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

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm also in the camp seriously considering an iPad, but the lack of flash support bothers me as some of my favorite sites still rely on flash. That is the only reason I haven't already pulled the trigger.

[Peregrine]

I don't mind no Flash, especially because as I understand it the primary reason it doesn't support Flash is a technical one, not a policy one. I was reading about how Flash apps (especially ads and games) depend heavily on being able to tell the difference between a mouse hover and a mouse click and apparently it is difficult for them to do that with multitouch.

And Samifan I get what you are saying about the flexibility of the 3g buy option but is that flexibility worth an additional $130 of price premium in addition to what I would pay for the 3g itself? Pretty sure in that case I would just use my iPhone and wifi iPad and pocket the $130.

[dawgfan]

I guess I have to go to the Apple Store and test-drive one, because so far I'm thoroughly underwhelmed by what I've read in terms of functionality, practicality and price. And this is coming from someone that loves his iPhone, so I'm not an Apple hater.

I can see getting a pad-type netbook portable computer at some point, but I just don't see this being the one.

[SegRat]

I have had my iPad for a couple of weeks now. I love it! I have the wifi one but I did the jailbreak on my iPhone and I run mywi when I am not at home. Works great.

[Cringer]

Doing registration for soccer this past week and a 7 year old girl was there with her dad who was signing her up to return for our Summer season. She was standing there watching something on an iPad (first I have seen in person now that I think about it).

I made a joking comment (because there were a bunch of people 2-3 times her size around) asking if he (the dad) had glued that thing to her hands so she wouldn't drop it? He just laughed and said "Well, it's hers so if she does I guess it's her loss." I had nothing to say back to that, though I wanted to say something along the lines of "Ah, buying her affection eh?" I know the parents are divorced and he didn't even know the mom's (who is actually the coach of her team) address or other important info a dad should know.

[ColtCrazy]

I am debating between an ipod touch and an ipad right now. The big plus to the ipod touch is portability. I'll be using it in england and it'll be nice to have something I can have with me at all times to text my wife and stuff. But the ipad is bigger...so my visually impaired daughter would like it. My wife would like the book option.

So I guess my big question is....Is the ipad a hassle to take with you?

[Marc Vaughan]

If you've a bag then its no hassle at all - but definitely not pocket sized.

I took my iPad with me when I was over in the UK last week and no issues at all either with the device or charging in the UK (using a conversion adapter obviously).

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

If you've a bag then its no hassle at all - but definitely not pocket sized.

I took my iPad with me when I was over in the UK last week and no issues at all either with the device or charging in the UK (using a conversion adapter obviously).

Yeah, since I'm the one that will have to deal, we are seriously leaning toward the ipad. Thanks for the comments. While I'm thinking of it, does the UK have a lot of places that offer free Wifi (I haven't used WiFi in the UK before)? The school I'll be at has excellent coverage no matter where you are on campus, but I'm just curious if I'll be able to use it away from campus. Thanks for the info.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Yeah, since I'm the one that will have to deal, we are seriously leaning toward the ipad. Thanks for the comments. While I'm thinking of it, does the UK have a lot of places that offer free Wifi (I haven't used WiFi in the UK before)? The school I'll be at has excellent coverage no matter where you are on campus, but I'm just curious if I'll be able to use it away from campus. Thanks for the info.

You'll generally find formal 'free wifi' a little rarer in restaurants etc. than in America BUT that depends a lot on the area you're in - for instance some towns (Swindon being the one which springs to mind) in England are now 'WiFi' ready throughout, that is the local council provides wireless internet everywhere within the town boundaries as part of the taxes that residents pay etc.

[stevew]

Any more impressions? My friend thought it was too locked down. Seems perfect for college. I might kick myself for not getting the 3G version but it seems that the 130 would be better spent on accessories. I can't see lugging around my huge 17" laptop. And for anyone in education, can I access Blackboard with it?

[Young Drachma]

It was my first Apple product. (Hell, I've owned 3 Zunes including a Zune HD rather than an iPod) My tipping point was being tired of paying for a data package for my phone, with my work and phone habit being different now than they once were. So I downgraded my phone to a basic package from a Blackberry? I did not get 3G because it seemed counterproductive for my purposes. I won't deny that it's not an adjustment, but on the whole (especially with Starbucks and mcDonalds having wifi) it's been
Pretty easy to find wifi and an indispensable tool. A friend and I went to Montreal with it a week ago and it was far more useful than his iPhone because it was faster for some reason and we could use it easier while one was driving, etc.

I had a lot of Twitter folk tell me it's replaced their laptop. I won't go that far because I still prefer what a laptop offers in terms of power and adaptability. But that said, it's far more useful than my blackberry ever was and it's been super helpful for work related purposes like note taking and meetings, etc.

It's not a must-have tool by any stretch, but I do think if you're on the fence that it proves extremely handy. I'm using it now because my new laptop is ver nice, but too heavy compared to a book-sized iPad. Also, the ability to consume books digitally like I can for music is a huge boon too. The kindle app works pretty well, iBooks isn't bad either.

All in all, it's a good buy if you think you'd like it.

[lordscarlet]

What do you use for note taking on your ipad?

[Cringer]

HP has said a webOS tablet will be out early 2011, that is when I jump into the tablet/pad craze I think.

[Peregrine]

Personally I love it - it's been great for everything I've used it for. I think I love how it isn't like a laptop - I don't have to worry about long bootup times, excessive security, driver installs, crashing programs, etc - I just turn it on and it's ready to go. Lots of great apps too.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Personally I love it - it's been great for everything I've used it for. I think I love how it isn't like a laptop - I don't have to worry about long bootup times, excessive security, driver installs, crashing programs, etc - I just turn it on and it's ready to go. Lots of great apps too.

Do you also own an iPhone? If so, do you feel the same way about the iPhone as the iPad? Just curious.

[Mota]

I have a Touch and an iPad and use them for COMPLETELY different things. My touch has a bunch of music, podcasts and videos, and my iPad has books, web surfing, comic books and some videos. I don't mind writing an email on the iPad because the keyboard is big enough to hunt and peck pretty quickly.

So overall even though they are essentially the same device but different sizes, they are completely different experiences for me.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

What do you use for note taking on your ipad?

I use Notepad Pro and I've also purchased Notes, Numbers and Keynote. But Notepad pro works well. The Notes app that it comes with works just fine though, so if you don't want to buy Notepad Pro, you're not missing a ton.

I also have the Evernote and Dropbox, the latter of which is pretty awesome.

[DaddyTorgo]

I imagine dropbox must be pretty sweet and useful

[stevew]

What is the practical battery life?

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I imagine dropbox must be pretty sweet and useful

It's just so damn useful between using my laptop, iPad and the work computer.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by stevew

What is the practical battery life?

I've NEVER had a battery problem. I don't use mine for music at all. I have a Zune for that, it's a lot smaller and more useful. So I have about 20 GB free on my 32 GB one anyway. I've watched a few movies on it, but never more than one or two on there at any one time. So it's mostly just for books and work productivity stuff.

They say it's about six hours and that sounds about right to me. The lowest my battery has ever been on in a given time is about 44% and that's with having it out all day. But I never use it for more than a few hours at a time anyway when I'm out, which is partially why it like it.

I imagine if you're doing more intensive things with it like watching a ton of movies or whatever, you'd have less battery life with it though, so keeping the charger handy if possible would be smart. But unlike my laptop, I never have to travel with anything other than the iPad and it's great.

I'd suggest getting a case that has a screen cover, because the fingerprints will drive you crazy. I bought the apple case for $30ish and it's nice to carry but some of the nicer spendier ones might be better...I didn't do a lot of homework. Also, the stylus if you can manage to get your hands on one is also pretty useful because it'll keep you from having to use fingers as much and they're pretty cheap.

I won't in the near future, but might invest in the iPad dock and keyboard down the road. They'd still be easier to carry around than my laptop in a small bag and would eliminate my only real problem which is the whole typing issue because I have somewhat unorthodox typing habits and tend to be more productive with a keyboard I can touch to minimize mistakes.

[Young Drachma]

Coaches look at this app:

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by samifan24

Do you also own an iPhone? If so, do you feel the same way about the iPhone as the iPad? Just curious.

Yes, I do. I love them both. I really feel that they are the best tech items that I've ever bought, and I've bought a lot of stuff over the years. I already had a netbook for example but the iPad has completely taken over from that - it's just so much easier to use and I don't have to worry about the screen resolution or whether I can get programs to work for it.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by stevew

What is the practical battery life?

It's been great for me - a few times when I have had it out and used it pretty much all day for reading ebooks, surfing the web, playing some games, reading magazines with Zinio, etc, I've needed to plug it in at the end of the day. In my normal use I plug it in every few days - it doesn't seem to lose charge much at all when you're not using it (at least my non-3G one doesn't) so it's usually good to go.

[Peregrine]

triple dola - yikes. This is my current favorite app - just so many stunning pictures of amazing places all over the world, it's incredible.

Fotopedia Heritage

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

I use Notepad Pro and I've also purchased Notes, Numbers and Keynote. But Notepad pro works well. The Notes app that it comes with works just fine though, so if you don't want to buy Notepad Pro, you're not missing a ton.

I also have the Evernote and Dropbox, the latter of which is pretty awesome.

So you have to use the annoying keyboard to take notes? Ugh. I just can't see liking that. I feel like I want to be able to take notes in a style more similar to writing on paper.

[Peregrine]

There are several apps that let you write directly on the screen instead of using the keyboard - Penultimate and Paperdesk are two I know of - there are probably more.

[rjolley]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Coaches look at this app:

As a coach, this app almost sells an iPad for me.

[Young Drachma]

Also, the free Adobe Ideas app is great for scribbling.

[MizzouRah]

Ok that CoachPad app is sweet. Need to get me an Ipad one of these days.

[Daimyo]

Originally Posted by stevew

What is the practical battery life?

My battery has never dropped below 50% in a day in which it started at 100% and I guess I use it 5-6 hours in a typical day so I think it should hit pretty close to the 10 hours Apple claims. Its certainly not like a smartphone that needs to be charged at least once a day.

[stevew]

Omg. This is fucking awesome. Had to get the 32 gig because they were out of the 16 gig. Got some accessories at TJ Maxx of all places but they were cheap as heck. This is basically the perfect size for me to type on.

[Peregrine]

Nice stevew - welcome to the club. It's great device and a lot of fun.

[stevew]

i have bluetooth headphones, so actually I'm going to use it as an mp3 player quite a bit.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Daimyo

My battery has never dropped below 50% in a day in which it started at 100% and I guess I use it 5-6 hours in a typical day so I think it should hit pretty close to the 10 hours Apple claims. Its certainly not like a smartphone that needs to be charged at least once a day.

I agree here on battery life. FAR more than six hours worth of life. I use mine at the office throughout the day as a productivity/task-list tracker. I use it at home to read a book or to surf the net casually while watching TV. I sometimes use it to play the odd game to pass time. While traveling I use it to navigate through traffic issues or find restaurants, not to mention that I listen to audio books pretty much if I'm in the car alone. Pretty much I use it all of the time, and I don't even charge it every day.

I will say that battery life is also dependent on what you are doing. Listening to music or audiobooks takes almost no juice. Reading with a kindle like app uses more, but does not hog resources. Surfing the net 3g or wifi is more battery draining still, but I wouldn't call it conspicuous usage. The big drain on battery life is game play. When I've drained the battery all of the way down, as is recommended, I've used games to suck the last 20% of life out of it. Draining the battery is actually something I have to work at.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by stevew

i have bluetooth headphones, so actually I'm going to use it as an mp3 player quite a bit.

Oooh how well do those work? I hadn't even thought of that.

[samifan24]

For those of you that have chosen the 3G model over the WiFi model, do you find yourself using the 3G often enough to justify the purchase price or are you mainly using it on WiFi?

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by samifan24

For those of you that have chosen the 3G model over the WiFi model, do you find yourself using the 3G often enough to justify the purchase price or are you mainly using it on WiFi?

I only use my phone as a phone, so I have no data plan. The way I look at it is that $29/month is a helluva lot cheaper than most of the phone data plans available. The iPad is with me enough that I use it for almost all of my texting even. When I'm where I can use wifi I do. It is faster, and Apple/ATT have throttled back some of the capability of the 3g.

What I mean by throttled back is that they've put limits in place. For example, when I went to update Football Manager and Small World via 3g, I was denied. I got a message stating that I had to use wifi due to the size of the objects. Those are just two of the larger apps that I've run into this on. Another example I emailed my fantasy prep material, an 8 MB .pdf to myself, and I had to get my buddy's guest network key in order to download it to the iPad.

All in all, I use the 3g enough to justify it for myself.

[DaddyTorgo]

Whores. Limiting data.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

What I mean by throttled back is that they've put limits in place. For example, when I went to update Football Manager and Small World via 3g, I was denied. I got a message stating that I had to use wifi due to the size of the objects.

They do the same thing with the iPhone.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by stevew

i have bluetooth headphones, so actually I'm going to use it as an mp3 player quite a bit.

I've been looking at BT stereo headphones. Which do you have? Do you like 'em?

/tk

[Peregrine]

Definitely excited about the wireless printing and wireless streaming from iTunes that were announced yesterday, not to mention multitasking - unfortunately we have to wait till November to get the update!

[stevew]

RE bluetooth headphones: I have some older model Nokia branded headphones. They really aren't as loud as I would like. However they also have a mic built in. I primarily use them for video gaming. I think they are an older profile bluetooth. New they were roughly 100. I got them on sears clearance for 20 bucks though.

[stevew]

Anyone get Madden? I generally don't go over 5 dollars on games like this, but it looks decent enough for 10 bucks.

I bought the following thus far
Pac Man-iPad
GravityHD-iPad
Burger Time-iPod
Friendly(worth it)-iPad
Oregon Trail-iPod
Angry Birds HD-iPad
bunch of other namco games that were .99 cents

[Young Drachma]

I got Madden out of curiosity and I'm largely not impressed.

Good games list though, will have to check some of them out. Curious about Oregon Trail especially.

[stevew]

Gravity is pretty cool for awhile, unfortunately i hit a wall and can't figure out a level. I guess i could youtube it probably.

[stevew]

Get app shopper. It's free. Has price data too. I see I got a lot of stuff on sale.

[Peregrine]

I found this interesting - especially since I'm going to Pompeii myself in 10 days.

Apple - Discovering ancient Pompeii with iPad.

[stevew]

anybody have the otterbox defender or commuter?

[Peregrine]

I've read a few reviews of those but don't have one. Sounds like they are great protection but kind of bulky.