An Aussie in Europe with an iPad!

[iPad100]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note to introduce myself to the forum.

I'm an expat from down under living in Europe for the past 12 years. I get back to Oz regularly so don't miss it that much.

I finally got my hands on an iPad (WiFi 64GB) and have barely put the thing down! What a fantastic device!!

I am not an iPhone or iPod touch fan - I find them too small as comuting devices and too cluncky as a telephone (I prefer a compact phone that is a phone, with a few other functions like a camera, but that's about it - I have a Nokia 7020 which does the job perfectly).

So I have been waiting for years for Apple to put out a true tablet computer - and they haven't let me down with the iPad. Sure, there are some improvements needed (I have a small list below), but on the whole, the device is brilliant.

I will be using it over the coming weeks at meetings to display presentations, take minutes and notes, and various other tasks, so I am looking forward to how it will perform. But for now, I am very impressed.

I look forward to browsing the forums and sharing ideas and experiences with other iPad users. Cheers for now!

iPad100.

P.S. My initial 'must-fix' list for the iPad:

(1) WiFi transfer of documents to/from Apple apps like Pages and Keynote - come on guys, this is a mobile device, so don't make me get out the strint and tin cans and connect via USB to iTunes to move docs! Every other decent 3rd party app (like GoodReader) has some kind of WiFi transfer capability (built-in http/ftp server function, etc.).

(2) The iPad photo app is useless - some small % of users probably use iPhoto and organise their Albums, Events (whatever they are?!) and so on, but the vast majority of users want a convenient way to get photos to/from the iPad, and to be able to reorganise them as needed on the device - again, it's a mobile device, and I may need to rearrange things on the go - yes?

(3) Russian keyboard layout is missing a critical puntuation characters - in general, Russians use « and » for open/close quotations, but these characters are missing from the Russian keyboards on iPad - this needs to be corrected.

 

[Pocobear]

As for must-fix #2, try "Photo-Sort HD". It allows you to make folders and to sort many different ways and has a built in FTP server.

 

[iPad100]

As for must-fix #2, try "Photo-Sort HD". It allows you to make folders and to sort many different ways and has a built in FTP server.

Yes Pocobear,

I've been looking at that app, along with Photo Share / Photo Transfer and GalleryPro. Have you tried or looked at any of the other apps? Do you use Photo-Sort HD yourself - any tips?

Cheers!

 

[Pocobear]

Yes iI use Photo-Sort HD, I tried two others, and didn't like then at all. Sort Shots was one and I deleted the other one. I also have Photo transfer, Photo-Sort will transfer photos also.

 

[Studor13]

Welcome aboard!

I too am an Aussie living in Europe. Not that far from Russia. OK, well not by OZ standards. I'm in Slovenia.

Here, I use the normal keyboard as the special characters š,ž and č are shown if you hold the s, z and c letters for a second or two. I was really impressed with that. It took me ages to find that out.

Must have a look at Photo-Sort HD. I am a serious photographer but to date have used very little of the Photo app for obvious reasons.

As for the wifi doc transfer, I guess you could send it as an attachment to an email. With Keynotes you can also send it to your iWorks account.

 

[iPad100]

Welcome aboard!

I too am an Aussie living in Europe. Not that far from Russia. OK, well not by OZ standards. I'm in Slovenia.

Here, I use the normal keyboard as the special characters Å¡,ž and č are shown if you hold the s, z and c letters for a second or two. I was really impressed with that. It took me ages to find that out.

Must have a look at Photo-Sort HD. I am a serious photographer but to date have used very little of the Photo app for obvious reasons.

As for the wifi doc transfer, I guess you could send it as an attachment to an email. With Keynotes you can also send it to your iWorks account.

Hey there!

Everywhere you go you find Aussie expats! I'm in Netherlands, so from the European perspective it's sort of the other side of the continent from you, but as you say, by Aussie standards it's down the street!

Thanks for the keyboard tip on holding keys for 1-2 seconds. I remember reading about that somewhere else for accented characters (French, German, etc. on an English keyboard) - it works for Russian also if you hold the quotes (") key you get a pop-up with some extra choices, and it has the correct Russian quote symbol.

Good one! Enjoying Slovenia? I lived in German for about 4 years, then here for the past 6. I enjoy getting back down under, especially for a summer break during our winter here, but I've adaped to a more 'European' lifestyle since being away.

Take it easy - cheers!

 

[sortshots]

trf

Hello iPad100,

I would be curious to know what you would like to see in a photo app? What are key features that you cannot live without and what would be a 'nice' feature to have?

Christa

 

[DG~X]

Welcome to the forums, hope to see you around.

 

[DG~X]

Welcome to the forums, hope to see you around.

 

[iPad100]

Hello iPad100,

I would be curious to know what you would like to see in a photo app? What are key features that you cannot live without and what would be a 'nice' feature to have?

Christa

Hi,

I'm not a professional photographer or 'power user' but I would like to see:

(1) Ability to create/reorganise folders/albums and move/delete photos from within the app (not via iTunes or depending on having the photos organised correctly on a PC/Mac app like iPhoto - this may make more sense if you actually use all the relevant apps, but often users have different needs on their computer than on the iPad - I do anyway!).

(2) Easy import - again, why iTunes with a cable tying me to the desk when I have at least WiFi on the iPad - use it and allow import via HTTP server or some other nice interface - I'm sure Apple can do it!

Off the top of my head those are the two main issues - without further extensive use of the app. Frankly, I can't really use it unless I spend a lot of time organising my photos into iPhoto then syncing via iTunes, so my examples are somewhat limited.

I believe Photo-Sort HD provides these basic functions - as well as many others.

 

[eleinemad]

What sim to get

Hi. Good luck with iPad. I have one bought inAustralia. (3G and WIFI) I will be traveling soon. Hong Kong, UK, France and Italy. what sim could I get that will give me the widest coverage. Do I have to get anew one in each country? can I get sims for short periods?
Eleinemad

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Hi. Good luck with iPad. I have one bought inAustralia. (3G and WIFI) I will be traveling soon. Hong Kong, UK, France and Italy. what sim could I get that will give me the widest coverage. Do I have to get anew one in each country? can I get sims for short periods?
Eleinemad

If you plan on using 3G then it would certainly be best to get a pre-paid SIM in each country to avoid horrendous roaming charges. In the UK, pre-paid SIMs are very easy to get - you can purchase on either a rolling basis (pay monthly, automatic renewing) or one-off. Clearly you'd be interested in the one-off, where you buy a SIM which has a certain data allowance - say 2 GB. The allowance lasts for a month. If you go over the allowance you can 'top up' on line because, even when you've used all your allowed data volume, you can still surf to the service provider's web site on 3G and use your credit card to top up.

However, although getting a pre-paid SIM is very easy in the UK - you can buy with cash and nothing else is needed - some countries are much more difficult. Although I've no personal experience, posters have reported that France is a difficult country in which to purchase a pre-paid SIM without a lot of personal details, credit cards etc etc.

But in all the countries that you've mentioned, WiFi - much of it free - is very widely available and I wonder whether you'll need 3G unless you plan to travel extensively outside urban areas. Most coffee shops, malls, libraries, airports, trains, some buses, franchises, hotels, motels, restaurants etc have either free or pay-as-you-go WiFi. In fact, in most cities, you'll find it difficult *not* to 'see' any WiFi networks.

I hope you enjoy your trip - let us know on iPad Forum of your iPad travelling experiences. I particularly hope you enjoy your time in the UK.

Tim
Scotland