Breaking News: Apple Announces the iPad 3 March 7, 2012

[stevew]

dola-

What DC said.

[Comey]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Is it just the size of these things which make people like them so much? I am out of date with things like this so Im kind of wondering why people would pay more for these than they would a decent laptop computer. Is there some other features other than what you could do on a laptop?

Thanks for the help.

I like it more than I thought I would; it's gotten me reading more again (I have always been a reader, but the Kindle app has been a godsend for me); it's helped my grad school work by assisting my projects and helped me teach in the classroom. I can also carry all my school documents via the Goodreader app, which is great because I'm highly disorganized.

I also love the Sporting News Daily app (though it's gotten sloppy lately). And Netflix is fantastic. I'm planning to get the MLB.tv app, and will use it on the iPad a good bit. I can also take it to the gym and watch something or read while I'm on the stupid elliptical.

I have a superb laptop (Sony Vaio Z), but there are some things I prefer to do on the iPad (mainly read, but a few others).

As it is, I've given a little thought to an iPad 2...it's not a need, as the current iPad is probably plenty for me.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by stevew

Splashtop is hard to set up. You want logmein ignition. I have a 32, and I could easily get away with a 16 if I would delete stuff when I'm done listening to it(podcasts). Plus there is dropbox available if you really needed something.

Thanks, I really leaning towards the 16GB if I get one. What do you mean by dropbox?

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Thanks, I really leaning towards the 16GB if I get one. What do you mean by dropbox?

https://www.dropbox.com/

It's teh awesome.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Thanks you two. I appreciate the replys. Ive been pricing up a new laptop but I keep hearing about these things so Ive been wondering what I was missing.

I still don't get it, personally. Too big to comfortably hold for very long, so if I'm looking at it for an extended period of time, I'd need some kind of stand. Whereas with a laptop, it's built-in as a stand, and if I'm actually setting it on my lap, I can tilt the screen to fit my needed view arrangement, plus I have a tactile keyboard and ports (unlike an iPad).

It doesn't fit in a pocket, so "portability" requires that I have some kind of carrying case. I already have carrying cases for my laptop, so why not just use that?

I guess battery life is one of the draws, and I get that, but I'm rarely in situations where my laptop battery doesn't cover the time I need it to be unplugged.

Plus, you're talking about a limited software ecosystem. I'm cool with that on my iPhone, but for several hundred dollars for something that's competing in price with a laptop, no thanks.

If I had money to burn, I'd buy one. But as it currently is configured and priced, it just isn't opening up a niche I find severely lacking. I'm looking at the smaller Android pads and thinking those are a better fit.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

If I could play text sims for real with my iPad, I'd probably cut down my PC use to just doing big projects and such alike. (Hint, hint developers...)

Looks down at Football Manager Handheld running on his iPad .... reads thread, goes back to playing FMHi ...

[Glengoyne]

Regarding 16 versus 32. I find myself with plenty of room on my 32g model, but I'd be bumping right up against the ceiling at 16. So I'd say the 32 is the better choice. I've got two dozen albums or so and about four movies stored, plus a large number of audio books(of the GRR Martin/Robert Jordan size), and a lot of Kindle books on the device.

Regarding the comparisons to a laptop and to what niche the iPad fills for people. It definitely doesn't substitute for a laptop. I use a laptop as a computer. That makes sense right? The iPad is different. In fact, I use the iPad to meet a need that I rightfully didn't have before I had the iPad.

The user experience of immediate gratification to surf the web from my arm chair, to grab the iPad off of the coffee table to imdb the actress or actor that just walked on screen during an episode of "whatever", to play an actual boardgame, well as implemented as an app, to read any book I've read in the past year anytime I want, and to be able to pull up an interesting section based on an electronic bookmark or search, to check the score for pretty much any game anytime I like anywhere I am, to watch my Netflix queue while I'm away from home, to do all of those things more is what the iPad is all about. Yes you can use a laptop for a lot of those things, but there is more overhead with a laptop. I carry my iPad pretty much where ever I go, and I use it for texting and email more than my computer or phone.

I've had it less than a year, yet I've considered upgrading to the new model just for the bump in processor speed. I have noted a drop in efficiency since upgrading the OS.

[Autumn]

How easy/possible is it to access home networked files with the iPad? Do you pretty much have to get things onto the iPad memory or can you browse shared files?

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Autumn

How easy/possible is it to access home networked files with the iPad? Do you pretty much have to get things onto the iPad memory or can you browse shared files?

Dropbox for most files. Or LogMeIn Ignition to move files to your dropbox that you forget.

Oh and it's mondo easy. Dropbox is pretty much awesome anyway, even if you don't have an iPad.

[Nugget699]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Looks down at Football Manager Handheld running on his iPad .... reads thread, goes back to playing FMHi ...

Shame it's a pixelated piece of crap because it's true reso is for the iPhone/iPod.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

I've had it less than a year, yet I've considered upgrading to the new model just for the bump in processor speed. I have noted a drop in efficiency since upgrading the OS.

I was so tempted. But the fact that pretty much everyone on earth is trying to unload their iPad to get an iPad 2 makes me just wait for an iPad 3 since it's inevitable that we'll see one next year given Apple's cycles. I figure it'll be even better and at the same price point totally worth it. Plus, it'll be easier to unload the iPad 1 to someone who never adopted at all for about what I'd probably get for it right now in a flooded market anyway.

[MizzouRah]

I think I'm going to hold off for now.. I just can't see paying $500 even for the base model.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Nugget699

Shame it's a pixelated piece of crap because it's true reso is for the iPhone/iPod.

imho it looks very presentable on an iPad tbh, but more discerning people might want to wait until we have a chance to do an iPad specific version ... entirely up to each individual.

[Comey]

Originally Posted by Nugget699

Shame it's a pixelated piece of crap because it's true reso is for the iPhone/iPod.

I wonder what will happen when this guy realizes he said that to its developer.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Comey

I wonder what will happen when this guy realizes he said that to its developer.

LOL

Nothing I expect - and its useful to me getting honest feedback like that, if people always say nice things then I never learn anything about my games (that being said I did make a point of playing FMH 'double sized' on the iPad a lot when I was first designing it to ensure that it looks presentable on that device).

(oh and btw it did give me an interesting conversation with my eldest son last night who saw me reading the forum, his response was 'thats not very nice' - which gave me a chance to talk to him about the importance of taking on board criticism and trying not to take it to heart, while also being sufficiently self-critical and confident to realise when something might be accurate and worth taking on-board)

On a related subject (ie. development for iPad) - its unrealistic at present to expect any sim developer to target the iPad primarilarly because its present user base is far smaller than that for the general 'iDevices' and most iPad users will at least consider purchasing a sim built for the iPhone/iTouch and double sizing it.

IF text-sim releases on the iPhone are successful then eventually some will make their way across onto the iPad I'm sure - however it requires some initial success to encourage people to do this.

Soccer Sims on the iPhone (Football Manager Handheld, Championship Manager etc.) have done fairly well and I expect that their success has helped give Markus & OOTP some confident that an iPhone version of OOTP is worth developing ... if the initial release of that goes well then I expect they'll start seriously considering other platforms also (iPad, Android, Win7 Mobile etc.) ... if it doesn't then they'll probably pull back onto their core platforms.

As such if you want development of text-sims to expand onto other devices then please support it, this is most vital for the smaller developers such as OOTP who are taking a real leap of faith by undertaking such development.

(I know I for one will be picking up OOTPi when its out)

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Dropbox for most files. Or LogMeIn Ignition to move files to your dropbox that you forget.

Oh and it's mondo easy. Dropbox is pretty much awesome anyway, even if you don't have an iPad.

I use Dropbox, but still then you're limited to the space of both your Dropbox account, and then the iPad storage itself. So there's not a way to browse a networked drive and read documents from there?

[stevew]

I bought the apple licensed keyboard the other day and I think it's pretty awesome. I don't think it is worth the 70 bucks, but it certainly gives my iPad a lot of functionality.

[Autumn]

A bit of a bump but I'm still looking for a good way to browse files from my computer through the Wi-Fi network. I don't really need to do the remote control thing, such as with Logmein. But I'd prefer to be able to browse, for instance, the PDFs I already have on my data drive, rather than load some onto Dropbox or the iPad through iTunes. Is anyone doing something like that?

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

LOL

Nothing I expect - and its useful to me getting honest feedback like that, if people always say nice things then I never learn anything about my games (that being said I did make a point of playing FMH 'double sized' on the iPad a lot when I was first designing it to ensure that it looks presentable on that device).

(oh and btw it did give me an interesting conversation with my eldest son last night who saw me reading the forum, his response was 'thats not very nice' - which gave me a chance to talk to him about the importance of taking on board criticism and trying not to take it to heart, while also being sufficiently self-critical and confident to realise when something might be accurate and worth taking on-board)

On a related subject (ie. development for iPad) - its unrealistic at present to expect any sim developer to target the iPad primarilarly because its present user base is far smaller than that for the general 'iDevices' and most iPad users will at least consider purchasing a sim built for the iPhone/iTouch and double sizing it.

IF text-sim releases on the iPhone are successful then eventually some will make their way across onto the iPad I'm sure - however it requires some initial success to encourage people to do this.

Soccer Sims on the iPhone (Football Manager Handheld, Championship Manager etc.) have done fairly well and I expect that their success has helped give Markus & OOTP some confident that an iPhone version of OOTP is worth developing ... if the initial release of that goes well then I expect they'll start seriously considering other platforms also (iPad, Android, Win7 Mobile etc.) ... if it doesn't then they'll probably pull back onto their core platforms.

As such if you want development of text-sims to expand onto other devices then please support it, this is most vital for the smaller developers such as OOTP who are taking a real leap of faith by undertaking such development.

(I know I for one will be picking up OOTPi when its out)

Is there a long-winded hint in there about an Android version of FMH?

[lcjjdnh]

Just purchased a 16GB iPad 2 the other day. Still waiting for it to come in, but had a couple questions for anyone that can answer them:

1.) Is 1GB sufficient for a 3G plan? Also, do you need to actively monitor this, or will it just switch to WiFi when available?

2.) Recommended apps?

[miked]

1) I would do the opposite. Keep it on WiFi until you need the 3G, then turn it on. You can monitor your usage on the device, online, etc, but as to whether it's enough I guess it depends on what you are doing.

[lcjjdnh]

Originally Posted by miked

1) I would do the opposite. Keep it on WiFi until you need the 3G, then turn it on. You can monitor your usage on the device, online, etc, but as to whether it's enough I guess it depends on what you are doing.

Thanks. I don't think I'll be streaming video or music over the 3G. I'd imagine just e-mail and web browsing.

[stevew]

The wifi will always stay on if you can find a signal, and then it will revert to 3G. I'd definitely keep your usage monitored, as I easily used 3+gigs on an IPhone in each of the 2 months I've had it.

[RainMaker]

I'm on the fence about getting one. Do you guys find yourself using it more than a laptop? I have an older laptop I'm wanting to upgrade but was thinking about getting the iPad instead.

[stevew]

It's like a way better smart phone. If you use your phone at home while you are watching TV...this takes it to the next level of awesome. As far as replacing a laptop? I can't personally imagine that you would be able to do anything as productive on the iPad as you would on a notebook.

[Comey]

You'd be better off looking at the laptop deals on Slickdeals (the Lenovo x220 is like $800 right now, for instance); while I use my iPad a lot (everyday for something...differs each day), it doesn't come close to replacing my laptop.

[Logan]

I don't have an iPad but I think of it as a pretty sweet luxury to have. My girlfriend and I will be moving in together in a few months...she's about ready to get rid of her old laptop, and with me having a Macbook that is in great shape, I'm trying to get her to hold off and we'll just get an iPad to replace her laptop. I can't think of a time when we'll ever both need to be using laptops so having the combo should work out great.

[Young Drachma]

I'll say this. I sold my iPad 1, because I wanted to recoup some of the money for it and also because I wasn't using it as much. It's a sweet luxury, but once you have one and don't have it anymore (or a smart phone) I have to say that you certainly do miss the convenience of it.

Phones don't really have the utility that my iPad did, but after having messed with a 2 a bit, I'm hoping to hold out for the 3 or to get a cut rate iPad2, since I kept all of my apps I won't be starting from nil.

[Comey]

I was going to upgrade to the iPad 2, but I'm gonna hold out for the iPad 3, and upgrade as a graduation present for myself. ; )

[Marc Vaughan]

I got an iPad2 recently (perk of the job) - its fairly funky, a lot lighter (weight) and faster than the first generation one ... although tbh I still prefer to use a laptop for anything 'practical' (and still tend to play FMHi on my phone because its always with me).

[Autumn]

I definitely use it much more than our laptop. That said, I spend the day at the computer - I have plenty of time to write emails and work. I use the iPad particularly in the evenings to read blogs and articles I didn't want to (or couldn't) sit and read at the computer during the day, reading comics, web surfing, watching videos, games. I love the interface enough to want to do most things that I can on there. Anything that involves reading or surfing I think generally works better on there.

[Peregrine]

Personally I use my iPad a ton more than I use my laptop (netbook.) For me, anything heavy duty I just run on my desktop PC, and everything else I used the laptop for, I find the iPad has replaced quite well. But I guess it just depends what you want to use your laptop for - I use the iPad for web surfing, casual email, music, various apps and games of course, as well as a media streaming device with my Apple TV. If I didn't have a desktop PC, I don't think the iPad would do everything for me.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Autumn

I definitely use it much more than our laptop. That said, I spend the day at the computer - I have plenty of time to write emails and work. I use the iPad particularly in the evenings to read blogs and articles I didn't want to (or couldn't) sit and read at the computer during the day, reading comics, web surfing, watching videos, games. I love the interface enough to want to do most things that I can on there. Anything that involves reading or surfing I think generally works better on there.

+1

[WSR]

I just ordered the IPAD 2, 16GB, WIFI only version. It is a luxury for sure, but I believe I will use it often to surf, check e-mails and read. The convenience of having the net within arms reach is just too great to resist.

[SegRat]

I use mine probably 9-10 hours a day. However 8 of that is at work.

[Peregrine]

So I read about a new external HD aimed at the iPad that Seagate is bringing out in July - the Seagate Goflex Satellite. Basically it's a 500 MB external HD that has a wireless card and is set up for streaming - you install a special app on the iPad and then you can load up the HD with all the music, movies, photos, etc that you like and it will stream those out to up to three devices at once. A bit pricey at $200 but seems like it could be really handy if you travel a lot and like to use your iPad to watch a lot of movies, etc.

[tyketime]

Looks like Mrs Tyke & I may treat ourselves to an Ipad2. I've been reading a fair amount of negative reviews regarding the "smart covers", so was wondering if any of you bought a case/cover that you are happy with and would recommend. Thanks!

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by tyketime

Looks like Mrs Tyke & I may treat ourselves to an Ipad2. I've been reading a fair amount of negative reviews regarding the "smart covers", so was wondering if any of you bought a case/cover that you are happy with and would recommend. Thanks!

What sort of negative reviews? My wife has had hers (ipad and smart cover) for about a month and has had no complaints.

[tyketime]

I happened to be on Amazon looking there. Complaints I see range from the simple (dust magnets) to moderate (dents and scratches on back since it only covers front) to more problematic (When held up it can easily slip off case hinge and crash to floor). Overall, they seemed to only get 2.5-3 stars (out of 5). So I took that as a bit disconcerting.

[lcjjdnh]

I have the Smart Cover and like it, although, as you said, the hinges do occasionally slip off. However, if held correctly, I'm not sure that's really an issue.

As a sidenote: The iPad2 is, without a doubt, one of the best purchases I've ever made. I was a bit skeptical after I first purchased it, but once it arrived, I fell in love. Everything about it is great--much easier to read on than a regular computer (highly recommend Instapaper App), great battery life, and I can use it anywhere. In fact, I liked it so much I decided to buy my first Mac computer ever.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by tyketime

Looks like Mrs Tyke & I may treat ourselves to an Ipad2. I've been reading a fair amount of negative reviews regarding the "smart covers", so was wondering if any of you bought a case/cover that you are happy with and would recommend. Thanks!

I've got a smart cover - its fine if you're in an adult only environment but they come off easily and my youngest boy (9) ends up leaving it off all the time, plus the iPad2 is fragile and a smart cover gives no protection at all really.

I've opted to purchase a cheap and nasty mobile phone-like rubber around which is far more practical for my needs - was about $15 from Walmart.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by tyketime

Looks like Mrs Tyke & I may treat ourselves to an Ipad2. I've been reading a fair amount of negative reviews regarding the "smart covers", so was wondering if any of you bought a case/cover that you are happy with and would recommend. Thanks!

Yeah, stay away from the smart cover. When I had my iPad 1, the black cover from Apple wasn't the prettiest thing in the world, but it protected especially the back of my iPad and if you don't want to spend on one of those more expensive covers, it gets the job done.

When I bought a 2 this summer, I got a smart cover and I hate it. It comes off easily, the back is totally exposed and it's annoying. I'd replace it, but I'm not going to spend more on a cover right this second until I find one I really like.

So in short, avoid the smart cover and get something more functional when you're going to spend $40 on a cover at least with the smart one.

[Peregrine]

Keep in mind that many companies make a back cover for the iPad that is thin but protective, and color matches with the Smart Cover. I know my friends that have the SC swear by it - but of course each person's situation is different.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Keep in mind that many companies make a back cover for the iPad that is thin but protective, and color matches with the Smart Cover. I know my friends that have the SC swear by it - but of course each person's situation is different.

Belkin makes a clear plastic one that snaps on to the back and is smart cover compatible. It's on sale for $15 at Best Buy this week. The only downside is I've heard it can chip if you take it off for cleaning frequently. But it will protect the back for $15 and you can still use your smart cover.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by tyketime

I happened to be on Amazon looking there. Complaints I see range from the simple (dust magnets) to moderate (dents and scratches on back since it only covers front) to more problematic (When held up it can easily slip off case hinge and crash to floor). Overall, they seemed to only get 2.5-3 stars (out of 5). So I took that as a bit disconcerting.

A-ha. Thought you might say that. After some digging, I realized that many (all?) of the "Smart Covers" on Amazon are not legit smart covers. They are rip-offs that are listed improperly.

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Yeah, stay away from the smart cover. When I had my iPad 1, the black cover from Apple wasn't the prettiest thing in the world, but it protected especially the back of my iPad and if you don't want to spend on one of those more expensive covers, it gets the job done.

When I bought a 2 this summer, I got a smart cover and I hate it. It comes off easily, the back is totally exposed and it's annoying. I'd replace it, but I'm not going to spend more on a cover right this second until I find one I really like.

So in short, avoid the smart cover and get something more functional when you're going to spend $40 on a cover at least with the smart one.

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Keep in mind that many companies make a back cover for the iPad that is thin but protective, and color matches with the Smart Cover. I know my friends that have the SC swear by it - but of course each person's situation is different.

Yeah, this is what my wife did. She bought a separate back cover to go with the smart cover.

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by wade moore

A-ha. Thought you might say that. After some digging, I realized that many (all?) of the "Smart Covers" on Amazon are not legit smart covers. They are rip-offs that are listed improperly.

Oh wow. Good catch. Time to at least give them a second look.

[stevew]

Looks like HP is killing off the TouchPad already. BestBuy had sold about 8% of their inventory. Amazing how little traction other tablets have compared to the iPad.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by stevew

Looks like HP is killing off the TouchPad already. BestBuy had sold about 8% of their inventory. Amazing how little traction other tablets have compared to the iPad.

we just had a big training on the TouchPad the other day. The HP guy was super enthusiastic about the WebOS and how it was going to allow them to together their tablets, smartphones and their PCs. I have to say, I was pretty impressed by the unit and was thinking I might pick up one instead of an iPad.

[stevew]

Hopefully they clear them out for cheap, cause I'd probably buy one. HP is supposedly killing/selling their computer division as well

[sterlingice]

Yeah, I'm pretty disappointed in that. A couple of the guys at work have Palm Pre 2s and those are nice little phones. I really liked WebOS and I'm hoping to get a TouchPad on clearance.

HP just doesn't have the stomach for the consumer electronics business. As warped as it is by various acquisitions (Compaq and EDS being the two big ones), it still thinks it's a conservative high end hardware company and, I dunno, that seems foolish as technology now is all about distributed computation and standardized, cheap equipment.

Just look at the other high end hardware companies that have gone by the wayside: SGI, Cray, Sun, etc. IBM isn't just mainframes any more and Dell has never seriously done anything more than crap entry-level servers. HP had diversified their portfolio for the better and to pull the plug on Palm and possibly spin off the consumer PC and laptop business seems foolish at first blush.

SI