Nobody Knows What An iPad Is Good For Anymore

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
We've been asking this question since the iPad first came out. ;)

Five years after its debut, the iPad faces an existential dilemma. No one knows what it’s good for. When Apple unveiled its tablet, the value proposition was relatively straightforward. At that time, you had your iPhone 3GS with its tiny screen, and your MacBook with its two-hour battery life. Those products left a nice big swath of casual use cases in-between for a third device to take care of.
 
That's why Microsoft Surface Pro 3 has the upper edge. You can use it for everything. :D
 
I had an iPad 2 for a while before it was stolen. It was fun, and after a speck of jail-breaking, it became somewhat useful. (SSH, terminal, emulators, etc.) However, it was still basically an entertainment product. It's not something that I would consider a productivity tool. If I want to browse in bed, read a book, play a simple game, or something like that, the iPad, or equivalent Android tablet is great. It's just not a credible replacement for a laptop, desktop, or hybrid tablet like the Surface. We have some Surface Pros here at work, and they're not bad. They did a lot right with them.
 
That's why Microsoft Surface Pro 3 has the upper edge. You can use it for everything. :D

You mean a laptop right?

laptop-vs-microsoft-surface.gif
 
I never did figure out what the iPad is for, I have a Nexus 10 and I do use it but it mostly just subs in for my phone when I'm in the living room. It is bigger than my phone, but that's about where the differences end.
 
the ONLY thing I use my tablet for is when I travel on the motorcycle. It's like a makeshift/cheap laptop that takes up a bit less space. Hell, if I had a decent small/thin ultra-book, I probably wouldn't use it as all.
 
I save hundreds a year on magazine subs. The iPad and it's charger sits in the "Library".

I also have one on a goosneck in the bedroom. Perfect for music, netflix, etc...

You don't have to really think hard to find good uses for them.
 
iPad is great as a big brand label like on a shirt but very limited if not useless for anything else. Mine mostly collects dust and has largely been replaced by Windows hybrids like Surface Pro 3 and Thinkpad Helix2.
 
gone the way of the netbook, barely anyone I know uses one anymore, excluding parents who don't know how to use a computer anyway.
 
I save hundreds a year on magazine subs. The iPad and it's charger sits in the "Library".

I also have one on a goosneck in the bedroom. Perfect for music, netflix, etc...

You don't have to really think hard to find good uses for them.

Most of everything I do is done on a desktop, unless I wanna lay down then it's a laptop. My HTPC holds all my media and streams it to any device including live TV, using MediaPortal. My cell phone is what i use when I'm not home, cause I don't feel like carrying a laptop or tablet with me.

The tablet? Gave that to my mom to play games and music. I think people try to hard to fit tablets into their life. I couldn't see myself using it comfortably. How do you hold a tablet up comfortably? You don't. You get a stand and make it into a wannabe laptop. Or use one hand to see how long until your hand gets tired of holding it.
 
I have a Android based MSI Primo 81 which is basically a carbon copy of the ipad mini in Kitkat form. It gets used in the living room to play games and occasionally look stuff up on the net. I'm also playing with XBMC/Kubuntu remote apps. It cost $50 ($40, after a $10 mail in rebate) and it's pretty great. People that drop $500+ on ipads.... wow. Just wow.
 
I had an iPad 2 for a while before it was stolen. It was fun, and after a speck of jail-breaking, it became somewhat useful. (SSH, terminal, emulators, etc.) However, it was still basically an entertainment product. It's not something that I would consider a productivity tool. If I want to browse in bed, read a book, play a simple game, or something like that, the iPad, or equivalent Android tablet is great. It's just not a credible replacement for a laptop, desktop, or hybrid tablet like the Surface. We have some Surface Pros here at work, and they're not bad. They did a lot right with them.

Agreed 100%. It was an entertainment product. Read a book, simple games, browse reddit pics, email... Basic things. It's excellent at those basic things, though. RT is the same way. Surface Pro is much, much better. Even in tablet mode, it's so much more. Throw that keyboard on there, and it's excellent.
 
Yeah my iPad has outlived it's usefulness. My iPad one is on toddler duty. My iPad 2 is used, but barely. With iOS8 it's the slowest piece of crap on the planet. It's just terrible. I see no reason to buy another, ever.
 
iPad is still way bigger than a phone, but lighter and easier to use on the couch or shitter than a laptop, with superior battery life to boot.

But that applies to any tablet, not just a iPad.

I also use an iPad Mini as a cheap "glass panel" for GPS/weather/tower/etc info when flying our old bird, and use a Nexus 7 magnetically mounted as my headunit/GPS in my car for playing mad beats, checking weather, navigating, and just grabbing it (wireless charger yo) when I need a bigger screen on the go. I do have a bigass screen Samsung Galaxy S5 though too, but I use it mounted on my A-pillar in the car showing different info such as the display for my "smart" radar detector that connects to it for GPS/internet info on cop locations etc, still useful to have two screens in my car IMO.
 
Actually, there are some good musical purposes for them too. There are quite a few good apps for them for interfacing with synthesizers, modular synths, etc. Those are pretty niche though.
 
Yeah my iPad has outlived it's usefulness. My iPad one is on toddler duty. My iPad 2 is used, but barely. With iOS8 it's the slowest piece of crap on the planet. It's just terrible. I see no reason to buy another, ever.

Yeah iOS 8 ruined the iPad 2. I need to look into how to downgrade it if possible.
 
I like mine to read magazines on airplanes, books and comic books on airplanes, couch surfing, and some gaming (I actually like TD games) ... however, given those uses (especially magazines, books, and comic books) I would like a slightly larger iPad ... I also use it a lot in hotels ... I don't like to use my work laptop for Facebook or some other sites and the tablet is easier for my old eyes than even my large screen smartphone
 
That's why Microsoft Surface Pro 3 has the upper edge. You can use it for everything. :D

Exactly. The former Apple guy pretty much described what MS is doing with 8/10. Of course he may not be saying to use OS X, but at some point, you probably want to figure out how to make your core OS the same. What services/utilities/tools/GUI you use isn't part of an OS, even if virtually every OS out there comes bundled with a GUI, utilities/tools and services.

I'd be interested to here more details about what he wants, because you generally don't see Apple's current/former employees talking up things that MS is doing (unless they've been hired by MS).
 
I like mine to read magazines on airplanes, books and comic books on airplanes, couch surfing, and some gaming (I actually like TD games) ... however, given those uses (especially magazines, books, and comic books) I would like a slightly larger iPad ... I also use it a lot in hotels ... I don't like to use my work laptop for Facebook or some other sites and the tablet is easier for my old eyes than even my large screen smartphone

Solution is Surface Pro 3 or Thinkpad Helix2 running built-in Hyper-V virtualization to keep work and non-work stuff separate and the benefit is you only have to haul one device instead of two through airport security.
 
I never did figure out what the iPad is for, I have a Nexus 10 and I do use it but it mostly just subs in for my phone when I'm in the living room. It is bigger than my phone, but that's about where the differences end.

I don't think this is an iPad problem, it's a tablet problem. Unless you're a woman with a purse or a guy who walks around with a murse, it's not convenient to haul around everywhere. And aside from the bigger screen, if you didn't fork out money for a LTE radio, it does less than your phone.

With that said, I get the tablets (of any size) more than I get phablets. Aside from men with large hands, they're too big. I can hold a 6+ with one hand, but I'd need two hands to do virtually anything with it. I feel like I need a finger extension accessory so I can utilize the bigger devices ;)
 
I see them used for small business Point of Sale with credit card swipers on them. That seems to be a decent use for them.
 
Yeah my iPad has outlived it's usefulness. My iPad one is on toddler duty. My iPad 2 is used, but barely. With iOS8 it's the slowest piece of crap on the planet. It's just terrible. I see no reason to buy another, ever.

This is one thing I dislike about the Apple universe. There should be a way to downgrade older devices. It's never affected me, because I've never had a device that long, but I have enough friends that have to know that this is an issue. Apple either needs to allow downgrading or recommend that certain owners not upgrade.

Allowing a downgrade seems like the better solution.
 
I recently got an iPad Mini 2 from T-Mo, just to see if I'd like it. I do... for my limited uses which are media consumption and general internet. I certainly can't foresee myself doing any serious writing work on it. I could get by just fine without this iPad, but since it's only costing me $20/month over the next 21 months, I'm probably going to keep it.
 
iPad is still way bigger than a phone, but lighter and easier to use on the couch or shitter than a laptop, with superior battery life to boot.

But that applies to any tablet, not just a iPad.

I also use an iPad Mini as a cheap "glass panel" for GPS/weather/tower/etc info when flying our old bird, and use a Nexus 7 magnetically mounted as my headunit/GPS in my car for playing mad beats, checking weather, navigating, and just grabbing it (wireless charger yo) when I need a bigger screen on the go. I do have a bigass screen Samsung Galaxy S5 though too, but I use it mounted on my A-pillar in the car showing different info such as the display for my "smart" radar detector that connects to it for GPS/internet info on cop locations etc, still useful to have two screens in my car IMO.

Hmm...this smart GPS police trap locator sounds interesting. Must remember to research it. Wouldn't need one if highways set the speed limit at 80 (see TX) and the slow drivers would get out of the left lane (see Texas).
 
I recently got an iPad Mini 2 from T-Mo, just to see if I'd like it. I do... for my limited uses which are media consumption and general internet. I certainly can't foresee myself doing any serious writing work on it. I could get by just fine without this iPad, but since it's only costing me $20/month over the next 21 months, I'm probably going to keep it.

This is why a Kindle Fire HDX is perfect for some people.
 
Lol.. tablet hate from a bunch of people who love desktop/gaming PC's. Tablets (specifically iPad's) have replaced laptops and desktops for nearly all my immediate family and significant others, outside of myself.
 
Solution is Surface Pro 3 or Thinkpad Helix2 running built-in Hyper-V virtualization to keep work and non-work stuff separate and the benefit is you only have to haul one device instead of two through airport security.

I would still be stuck with two devices since our IT doesn't support surfaces yet (we are all Lenovo laptops) ... but yes, I have thought of a Surface as a future purchase ... I am still on the fence though because I have a lot of iPad apps (one of the things that keeps me tied to an iphone as well ... app lock in works even more effectively than software lock in to keep people from straying)
 
My dad quit using his laptop in favor of his iPad.
He is 80 so his computer needs are very light.
Email, online banking, some web browsing looking for coupons.
He takes shaky pictures with it, uses it for Skype to talk to my brother and his family and he still grins ear to ear when he does a voice Google search and sees the results.
 
You mean a laptop right?

laptop-vs-microsoft-surface.gif

Except the Surface Pro line is a hybrid native tablet form factor, not a laptop. I'd never recommend the Surface Pro 3 to anyone that didn't plan on using it some significant percentage of the time as a tablet.
 
Main use in the office was older managers who bought them to read emails, as their iPhone screens where too small for them to read :)

Other than that, maybe Target practice ?
 
Lol.. tablet hate from a bunch of people who love desktop/gaming PC's. Tablets (specifically iPad's) have replaced laptops and desktops for nearly all my immediate family and significant others, outside of myself.

This from someone, who's family's computing requirements are so weak they can get by with an iPad.
Let me guess, email and facebook?
 
Apple either needs to allow downgrading or recommend that certain owners not upgrade. Allowing a downgrade seems like the better solution.
^This. My iphone 3GS slowly had more and more apps that didn't work because of hardware requirements that the phone didn't have, and I learned too late not to 'update' the apps because the older versions simply weren't available ANYWHERE anymore. So I had a phone with a bunch of useless, non working apps, all because there was no notice that they were incompatible with older devices. 256 mg of memory simply isn't enough for the new iOS and the 'new and improved' app versions. For the most part, all the old ones worked fine, and the updates were of the it ain't broken so why fix it routine.
 
Apple's earnings released today confirms iPad's death with another 18% drop on top of previous year over year losses. If Apple doesn't come out with a Mac OS X tablet/hybrid they're going to be hurting relying on just iPhones alone.
 
Smartphones got bigger, higher res screens and better hardware. Laptops morphed into ultrabooks, and got thinner, lighter, and have better battery life while still being powerful. That didn't leave any room for tablets, which were always pointless middle child devices similar to netbooks.
 
Tablets are still the ideal device to use when you're taking a shit. It's weird to hear your turds drop while watching Netflix, though.
 
Back
Top