Some questions about the ipad....?

[aimcat]

I am thinking of buying the ipad but wanted to know a few things....can it hold and play music like a ipod and even in a car with an FM transmitter? Im wondering because I was just going to sell my ipod and use that money toward an ipad. Also does it have all general internet surfing abilities, youtube, email, etc? Which is the best but not over the top version to buy...basically I would love it I can play music on it in my car and use sort of as a laptop to surf the net.

 

[BrennB]

Yes!

How's that... The second part would depend on two points...how much music your thinking to hold, you'll want enough room for that plus apps etc...how big is your iPod?

Next question is how you plan to access internet..if you're satisfied with your wifi availability or have a cell phone that can be wifi hotspot (ther is no "tether" with USB) then you don't need 3G.

 

[aimcat]

I guess right now on my ipod nano i have about 230 songs....i download 2-3 songs a week from itunes right now. I have wifi in my home and also most places I go has wifi?

Can you actually plug the fm transmitter into and use that?

 

[leey]

can it hold and play music like a ipod and even in a car with an FM transmitter

of course it is.
and have all general internet surfing abilities, youtube, email, etc. what's you wanted...
Just enjoy the cool iPad, more info I suppose you can turn to Apple iPad specs: Apple - iPad - See the web, email, and photos like never before.

 

[wrecklass]

One thing to consider is portability. The iPad is not something that you would leave in your car while you run into the store to buy milk. And it is too big to shove into your pocket while you run around.

While the iPad can do everything your iPod can do and a lot more, it has some limitations you might want to consider before you sell the iPod. I use my nano in the car or while excersizing or even just taking a walk. Things the iPad isn't really intended for.

 

[BrennB]

Thats a good point wreckless. I have very few songs on my ipad because I prefer xm radio over purchased music. I get by with my iPad connected to aux out on my car stereo for those times I'd rather listen to my library (long trips). But yeah, on a daily basis this is probably not a great idea.

OP if you could keep your ipod and get the ipad you'd have the best of both worlds. you can even share your apps across devices so you aren't making dual purchases.

 

[iVan]

For music I bought one of those newer Shuffles and installed it on the dash with industrial Velcro. I do use the iPad with Maps in the car though, I like that better than MotionX as a GPS.

BTW I found something interesting by accident with Maps. There is a small round circle icon at the top that is used to display your position. One day as I was driving, the blue pulsing marker representing my iPad's position went out of the display so for the tenth time I tapped the icon to bring my position back in the map but I mistapped and it didn't budge so I kept my finger on it and something really cool happened. Not only did my marker come back to the center of the map but it stayed there and the map started moving to follow my position... And there's more. If you tap the icon again the iPad becomes a compas with the map display twisting about as you turn... Coooool!

 

[spgary]

I was in the same boat buddy. Wanted to sell my iPod classic once I got my iPad, But later decided to keep both. Although the iPad can replace the iPod and do much more, it is difficult to carry your music as conveniently as in your iPod. You can't tag along your iPad while jogging or any such activity.

If u plan to use it just in the car, this could work for you

 

[RussW]

Also does it have all general internet surfing abilities, youtube, email, etc? Which is the best but not over the top version to buy...basically I would love it I can play music on it in my car and use sort of as a laptop to surf the net.

In a word; no it does not have ALL general internet surfing abilities. There are limitations imposed by the fact that Apple does not, and likely will not (ever) allow Adobe Flash content to be displayed on the iPad or iPhone/iPod Touch.

So many websites that display flash content or video cannot be directly accessed via the web. Some have gone over to the "App" environment to work around the problem that Apple created by not putting flash player on the iPad (for various security, speed, 3'rd party software, and content marketing competition reasons). So many websites you visit will have blank areas in the pages where flash content (video or adversisements) will not be displayed. YouTube, AT&T U-VERSE ONLINE, and Hulu are examples of websites that will not work via Safari or any other web browser app. Hulu and YouTube have separate apps that will allow you to watch their content on the ipad; but U-Verse does not (yet). A bit ironic since AT&T is the 3G service provider in the USA...

In addition, windows that have interactive content (like mapquest) become very difficult to navigate because they were not developed to be used with a touch-screen device. So scrolling the in-screen window does not work properly (even 2-finger scroll does not work on mapquest). There are also apps that provide a work-around like the e-mail app, google earth app, and maps app. Don't expect every website to work flawlessly with the iPad; because many do not.

The iPad currently also does not have an 'open' file system; and it is difficult to transfer documents and/or do "office" type work on it. There are "USB Disk" apps that allow a work-around; and iOS 4.2 which is coming out soon should also add some file management and printing support. With no USB port documents must be sent via e-mail to another computer to offload items. There is a USB/SD card adapter that will allow photos to be uploaded/downloaded from either a Camera or memory card; but I dont' know if it can handle document transfer (I'm thinking it can't). Simply put; the iPad is not a personal computer replacement. The iWork suite that Apple markets is a minimum package to allow document editing/viewing but it is nowhere near what the MS Office suite can do and many people complain that it can't do everything it claims it can do (like editing full blown MS Word and Excel documents).

If you can live with the browsing difficulties, and file system/compatibility limitations; it is a great, user friendly device (albeit expensive for the performance comparison to a laptop PC).

I would recommend a 32GB with 3G since you are talking about using it primarily as a mobile device. If you can afford the extra $100 you might want the 64GB if you plan to have LOTS of music, pictures, video content.

HTH...