Thinking of buying ipad2? Any use? or just an expensive toy?

merlot123

As title says, thinking of getting an ipad2 16gb 3g. We all have a laptop each in the house, so the ipad would be in addition rather than trying to replace a laptop with an ipad2.

I am looking for views from people who have one, it is of any real use?

I have a Samsung Galaxy phone which has unlimited internet (fair use policy), can I somehow use this unlimited internet to access the internet on the ipad2?

Thank you in anticipation.

merlot123.

beanys

i have one and apart from internet i carnt see much use for it , if your travelling its worth buying ,but iam thinking of selling mine and giong back to a net book

grizzly1911

If you can afford it without debt then enjoy while you can, if not then an expensive luxury IMO.

Just ask yourself will you really use the extra functionality over what you already have the capacity for?

merlot123

It would be bought without using cards etc.

I would like to use it in the car, we go to Scotland alot (a ten hour journey) so I was going to get a headrest holder for it so the children can play on it, or watch a film (is that possible?).

Is it really just a large iphone as regards to the apps? I have been to look at one in Tesco, but it was a display dummy so didn't get to have a go.

merlot123

fiendishlyclever

merlot123 wrote: »

Is it really just a large iphone as regards to the apps? I have been to look at one in Tesco, but it was a display dummy so didn't get to have a go.

merlot123

It's more like a big iPod touch (unless you have the 3G model which just let's you access the Internet away from your wifi). Having said that I love mine

Chorlie

I love mine; if I broke it today, I'd buy a new one tomorrow.

It is just a big iPod Touch and I use it mainly to surf the net and the odd game.

I have the iPad 3G 32Gb and bought a cheap Vodafone 1Gb Non Expiring Data Sim, this was 12 months ago and still have about 500Mb of that 1Gb, I tend to use WiFi, BT Fon or link to my iPhone. If you can create a WiFi HotSpot on your phone than a WiFi Only iPad might be better (cheaper).

But it is really just an expensive toy, but if you can afford it why not....after all a BMW is just an expensive toy compared to a KIA, it's down to what you want to spend your money on.

Humphrey10

Since I got an iPad, I've barely used my laptop - the iPad is so much more convenient.

merlot123 wrote: »

I would like to use it in the car, we go to Scotland alot (a ten hour journey) so I was going to get a headrest holder for it so the children can play on it, or watch a film (is that possible?).

Is it really just a large iphone as regards to the apps?

The battery lasts ~10 hours, but it will be noticeably less if you have the brightness and volume turned up and the 3G on. So it probably wouldn't last the whole journey. You can probably get an adaptor to charge it from the cigarette lighter though. For playing games, a headrest holder probably wouldn't work so well, as you need to be able to easily touch the screen, I'd recommend a lap tray and stand (the magnetic cover/stand is good) instead.
A headrest holder would be great for watching films on it.

Yes it's mostly just like a big iPhone in regards to the apps. A lot of them have iPad or universal (both iPhone and iPad) versions, although you can use any iPhone app on the iPad - it will either display iPhone-sized in the middle of the screen, or you can double the size so it fills more of the screen.

Are you sure you would use 3G internet on the iPad? I found I very rarely used it - most places have wifi.

S0litaire

you could give the "Andy Pad" a look ^_^ http://www.andypad.co.uk/
it's not available yet (goes on sale in a couple of days)
It's cheap and for £180, you get 1080p playback (via output) and a 1024x600 (7.5") screen, bluetooth, front and back cameras.
Not sure about battery life.

butterfriends

I havent used my laptop much since getting my iPad, it's so much nicer to use, 3G has been really handy and it's been great as a child entertainment tool

For watching a film in the car you'd be better with a portable DVD player I think, but for browsing and game playing it's great

buyitall

I have one and love it, very convenient for quick browsing, checking emails etc without booting up laptop. We have an in-car charger which was only a few pounds from Amazon and the children use it to watch films in the car and play games - the quality of the image for watching a film is far superior to a laptop in my opinion, even though the screen is smaller. As you obviously can afford it, I would definitely get one if I were you, they are fab.

thescouselander

buyitall wrote: »

I have one and love it, very convenient for quick browsing, checking emails etc without booting up laptop. We have an in-car charger which was only a few pounds from Amazon and the children use it to watch films in the car and play games - the quality of the image for watching a film is far superior to a laptop in my opinion, even though the screen is smaller. As you obviously can afford it, I would definitely get one if I were you, they are fab.

I've heard a lot of people say the IPad is more convenient because you don't need to wait for it to boot. The question is why are people waiting for their laptops to boot - why not just keep your laptop in standby?