Should I have an iPad? If so, which one and why?

[Artville]

As a seventy-four year old wannabee techno-geek, I'm evermore bewildered by the variety of tablet computers becoming available, not to mention the vast amount of information relating to them to be found on the many discussion websites and forums dedicated to their use.

The iPad's shortcomings include, I understand, the absence of USB connections and a CD/DVD slot, and the inability to play flash video (which I use quite a bit). As a long-time user of a Windows laptop, I'd find these deficiencies a handicap. There is the original iPad, which, I believe, is still available in more than one generation, and, of course, now the iPad Mini, all with their different specs. I'm too old to spend a long time looking into all this stuff.

In my spare time, I draw and paint, and try to play a keyboard. Most of my time I on the web is spent in dealing with emails, general surfing, running Photoshop and other specialist (mainly financial) software, and viewing videos of painters and keyboard players at work; and the usual family photos, of course.

My wife, who has her own laptop, uses the computer for general surfing, ordering groceries and other shopping, and for Facebook stuff.

Neither of us need to do any of this on the move.

My question is: would we gain much by getting an iPad. and, if so which one would suit us best?

All responses will be greatly appreciated,

Art Leat

 

[AQ_OC]

seventy-four year old wannabee techno-geek

If this is true then you will. I'd suggest the lastest and greatest, the 4th gen iPad since mobility is not a concern. Or you can get the 4th gen and a mini.

Of course, the fact that you are asking this question gives me reason to think that perhaps you're not really interested in new tech, but I zero knowledge of who you and wife are and what your needs are. I have friends close to your age and they are resistant to change, so they find zero attraction to tablets.

All I can say is as a fellow techno-geek, 20 years your junior, I really like tablets. I use them for whatever I want. Strangely, I still use my laptops and desktops, but I use them less. Or, perhaps I use them the same and just use my tablets at times when otherwise I would not be using a computer of any type at all. I can say that a lot of my motivation with tablets comes from who I feel I am and what I like in my life. These are things that vary from person to person, IME. Your life may be totally different, but you did refer to yourself as a techno-geek. IMO, if you can afford it, you owe it to yourself just to see what all the hoopla is about (and they have good resale value if you decide the hoopla is about nothing). You only live once (well, so they say).

 

[KevinJS]

That's funny, AQ, somehow I assumed you were a lot younger. You're actually older than me.


Our generation is a strange one. We have probably spent more time dabbling in tech than any other age group, and have the possibility of a background that covers the entire life of home computers, from the very first 8-bit systems to the very latest.

Older people to some extent missed out, but iPads present a great opportunity to join the party, since the necessity to understand the innards is over. Most issues can be resolved by means of software and settings, and there is no need to know, or care, what goes on under the hood.

I still think it's a buzz to be able to use an item without a second thought, whose existence was never dreamt of earlier in one's own lifetime. The thought of tapping out a message on a piece of glass, then wirelessly transmitting that message all over the world almost instantly, and being able to do it for less that $400, would have been unthinkable in the early '60s, and quite magical in the '40s.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[alexwveit]

Absolutely dude!
And I would add this, if you are a developer it would be good for you to go all in and get the latest version of the device to keep up with any new functionality that could potentially be implemented in your development.

Rock on!

 

[Roy Rob]

Welcome to the forum Art. I'm only a few years younger than you so my 1st computer was a commador 64. You will love an iPad 4, I took to the iPad like a duck to water. Value for money, quality, reliability, speed and ease of use make the iPad the best.

Sent using my iPad 2 - 16Gb - Wi-Fi

 

[leelai]

Hi Art and welcome to the Forum!

We have many older members using an iPad and just loving it.......

It is confusing when new to an ipad to be confronted by all the different specs there are.

There is the ipad2, the new iPad (ipad4) and the mini. All come in 16, 32 and 64 GB sizes also you may have wifi or Wifi plus cellular. It will depend on what you want to do with your iPad for which size you get. If you want Movies which are the big space users, then go for the biggest. Keep in mind that it's not until you get an iPad that you discover all the wonderful things that it can do for you and then you may wish you had bought a larger size.

To me the iPad mini is all about portability, it's just so light and easy to handle. I have an ipad2 and plan on getting a mini also!

Wifi plus Cellular models have a sim and you can use your iPad wherever there is coverage from your carrier. It's great if you travel, as you can just buy a sim for wherever in the world you happen to be, no more paying daily hotel Internet connection fees. But the thing I love about these iPads is the true GPS capability. As the GPS chip is built into the iPad you don't need a charged sim for this to work.

There is no Flash on an iPad and never will be, Adobe has also stopped all development of Flash on mobile devices. Have a look at this link for a more fuller explanation and also some info on workarounds which are available.
http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-faq/54703-flash-ipad.html

Hope this helps you.....