Apple I Pad

**georgenabbs** · 4th December 2011, 19:35

For those thinking of treating their selves to an Apple I Pad for Christmas, think twice. I bought one in Washington last November, they were 140-00 cheaper than in the UK. I asked the young lady assistant, after she gave me the full spiel,
"OK What's the drawbacks when set against my desk top?"
"They're not really made for work, Sir"

She's right. I have just bought a new Samsung Galaxy S, off e-bay, 146-00 against 199-99 in Curries aand it seems to do the same things, and plays Flash Player. Just going on holiday to foreign climes, be interesting to see how it performs against the I Pad.

**Cellarman** · 5th December 2011, 16:08

Must disagree with you most strongly. The iPad is a great device. I can view my images on it downloaded straight off my dSLR and have apps that allow me to use it very flexibly, for instance, I have an astronomy app that I use when I'm out with my telescope, which gives me a real-time map of the sky and even turns to red light if required to protect my night vision. I also have an app that allows me to view survey results, and ones for bird, butterfly, wild flower and fungi identification. It doesn't replace my MacBook, but is an alternative when I'm going lightweight.

I also noted recently that archaeologists have adapted the iPad (in a suitable weatherproof case) to record excavation detail, allowing records to made on site, then downloaded later to a PC/Mac for full processing. From experience, this is much easier than writing in notebooks (particularly in a muddy trench) and having to type in later!

**chedd** · 6th December 2011, 13:55

I agree with Cellarman, it is an amazing device that has all but completely replaced my Laptop. Battery life is shockingly good and if you find a few apps that you get on with I am sure most people would find it indispensable

**fisha** · 8th December 2011, 14:11

Yeah, I agree.. Great.. but not a replacment for a laptop.. ie - it can't replace an actual pc/mac. one is a computer, the ipad is a giant smartphone.

**Fazza** · 29th January 2012, 12:53

The iPad and iPad 2 are fantastic bits of kit!

They're not designed to be a desktop or laptop replacement. They're main function is for people to simply consume things.

What I mean by this is that they are mainly designed for you to browse the internet, watch videos online, play music, look at photos and check your emails and view forums like this one etc.

They're not really designed for you to store all your photos and music on so you can upload them to your website or store all your videos on them so you can edit them and then upload them to YouTube.

Having said that, just because they're not really designed to do all that, doesnt mean you cant do some of that on an iPad! It's just that without a proper keyboard and mouse it's not as easy as it is on a laptop or desktop to edit hundreds of photos and edit lots of large videos!

We have one at work (I work in IT) and it's great for reading technical manuals on and then quickly going online to check some things out. There are quite a few technical apps to - it wont replace our computers but it does complement them.

**georgenabbs** · 26th February 2012, 16:16

Perhaps the Apple I-Pad devotees can help me, or someone in IT. I have recently been in South Africa and took along my I-Pad and Samsung Galaxy S. The I-Pad was very good for reading and answering my e-mails, keeping up with the daily contributions from MH, and news in the Daily Mail and Telegraph and all over a very welcome cold beer. For the first time I used the Galaxy S, both as a still camera and video. The still camera is quite good, having only used my telephone camera before, I was impressed with the quality, although I have to put them through the Paint Shop Pro, one button improver. Never having used a video camera before in any shape or form, I was more than impressed with the quality of the videos. Yes it has it's drawbacks but generally the clips are sharp and clear. I got home and put them straight on to my PC and looked forward to boring the Old Farts down the pub. The Samsung uses the MP4 format and I did all my usual things to put them onto the I Pad. Surprise and disapointment, the I Pad says it cannot screen the clips. Is there anyone out there who can help? Can I convert to another format and then convert back to MP4? Is this Apple just protecting it's own patch again, as it does by not accepting Flash Video? As they say in my local Church all contributions gratefully accepted.

**Cellarman** · 26th February 2012, 17:08

Try selecting the movie in iTunes, then click the Advanced menu. There should be an option to create an iPad/iPhone or iPad/Apple TV version of the movie.