say the least) if you're accustomed to accessing, say, a PDF file with different applications on your PC.

() Yes, there are ways to edit MS Office documents on the iPad. You have a choice between the native Apple apps in iWorks (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) and various MS Office "emulators" (Documents To Go, Quick Office HD, etc.) None of these solutions is perfect and each can fail with complex MS Office documents (be especially careful with spreadsheets).

() No, there is no way to create separate "accounts" on your iPad as you can on a PC. The iPad is considered to be a very "personal" device. So if you want to share your iPad with others (e.g. your spouse, your child) you'll have to use some imagination and agreed upon procedures to prevent "stepping on one another."

() Sharing your contacts, calendars, and email between your Windows laptop/desktop and the iPad is a complicated topic. Some issues are easily solved. Others are extremely difficult to solve. Proceed carefully if you have a complicated set of requirements.

BTW, I'm also a "PC guy." And despite some frustrations, I find the iPad to be a very valuable device and (with some limitations) relatively easy to integrate with a PC. It doesn't replace my (multiple) PC's but it fills a valuable niche in my configurations.

 

[Mahmud57]

One month back I purchased ipad2 (4.3.3) then I upgrade it to ios5 and upgrade my pc itune to 10.5. I down loaded Quick office pro HD, Goodreader and Azul from app store. After enabling the file sharing option in the Pc itune the above application came at the bottom of the list of App tab of itune.
Here you can drag your file from your pc's explorer to the related application. You will get them in your ipad.

 

[paragj2008]

Hello , today I brought I pad -3, I want to copy PDF files on my iPad from my laptop, can anybody help me.d