What do you think you'll use your iPad for?

[Kenm]

Work - Sales

 

[tnbug]

My plan is to replace my smart phone with the iPad. I'll just carry a tiny basic phone for actually talking to people, and use the ipad for everything data related. Its neat that my phone can do email, web surfing, etc, but I find that I never actually do any of that on my phone because the screen is just too small to be practical.

I've been a long-time fan of the old slate style Tablet PCs. I used to carry a Compaq TC1000 around in slate mode as my PDA, but its just too slow now. I do wish the iPad had a pen option for better drawing, handwriting, adding doodles and diagrams to notes, etc, but its not a deal-breaker. The extra portability and price make up for what it lacks.

I was thinking same thing about the basic phone and get the ipad instead.

 

[Laure]

emails, internet, spreadsheet

I love Numbers and some other productivity apps.

 

[LittlePixels]

some I import from my own purchased DVDs via a conversion software that is on my laptop.

What do you use to convert your DVDs? I just got my iPad for Christmas, and so far it's ended up being mostly a replacement for my old Archos 504 Internet Media tablet. I watch a lot of video on it, either from Hulu, Netflix, the ABC Player, or Air Video, as well as video podcasts from TWiTPad. I'd love a way to convert my DVDs too. Aside from watching videos, I play games once in a while (Fruit Ninja, Dungeon Hunters 2, Pocket Legends), check email (but I prefer my Android phone for email), and do Facebook. The iPad is awesome for Facebook. And Flipboard and Zinio are great for when I want something to read. I've used Zinio since they first started, in...was is 2001? And their magazines have never looked so good and been so convenient to read. I do read ebooks on the iPad too, but not for long periods of time. My Kindle is much lighter, and doesn't give me a headache from the backlight.

All in all, I'm loving the iPad even more than I thought I would. I've always been a portable gadget-loving girl, so this is my kinda device. =D

 

[jollywa]

I am in China at the moment and the software is on my personal laptop back in Canada. If you can bear with me until Feb 2, I will post the name of the software then, since I cannot recall off the top of my head which one it is.

I did pay for it, mainly because it had great reviews and I was a little afraid of downloading a free one and then having trouble with it.

So far, I have been happy with the one I chose. Reasonable quality, no disconnect/timing problems between audio and video and it is fairly intuitive to use.

I am making a note to check it when I get home and post for you then.

 

[Henning737]

Easy answer!!! Handbrake - available for Mac or windows - just google handbrake and you will find the latest release (and it's freeware)

 

[maclizard]

-Games
-Surf the Web
-YouTube
-News

 

[Spink10]

-Games
-Surf the Web
-YouTube
-News

Ditto

 

[Jessicaem]

I think that ebook reading will be fantastic.

 

[jgumphress]

I like my iPad for Bible study because of the quick response to jump from book to book and all the great apps like Olive Tree version 5 which links your study books with the verses that you are reading in real time. I use this instead of a paper Bible at church and at Bible study classes for the same reasons. But when it comes to relaxing and reading a book I love my Kindle 3 for reading. Mainly because the small format is easily held by one hand and the screen looks more like paper than the iPad. The iPad gets pretty heavy when you are lying down reading.

 

[jollywa]

What do you use to convert your DVDs?

LittlePixels, I just got back from China tonight and checked the software for you right away.

It is called PQ DVD to iPod Video Suite. I paid around $39 for it. It was well worth it, in my opinion. Very user friendly. There is not a lot of disconnect between the video and the audio like there is in some conversion software, either.

 

[LittlePixels]

Thanks for the software recommendation. I'm going to look into it. I've tried a couple programs in the past, and either they wouldn't do DRM'd DVDs (which makes them pretty much worthless), or as you mentioned, there were audio/video sync issues. Thanks for going to the trouble for me.

 

[jgumphress]

PQ DVD is a great DVD converter. I bought it back when I was using Palm treo and never ran into a DVD that it wouldn't copy and convert. Now I use it for my iPad. Great support too, they were even nice enough to give me the unlock code for the iPad version because I already had the Palm version and was no longer using it.

 

[Digitel]

Well, I would use it when I'm alone like Games, You tube. News, and some others.

 

[Koula]

Wanted to use the ipad for business, but turns ot that the ipad is terrible for business. Data entry is monotonous. Typing is always a huge effort. Syncronization with pc's is terrible. Printing is impossible. File organization is non-sensical. Aside from light, portable, indestructive, and more of a toy for my 20 month old toddler, the ipad needs to improve. Should you buy a ipad for business? Not yet!