Gadgets & Technology
Sweet_Thang
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Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
seriously considering getting an ipad.. questions
After doing some traveling this past weekend, and the lugging around of a heavy laptop, kindle, etc, I have been seriously considering getting an iPad. I think that what is really holding me back is the fact that there is the additional data plans.
When looking at it, I did notice that it has the wifi only option or the different data plans if you want the 3G. Does anyone have one with just the wifi only? If you have the data plan, which one do you have and how much data do you really use?
I know that by getting one, I can ditch my kindle and use the iPad for that, as well as upload my music and movies for trips, so that eliminates the bulky laptop... so any thoughts you all have would be appreicated!
"Insert Clever and Witty Saying Here"
Re: seriously considering getting an ipad.. questions
I bought the 64 GB Ipad 1 in October with wireless only and am kicking myself for not buying the 3G plan, then at least I would have had the option of adding a data plan later on.
That being said, even with travel, I find without 3G, the ipad is so worth the money, for me at least. We pretty much always have a hotel with wifi to stay at. I use the ipad mostly for entertainment. I rent a lot of movies from Itunes (which are great for around the pool, in the car, etc. when you don't have an internet connection) and when I do have an internet connection, I use my Netflix account to watch movies and shows. My mom recently got an ipad with just wireless and she uses it to research things she saw on TV as she is watching TV with my dad. He'll see some product on a show and my mom will already be researching where to get it. Or he'll use it to window-shop ebay. Or plan stores/products for their reno. I also use it for my 2YO DS when I am in an appointment (i.e. bank, doctor, lawyer, etc.) for myself or my 4MO DD to keep him happy and quite (there are tons of kids programs in the apps store). My 2YO is better on the ipad than my 50 YO father. He knows how to turn it on, go into stored videos, search for episodes of his cartoon, access Netflix, and how to open and play various games. I am also a huge Monopoly fan, and the app version is so much like the real-life version, you can play with others, or just with the computer, I love it! There are free apps to like Solitare, Hearts, etc.
If you plan on using it a lot (and I would assume that if you are willing to pay the hefty price tag that comes with it), it would be worthwhile to get the 3G, even though it isn't a neccessity, at least you won't be regretting it or wanting to replace it for 3G down the road.
Sorry for the novel, one last thing I remembered. My mom mentioned today that if you own an iphone (or maybe other phones too, I'm not sure), there is some kind of device you can get that will allow your iphone (if you have a data plan) to send out a wifi signal that your ipad can connect to, but then you would be having to have your phone close by too, and I'm not sure about how the data usage rate would be.
Best of luck on your decisison! My best advice is to decide how much you would use the internet on the ipad versus activities that don't use internet and think about where you would be using it most.
I'm C&Ping most of this from a reply to another post about traveling with the iPad, but maybe it's useful for you as well...
e-Reading:
Not only can you access all of your Kindle books, but you can also buy Nook books and books from the iBooks store as well. The iBooks app is by far the prettiest for reading with its animated page turning, but I typically use the Kindle app because Amazon has the best e-book selection.
It's difficult (but not impossible) to read outside, so I bring a real book for the beach/pool. Also, you can't really just leave it on your chair when you go in the water, because of the threat of theft (probably also a concern for the Kindle).
Travel computing:
You have a device to check email, update Facebook, back up photos (the camera connector is brilliant for this), write journal entries, etc. You can even get some basic photo editing apps if you want to do touch-ups on the go. While it's not a computer replacement, I've found that it more than covers my non-business travel needs. Plus, it's small enough to carry around sightseeing, so if you happen to find a caf? with free WiFi, you don't have to plan to come back later with a computer. This is a huge plus for me, because when we did travel with a laptop, it stayed locked up while we were out and about, so it was usually hotel WiFi or nothing. The downside is that some restaurants and hotels still have Flash-based websites that can't be viewed on the iPad. The number is decreasing, but it's annoying when you run into one.
Entertainment (during flights, evenings in a hotel, etc):
You have a personal video player, a music collection, and all your app games to play with! I typically load a few films and some TV shows onto the iPad and watch them if there's no decent/free entertainment on my flights, in the airport, etc. (I also used to watch some while I was waiting in long immigration lines until Newark instituted a "no electronic devices in line" policy. Another good reason to pack a regular book in your carry-on!) If you get a stand, you can prop it up on a tray table and watch comfortably. I used to take my Nintendo DS on long flights, but I don't bother any more. I even use Zinio to buy a copy of a trashy gossip mag like US Weekly, which I tend to buy for a long flight. The battery life is enough that I've yet to have a problem on trans-Atlantic trips.
Digital guidebooks:
Travel apps:This is a huge advantage, and I love it. I don't have to lug around thick guidebooks, since I can buy digital copies! Most Lonely Planet guides can be downloaded as PDF files, and I use GoodReader to highlight, add notes, circle things on the maps, etc. so that we can plan better. Also, the maps are rendered so that you can actually zoom in without them getting all fuzzy, so it's easier to make some details out. Another plus is that you can easily read your guidebook in the dark. The downside is that if you're traveling to a low-income or high-crime area, you probably don't want to be walking around with an iPad out! So this is kind of a balance. We use it for most of our European travel during the day, but I tend to keep it tucked away after dark and in suspicious areas.
Google maps - Even if you have the WiFi only version, it will cache any maps you view while you're on WiFi, so you can download some in the area and then use them when you're off the network. The GPS location only works precisely on the 3G model, but on the WiFi it will pick up the locations of surrounding WiFi spots and give you a general idea where you're at.
Packing lists - There are specific packing-list apps, but I actually just use a basic to-do list app. I keep a few list of things I pack regularly (divided into clothes, toiletries, and misc to make it easier to manage). I keep them all checked "done" and before a trip I uncheck the things I need. Then I check them back off as I pack them.
Travel documents - There are some apps that manage all your reservations and travel info. This is handy, but I never take the time to type in all the information.
Flight tracking - No explanation necessary. Flight tracking and delay alerts. Most of these require network connectivity.
Regarding the 3G vs WiFi - My first iPad was WiFi only, and I still loved it. I hooked up to the WiFi at coffee shops, the office, etc. so I felt like I still got a lot of use out of it. A lot of apps really require network connectivity to do much, but I didn't find it too big an issue. And I believe that free WiFi is getting easier to find in the US than it is here.
When I bought the iPad2, I got the 3G, and oh how I love it. We'd waited until the second generation, because we weren't sure if the iPad would be locked to AT&T or not (it's not), so I brought it back here and bought a local data plan for it. I've been using it for about 6 weeks now, and I've used 600MB of data. I surf the web or connect to online games every morning on my commute, but I don't stream a lot of music or videos. Some, but not a lot. The 3G is very convenient, but the device is still very useful without it.
If you have an iPhone4 with a data plan, you can set it up to "tether" the iPad to your iPhone4. We tried it with XH's iPhone, and we actually got faster data transfer speeds on the tethered device than on the iPhone itself! If you have the iPhone4 already, you don't need any additional gadgetry, but I believe that in the US you have to pay an extra monthly fee to enable tethering. If you have an iPhone4, I'd seriously look into just buying the WiFi model and tethering it to your phone, since the extra fee is probably less than a separate plan.
You might also ask your phone provider if they have any kind of package that would work. I don't know about the US, but here you can pay a little extra and get a cloned SIM card, so that you're using both the iPad and your phone on the exact same service plan.
We have a wifi only iPad and I love it. If I'm not somewhere I can get a wifi connection, I can still read and listen to music. I can tether from my iPhone's 3g if necessary, but I don't do it much because it drains the phone's battery quick.
Thanks ya'll for the input. I will more than likely lean towards getting the one with the wifi and 3G. Just because you never know. Now if I could only get Pampered Chef to come up with an ordering app for my business that is iPad compatible, the laptop would be a goner!
Until then, gotta hold on to the laptop too...
I feel the same way.
I'm the total opposite! Haha! I hate Flash, and this started long before Apple made such a public stand on the issue.
Flash-based websites annoy the heck out of me, because I can't link to sub-content, I can't always copy & paste text, and they're not always fully indexed by search engines. I also hate having to install new software just to view a webpage. Flash is fine for web-based applications, but not for actual web pages IMO. (And yes, I hate Silverlight for all the same reasons!)
I got the wi-fi only model because I don't travel that much and expect I'll be able to find wi-fi when I need it. I haven't missed it yet, but it's only been two weeks.
With 3G, you have to pick between Verizon or AT&T compatible models. There is some talk that future models might be able to do both, which could make re-selling a 3G ipad2 more difficult down the road should you choose to upgrade later. I've read that the AT&T slot is generally more compatible with European travel. With either version, you can buy 3G data plans for the ipad by the month instead of locking into an extended contract.
For my purposes, I love using the ipad SO much more than a laptop. It's personal preference- the ipad size is "just right" for me whereas for general entertainment, the laptop seemd "too big" and smartphones "too small". I can use it in bed, on the couch, in the kitchen, and I no longer have to deal with plugging something in all the time, waiting for boot ups, loading, etc. Granted, my laptop is old and slow and doesn't hold much charge anymore. I absolutely love that I can have my books, music, internet, fb, soduku, etc. around at a moment's notice on a single device. I just flip the smart cover open, touch the screen, and voila.
Thanks everyone for the input!!
I don't travel much, but when I do, I would much rather have something smaller than my heavy laptop. I am hoping to get one here really very soon as I am going to be on a 10 day trip, via motorcycle, in late June and it would be so very handy for us!
I like that ATT has a better European travel compatiblitly. I travel to Europe in October for a 12 day cruise so it will be nice to have it should I need to get to something quickly. Plus again, lighter is better.
I just need to see about how compatible it might be with my Pampered Chef website and orders. We have a special application for me to place my orders and manage my business and I am hoping that maybe they would get an app going for it.. but if anything I can see if it will work via website / wise .. which would be a nice business investement.. write off!! ::: grins ::::
Guess now, I need to know what apps everyone likes!!
I know when we ordered mine, it took a few weeks for delivery. I'd suggest ordering fairly soon if you want it before your trip.
If you go back a page or two there are some posts here about apps. Here's what I've been using so far: ibooks (I'm satisfied with the free classic novels at this point), vivo (music videos), the daily (news, paid subscriptions but I'm still in the free trial period), friendly (fb), soduku (some free version), angry birds, netflix.
Some App posts:
http://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/48184525.aspx
http://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/50711141.aspx
Atomic Web Browser, iBooks & Kindle, Zinio, Flipboard, Friendly (but it seems to have a lot of problems, so I use the iPhone Facebook app sometimes too), IM+, Rhapsody/Pandora
Games: Words with Friends, Cut the Rope, Angry Birds, and I love Pocket Frogs. The Carcassonne app is gorgeous but pricey, and you need other people with the app to play against. If you like the real game, the digital version is a great recreation.