New to the Apple Kingdom

[edge7]

I was born and raised in the PC world and have no Apple experience, so I have some newbie questions about the iPad. I assume that it will function like the iPod Touch or iPhone, (which I don't have).
1. Can I move and play MP3s off my PC to the iPad?
2. Can I get to shared folders through the wireless or Bluetooth to move Photos?
3. Can I play music and read an iBook at the same time?
4. With the 3G version does the iPad have a GPS program?
5. How often do you run into Flash sites that won't play on the iPad?
The iPad looks pretty impressive. I'm waiting for the 3G version though. Thanks in advance...........

 

[gentlefury]

I was born and raised in the PC world and have no Apple experience, so I have some newbie questions about the iPad. I assume that it will function like the iPod Touch or iPhone, (which I don't have).
1. Can I move and play MP3s off my PC to the iPad?
2. Can I get to shared folders through the wireless or Bluetooth to move Photos?
3. Can I play music and read an iBook at the same time?
4. With the 3G version does the iPad have a GPS program?
5. How often do you run into Flash sites that won't play on the iPad?
The iPad looks pretty impressive. I'm waiting for the 3G version though. Thanks in advance...........

1. yes
2. no folders on ipad natively, there are apps that allow you to grad stuff off your network tho.
3. historically the native system apps all multitask, so yes.
4. no announcement on that one yet.
5. I don't really go to many flash sites (a couple video sites I don't really need on a portable) but since it doesn't have flash the answer would be 100%

Keep in mind a LOT of video sites are conforming to HTML5 standard which is what the iPad and the upcoming Chrome OS uses....and sites like Hulu are developing an app. So I wouldn't let the flash scare affect you too much!

 

[Dorje]

2. Currently only individual Apps give you very limited acess to spesific storage space for each app. Many Apps are starting to use web or PC client programs to transfer files wirelessly. However it is not known how exactly Apple 1st party programs will transfer files aside from phyiscal connection.

3. Yes, with 90% confidence. Even on the iPod you can listen to music in just about every App, including video games. The only time it won't work is when the App needs to play a Movie file. However if you have the Apple Headphones or an adaptor with the volume/click-to-play control you can restart the music if it is somehow stopped. You can do this on the iPod touch right now, unless the iPad does something very different with that control it should also work on the iPad.


4. iPad 3G will have assisted GPS which will tie into all position using Apps, including Maps (apple.com/ipad/features/maps.html).

5. I rarely have issues but it can get aggregavating if you don't keep it in mind. Sites like Photobucket that has a flash based photo editing system. This will hopefully improve over the comming years as HTML5 alteratives are created.

 

[iDan]

Welcome to the forum from Austin!

 

[CanonicalKoi]

4. no announcement on that one yet.

From the Apple website: "iPad with Wi-Fi finds your location using known Wi-Fi hotspots, and Wi-Fi + 3G models use Wi-Fi, GPS, and cellular towers. So you can get routes, get directions, and get there in no time."

 

[gentlefury]

4. no announcement on that one yet.

From the Apple website: "iPad with Wi-Fi finds your location using known Wi-Fi hotspots, and Wi-Fi + 3G models use Wi-Fi, GPS, and cellular towers. So you can get routes, get directions, and get there in no time."

ok, where in there does it say it will have a navigation application? My iPod Touch can locate me based on wifi points too...but I can't use it as a navigation device.

 

[wot_fan]

ok, where in there does it say it will have a navigation application? My iPod Touch can locate me based on wifi points too...but I can't use it as a navigation device.

From the iPad Specs page

Location
Wi-Fi
Digital compass
Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 3G model)
Cellular (Wi-Fi + 3G model)

So the Wifi iPad has the same current location capability as the 1st gen iPhone. It can only locate your rough position. It is not good enough for turn by turn GPS apps. The 3G iPad models have full GPS like the current iPhone. There is no reason to believe that the 3G iPads cannot run existing GPS software.

 

[IpadOne]

Welcome on board from Asia

2)For Iphone you have an App's named : Zoomit (LINK) you need to by a device for read SD card but the device not yet come out, and not sure it will work in Ipad

 

[hendjo]

3. Yes, with 90% confidence. Even on the iPod you can listen to music in just about every App, including video games. The only time it won't work is when the App needs to play a Movie file. However if you have the Apple Headphones or an adaptor with the volume/click-to-play control you can restart the music if it is somehow stopped. You can do this on the iPod touch right now, unless the iPad does something very different with that control it should also work on the iPad.

Does this answer only apply to Itunes music while reading an ebook or other Ipad use? I understood from another thread and other reading that internet music such as Pandora cannot be accessed while using an ebook or other such use due to the Ipad limitations on multitasking.

The OP raises some good questions that usually don't have to be asked when dealing with a PC or Android phone such as a Droid where many things are possible at the same time including turn by turn gps nav while reading and listening to Pandora. Have two Ipads reserved so hoping that it will have more flexibility than is appearing on the surface.

 

[wot_fan]

Does this answer only apply to Itunes music while reading an ebook or other Ipad use? I understood from another thread and other reading that internet music such as Pandora cannot be accessed while using an ebook or other such use due to the Ipad limitations on multitasking.

The OP raises some good questions that usually don't have to be asked when dealing with a PC or Android phone such as a Droid where many things are possible at the same time including turn by turn gps nav while reading and listening to Pandora. Have two Ipads reserved so hoping that it will have more flexibility than is appearing on the surface.

That sounds kind of dangerous .

To answer your question, yes as it stands now you cannot use two third party apps at the same time. So when you close the pandora app to open something else, the music stops. Some Apple apps run in the background like the iPod app though. So you can listen to the iPod while doing something else.

Rumor has it that iPhone OS 4.0 will allow some sort of third party multitasking. If this is a must have feature for you, you may want to wait to purchase an iPad. At this point there is no guarantee that Apple will ever allow apps to run in the background.

 

[hendjo]

The OP raises some good questions that usually don't have to be asked when dealing with a PC or Android phone such as a Droid where many things are possible at the same time including turn by turn gps nav while reading and listening to Pandora. Have two Ipads reserved so hoping that it will have more flexibility than is appearing on the surface.

That sounds kind of dangerous .[/QUOTE]


Well, ideally that would be the co-pilot, shotgun or other passenger, but all to often that is the driver.

In the near term the work around seems to be keeping the Droid and listen to Pandora or whatever while enjoying the reading or other visual from the Ipad. After all the Ipad seems to be currently positioned between the smart phone and laptop/netbook so until then continued use of mutliple devices is the way to go.

 

[Rasputina]

Using the AT&T navigator app you can get turn by turn while listening to ipod but not pandora. There are some game apps that allow you to also listen to ipod while playing.

As far as moving/syncing mp3 on your pc to the ipad, yes assuming they are actual mp3 files and not microsofts wma file type ( which is the default for ripping on a pc)

 

[Dorje]

Aren't there currently a small handful of non-iPod (the Apps not device) that will run in the background as well?

There is a trick that if you know the stream URL and Quicktime can read it, you can run it from Safari while using other apps... You just
can't web browse. And if the app needs QuickTime for video or uses plays IRS own music that stops playback the it won't work.

I wonder if there is a way for an App to pass the URL to QuickTime engine to have it run? Oh well I'm sure if it were possible people would be doing it right now in Apps. Maybe a trick using HTML5 stand alone bookmarkable page?

 

[CanonicalKoi]

ok, where in there does it say it will have a navigation application? My iPod Touch can locate me based on wifi points too...but I can't use it as a navigation device.

Wot_Fan already answered this, but when it says, that 3G uses GPS to find your location and give you directions and routes, that sounds like a navigation application to me.

 

[gentlefury]

ok, where in there does it say it will have a navigation application? My iPod Touch can locate me based on wifi points too...but I can't use it as a navigation device.

Wot_Fan already answered this, but when it says, that 3G uses GPS to find your location and give you directions and routes, that sounds like a navigation application to me.

That sounds like the built in google maps app that is on the iphone...its not nav...it will show you where you are and how to get somewhere, but navigation means it will tell you turn by turn as you go. Seems like a very inappropriate device for that function tho...way too big...you gonna mount it on the dash?