iPad as sole computer

[haven]

In recent days, a couple of blogger/commentators have posted that they now use (or could use) the new iPad as their mobile computer.

Andy Ihnatko, technology blogger, Chicago Sun Times: "I've let go of my last shreds of desire for an 11in MacBook Air."
http://www.macworld.co.uk/blogs/?entryid=3348320&blogid=8

Shawn Blanc, independent blogger: "My MacBook Air is now my 'desktop' and my iPad is now my 'laptop.' "
http://shawnblanc.net/2012/04/stocks-cloud/

Matt Hamblin, Computerworld: "...having the Apple Bluetooth keyboard was invaluable."
http://blogs.computerworld.com/19946/adjusting_to_ipad_instead_of_laptop

Casey Newton, SFGate.com: "Do I need a laptop? The answer, I've decided after a week with the new tablet, is no."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/23/BUAG1NPGPJ.DTL

MacRumors forum post: "12% of survey replaced their laptop with iPad, 24% hardly use their laptop anymore"
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1351978

 

[justfred]

Multitasking vs Singletasking

One major difference between the iPad (or other tablets) and a standard laptop/desktop - the pad OS is designed for singletasking (with backgrounding and alerts); desktop OS are designed for multitasking. Either one has its advantages, depending on your workstyle. If I want to copy items from a website to a spreadsheet (for example), multitasking is required. If I want a window in the background showing my Facebook account, while I work on the Great American Novel in a word processor - can't do that well on a pad.

The pad benefit here is focus. If I don't have the Facebook or distraction (except for alerts, which can be disabled) I'm more likely to keep working on my novel.

As a web designer - I need multitasking, so I can code in one window and see the web results in another window. Very difficult to do on a pad (without a purpose-built IDE/browser app).

Another setup to consider - iPhone (or other smartphone) plus bluetooth keyboard, and an app like Evernote. I use this for writing my journal when I'm on the road - it's a lot less conspicuous and easier to carry than an iPad.

 

[goodtimes]

Yea . . . I don't see tablets replacing laptops anytime soon - particularly for people in traditional business environments. Right now, I have SAP, a suite of 3 SAP front end applications, 4 individual instances of Excel, Lotus Notes, and Firefox running. I'm bouncing between every one of them . . . a tablet just isn't going to cut it.

When I walk out the door to visit a customer or a supplier, or I go home for the day - I'm typically only running one application at a time, and would really like a tablet for those times - but it just won't cut it for most of my day.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Let me start by saying we're an Apple family. I have a love hate relationship with Apple. I think anyone that has been around Apple for any amount of time probably does too.

I was resistant to an IPad for awhile, refused to buy one etc. my employer gave me one and at first I didn't use it much. After having it and using it, I have to admit that I currently use it for 95% of my Internet and computer needs. As others have said, it's lack of multi tasking bothers me. Photo editing is still done on the Mac as well as any serious writing.

The iPad serves as a great "Always on" machine, but if I had to choose just one, it would be an a
Air, or a Pro before the pad.

 

[Frank]

I am about to start my MBA and going to try using a Apple Bluetooth keyboard combined with my iPad2 for my work. I am going to use 'pages' to write with. This combo will get an honest 8 weeks to see if I like it. If it works, it will save me from buying another computer. -which would be a Mac Air.

 

[loren85022]

I ditched the laptop and travel soley with an iPad. No question it would not be funtional (or productive) if I had much real work to produce. But thats how I like it. I'm not even tempted to delve into work. Short email replies, and reviews of my reality back home. Otherwise, i use and love it for navigating, info finding, and reading this forum (via Tapatalk app). Prolly not for veryone, but for me it keeps me enjoying all things real. AND, I'm still 100% happy with my original iPad.

 

[LR Max]

While I don't have an iPad, I do travel with a tablet. Work has blocked personal email, pandora, and half of the internet on the work laptops. Rather than carrying a second laptop for personal use, I bought a tablet.

It has been very good for streaming media, quickly replying to emails, looking up places to eat on google maps, and watching movies on the airplane. However it won't be replacing a laptop. At my home my tablet is used for most internet viewing. However opening the laptop is sometimes refreshing. I'm like, "aaaahhhhhhhhh I can easily copy and paste words!!".

It is a good compromise piece of equipment when you start concerning yourself with size and weight.

 

[off-roader]

I recently went on a business trip to Australia where I used both my Asus UX31 and my iPad (considered the Air but too expensive to switch). Presentations on the clients projector using an iPad? Processing pics in PS? Flash video on websites? Good luck handling those tasks.

Otherwise, it's capable for pretty much everything else I do on a computer.

 

[jCubed]

Presentations on the clients projector using an iPad? Processing pics in PS? Flash video on websites? Good luck handling those tasks.

Carry an Apple TV!
Use anyone of the many photo editing apps. Who really edits that many photos unless it's around your business?
Flash is almost died, give it 12-18 months.

 

[off-roader]

Carry an Apple TV!
Use anyone of the many photo editing apps. Who really edits that many photos unless it's around your business?
Flash is almost died, give it 12-18 months.

From a business POV, my laptop will be far superior to the Apple TV & iPad.

As for editing pics, I do and photography's not my business but a passion. I think of photo editing this way... People who don't process their images are the equivalent of those campers who camp at KOA campgrounds. Fine for the most basic camping experience

That said, I've tried several of the iOS photo processing apps and frankly they're simplistic at best and most don't handle camera Raw files. Perhaps as the market matures they'll improve but for now, they're too simple for my needs. In reality I don't do too much editing to 95% of my images but for that other 5%, the iPad won't cut it.

Plus the inability to multitask makes the iOS platform exceptionally limited for any real computing which I sometimes have to do. I frequently have to use a Realcomputer to perform a demo for customers using more business oriented solutions (Oracle or SQL Server db, application logic layer, & a front end (web & desktop app)). Thats NOT happening on an iPad. LOL...

"Flash is almost dead." won't fly as an excuse when you can't view a site you need to view for work.

Oh and you can't use an iPad to rip DVDs and bluerays to view on your iPad while on a flight to say... Australia... Yeah, recently had to deal with each of these problems on a business trip to Sydney, Melbourne, & Canberra.

 

[Adventure IQ]

Love my ipad....the only thing I cant do is push my podcast to the libsyn server wher it is hosted. Pages is limited for the type of stuff I do.....I do all my blogs from the ipad...i still do design work on a desktop......but I have not carried a laptop to a meeting in over a year.....and rarely without my ipad.

 

[Cole]

I've used an iPad exclusively since the original launch.

Used in business everyday. (owned a Financial business).

My impression is that the people that say it " can't do X" have not spent the time to figure out how to make it do it. There is a bit of a mind shift and learning curve. For what 95% of what people "really" do with a computer, you can do with an iPad.

 

[Frank]

I am about to start my MBA and going to try using a Apple Bluetooth keyboard combined with my iPad2 for my work. I am going to use 'pages' to write with. This combo will get an honest 8 weeks to see if I like it. If it works, it will save me from buying another computer. -which would be a Mac Air.

Found it!

(from another thread I just posted this info in)

I posted someplace else that I was trying to use my iPad and my Apple blu-tooth keyboard as my primary computer for my MBA program. My $300 Acer laptop lasted longer than I thought a $300 Acer ever would but it eventually died (which is why I gave my ipad as my replacement a shot).

I've been through 1 class with my iPad as my 'computer' and I just don't think it will be my ticket. It's very time consuming to try and read an article online and write about the article at the same time, it's difficult to copy/paste, its difficult to format the document, there really is no way to 'file' documents, you cant have a mouse and keyboard connected at the same time...these are just things I have found during my first class. Pages is awesome though! I can't imagine putting together a power point or spread sheet on an iPad though I haven't had the need to do so, yet.

What it is great for (in terms of school) ...carrying it to class and having it rather than a laptop. I do not take notes on it, I still use a pen and paper for that. The Apple keyboard is loud by the way. I do like having Google at my finger tips in class. I submit everything electronic (or did for my last course) ...having it also on my iPad in class was great to have. I did do a small presentation and used my iPad as my notes rather than a paper or something of that sort which worked perfect.

The keyboard is great for writing emails and such!

Bottom line, it has many great uses, but based on my experience...its not replacing a laptop.

 

[Cole]

Found it!


Pages is awesome though! I can't imagine putting together a power point or spread sheet on an iPad though I haven't had the need to do so, yet. .

Power point type presentations in Keynote are stupid easy and fast. Spreadsheets are even easy in numbers.

Is just different.

I started taking all my notes for client meetings and phone call/desk notes with my ipad. Just using the on screen keyboard. (The more you use it the better you get)

It's AWESOME that all of those notes are searchable by keyword and with IOS 6 they will instantly be available on your iPhone and Mac too.

 

[Chazz Layne]

To declare flat-out that the iPad (or other tablet) is incapable of replacing the computer (or can't anytime soon) is ignorant at best, and at worst is downright misleading to someone who's considering it. It really depends on what the end user needs from a computer. Many tasks mentioned as "things the iPad can't do" (or can't do well) happen to be exactly what I use mine for on a regular basis. The iPad has completely replaced my notebook, the latter of which hasn't left the house/office in over a year.

Writing, for example, I mostly do on an iPad these days (with keyboard). I can't say I've ever felt limited by the interface in any way, quite the opposite: I find it totally liberating. In much the same way that many authors will pick up a pen and paper for their first draft because they feel the keyboard stifles their creativity (scientifically proven, in fact), the "limitations" make things easier for me and the end result is better for it. If I need to reference another source or look something up, it's a simple matter of flipping the page (four-finger-swipe = command-tab) just as I would with a stack of books, magazines, or newspapers.

The same applies to web development, though I only do about half of it on the iPad as I make heavy use of the 10-key, home key, and end key when I'm coding. That, and valid testing simply requires a desktop (2 actually, a PC and a Mac).

There's two types of photo edit I generally do. One is only done at home, after the trip, with hundreds of photos, and often involves letting a batch run unattended while I do something else. Obviously this is best done on a real workstation (preferably with quad-cores and lots of RAM). The other type is on the road, with photos of the trip in progress. To date, I've been able to do everything I would normally do with a notebook on the road, with an iPad on the road. It's also been easier and faster to do for edits in the field. Sure, nothing beats a big monitor when editing, but if we're talking apples to apples I doubt any of you are dragging a 30-inch screen along with you on a trip.

I have better IT/Network tools on the iPad than I ever did when I was in the industry, and they cost far less. Remote Desktop, VNC, SSH, Telnet, trace/ping and a whole host of other troubleshooting, planning and analytical tools are all readily available. Depending on the infrastructure you're supporting, even firmware updates can be applied from the iPad.

If anything, navigation is better and more convenient on the iPad than a notebook. The exception here would be the niche of a niche trying to run APRS on their mapping software (HAM geek stuff). There may be support for this, I've never looked.

I'll grant that there are several tasks that simply cannot be done on a tablet, but they are in the minority, and typically covered by employer-provided hardware (CAD, SAP, and a few others were mentioned). The other big area lacking is simply due to a lack of software support: print design. I'll often do an initial sketch on the iPad, but there's nothing even remotely close to Adobe InDesign available yet (nor are there any plans for it).