iPad Help/Benefits of having one

teamcullen

I'm going to be getting an iPad later on this week. It's from work so no real massive outlay for me and I got it at a discount so thats super. Anyway I have a few questions!

I have an iPhone 4 so as I understand, an iPad is exactly the same thing except bigger with no phone, is this correct?
Is there any official MSN Messenger app I can get on it? I want to basically have the iPad on my desk at work and use it that way, as it saves taking my laptop in and tethering. I'll eventually buy a keyboard too once I get round to it.
Is there any way of getting films/dvd's onto the iPad? Again, thats the only real point I'd see of wanting to use it over my iPhone.
I take it I'll have to sync it with my laptop as I do the iPhone?
Are there any other benefits of having an iPad over iPhone and laptop?

Thanks for any help, I'm struggling to see the benefits of it unless I can use MSN! Of course it's cheap so I can just keep it for as and when I don't have my laptop but I'm still struggling.

Thanks again!

welshdent

You can put films on easily enough. BEst bet is to search the app store for a decent video player. I managed to get VLC before it was canned for my iphone but it works fine on the ipad. What the other video players will do is allow you to import them without having to convert to apple standards. You may need to pay for them though ... although they save hassle. I have an iPhone 4 and got an 1st gen iPad last week and I love the device. Its ideal for media consumption and with a keyboard, typing should be nice and easy. Viewing web pages is much nicer and reading e books etc is great. I got a T3 mag edition on it and that was excellent. Its quite unexpected how much nicer the bigger screen is. You DO have to go via itunes which is a pain but then as you already do it for the phone its no different. look in to a cloud storage set up such as drop box or zumo drive and that will facilitate storage of media. You can also easily stream to the device either by air play or something like zumo cast. I am using those a lot now as I can watch stuff in bed without lugging my laptop up with me. If you are used to an iphone though, you will get on fine with an iPad. There are MSN apps available for it ... if you have something on your phone you will get it on the ipad

randomtask_2

iPads sync with iTunes for all content - that's the Apple approach to getting stuff onto it (other than downloading over wifi/3G).

There's a windows messenger app for the iPhone/iPod Touch which works on the iPad. You can download from iTunes and while I've not looked lately, it should be free.
Films can be ripped from DVD into H.264 or MP4 formats as both are supported by the iPad. Load into iTunes and sync over to the iPad.

Personally, the iPad is nice for sit up in bed web browsing / casual games. A luxury item for most.

JJ_Egan

Plus instead of saying in a loud voice on a train etc i am on my IPhone one can say in a loud voice I am on my IPad . You will then gain the respect of the whole train as one cool dud .Or get shoved off between stations .

jje

teamcullen

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Plus instead of saying in a loud voice on a train etc i am on my IPhone one can say in a loud voice I am on my IPad . You will then gain the respect of the whole train as one cool dud .Or get shoved off between stations .

jje

Lol the amount of times I've seen people doing that is unreal. Unfortunately I'm of the kind who are too scared to even take their phone out of their pocket unless they've got a text or call incase it's stolen!

Thank you for all your help people, I have a feeling it's not going to get used too much though!

welshdent

Why would you do that? There is no phone feature unless you are on skype or facetime.

welshdent

teamcullen wrote: »

Lol the amount of times I've seen people doing that is unreal. Unfortunately I'm of the kind who are too scared to even take their phone out of their pocket unless they've got a text or call incase it's stolen!

Thank you for all your help people, I have a feeling it's not going to get used too much though!

You may well find yourself surprised. Pop some apps on and some films, set up streaming from your base PC and see whats its like. Its a lovely device despite the negative comments. Sure you can do XY and Z with a laptop/PC/smart phone ... but you havent asked about that. You are getting one through work so give it a go and enjoy a well built bit of kit for what it is. Get skyfire browser as it will allow you to play some flash videos. Its not a replacement for a laptop and yes it is a luxury device for many ... but that doesnt mean it can not take on a useful role for you, be it an easier device to take on journeys and trips away or a light night video machine.

Humphrey10

iPads are great for watching films on - if you need the loo halfway through you don't need to pause the film, you can just take the iPad with you! Much more convenient than trying to take a 19" laptop with you to the loo, let me tell you.

elfen

I love mine. I got it for uni and for my future job....right now it's got Pages (Apple version of Word) and a PDF viewer and Stanza (ebooks - it also can have Project Gutenberg connected to it so you can download free boks when you want - the classics that is) and it's perfect with the keyboard dock to sit and take lectures and zip between bits. Battery life is amazing on it - it's really easy to use and connecting to the 'net means I can get to my uni stuff online and download it and read it on the go. I love it almost as much as my MBP...but I am scared of getting it out cos I don't want it nicked.

diable

Humphrey10 wrote: »

iPads are great for watching films on - if you need the loo halfway through you don't need to pause the film, you can just take the iPad with you! Much more convenient than trying to take a 19" laptop with you to the loo, let me tell you.

That is sooo sad ;o)))))

teamcullen

How about things like 4od ad BBC iPlayer? Are those possible to watch on the iPad?

I remember trying to convert a dvd to the format for my iPhone ages ago and it just didn't work. So is there any easier way to do it?