[TheChairGuy]

It's been over a year since the first ipad2 purchase for me and my completely subjective opinion of it is that it is a 'tweener' device not made for me.

I'm posting this topic b/c I want to see if I am overlooking some facet of performance it offers or hear from others that are similiarly disenchanted with it's charms. So, bring on yer' comments.

Please understand I appreciate many things about it. - to whit:

* Built sturdy - feels a jewel in hand
* Screen images are sharp
* Light'ish
* At least at the time of buying, no other tablet compared in price and features

But, when I boil down it's net positives for me....I prefer the iPhone for quick checks of messages, etc and as my business requires many emails with attachments, its inconvenient to pluck attachment from my cloud storage (SugarSync) to use that way.

Honestly, for $500 (16 gig wifi version) + $100 Logitech Blutooth keyboard/cover I could've bought one of many netbooks with bigger screens, internal storage, ability to add software as needed, handle flash sites, etc.

It's not a zero by any means.  I actually own two of these now as my 15" HP laptop was stolen in Lille, France on the way to Germany in October....and, as I needed some device other than my iPhone for the 4 days left on the business trip....I had to buy an iPad because there are no computers with english keyboards available in Germany. 

Btw, the German version I have is notably heavier than the other one (now, my wife's).  I assume getting coveted GS certification in Germany had Apple add thicker gorilla glass or some internal ribbing for reinforcement to meet these strict requirements of GS.

The wife LOVES the product and constantly uses it.....and my daughter happily watches YouTube videos on it.  But, for me, it's a device largely without love for me.

[cujobob]

For quick browsing, student work, mobile video, address book, and time killer for trips its awesome but it's not perfect. Anything you need to do a lot of typing for, a netbook is better. Laptops are starting to get better battery life but ipads all last quite a while and with moderate use can go days without a charge. I hate using my phone for too much browsing because I save my battery for texting or in case I can't charge it in the immediate future.

[mcgsxr]

I bought one for the family this Christmas.  My wife loves it, as her iPhone 4s has trained her well.

My 6 year old daughter is absolutely smitten with the free games on it. 

My 8 year old daughter, when she can pry it from her sister, enjoys it but not with the same vigor.  But, I have just introduced her to how to Google, so now she is beginning to see it as a device to learn from.  We spent a part of this afternoon looking up information about our 2 cats.

I like it for quick net scanning, but could never work on one.  I use my laptop for most of my web surfing, and darn near all my responding!

[stlrman]

It makes a killer remote control for my system.
I really love it also for surfing the net, my 5 year old loves it !!!!!!!
I can't read anything in the really small print on Iphones.

[soundbitten1]

The wife LOVES the product and constantly uses it.....  But, for me, it's a device largely without love for me.

That's how I feel.

[MoonUnit]

I generally agree with you, but I find that all devices at this price level are pretty limited. I spent some time shopping for netbooks a while ago and was consistently disappointed with the screen quality (not just resolution, but viewing angles and colour gamut). I would pay quite a premium for an IPS screen like the iPad2 in a netbook, and would pay a premium more than the actual price of an iPad3 for a netbook with the iPad3's screen.

[totoro]

I guess it depends on what you want it for. For my uses, it's great. For work, I need a machine with a lot more ram than I can reasonably get in a laptop (my workstation has 72G), so laptops really don't fill any need for me.

For reading mail, surfing the web, controlling my stereo, playing go, reading books, reading technical papers (stored on dropbox), and watching videos, it's great.

Essentially, I view it as a device primarily for consuming data, not creating it, and I love it.

[TheChairGuy]

I don't know if I need a tablet at all - but my small print sight (at 49yo) is still quite good (I have more probs seeing distance, but not size) so the iPhone works well for me that way.

I actually find the 9" screen off-putting...its too big to be small and too small to be big enough. If I was looking for a larger iPhone experience, I'd buy a 7" screen (like Kindle, Nook, etc)

Ive read Apple is going to market a smaller screened version...maybe that one would strike my fancy more than this one has.  At least the wife and wee one digs it it's just me that finds it ultimately underwhelming 

[jqp]

Have you tried the Macbook Air 13" ? It has 1400x900 screen and can run Mac OS and/or Win 7. Since it has an SSD it is super fast.

I have the Kindle Fire - a great little form factor - it is a sometime book replacement for me, that also offers web surfing and music and android apps. I pretty much use it exclusively for reading fiction, not much web surfing. Definitely a consumption device, I think it is the best form factor for reading books. I can read outdoors since the brightness can really be cranked up.

[Tyson]

Ipad is great for streaming movies and music, poor for any kind of productivity use.

[Pez]

Let's just clear the air in all the stupid BS tech sites write regarding a smaller iPad for factor. Steve Jobs was absolutely vehement about never releasing a smaller version of the iPad. It's not going to happen end of story.

As far as chairdude being lukewarm to the iPad it is odd honestly. I love mine, my wife does, my daughter does, my mom AND dad do (my dad carries it with him like it's an extension of his body) obviously all anticdotal, but honestly you are the first real person I've ever met that truly didn't like/love iPad.

[Tyson]

Oh, and it's great for facetime, far better than a smartphone, IMO.

[JohnR]

As far as chairdude being lukewarm to the iPad it is odd honestly. I love mine, my wife does, my daughter does, my mom AND dad do (my dad carries it with him like it's an extension of his body) obviously all anticdotal, but honestly you are the first real person I've ever met that truly didn't like/love iPad.

I'm lukewarm too. But then I don't have one I think jqp put it into perspective well, when he talked about a "consuming" device vs a "producing" device. I imagine that it would be "nice" as a remote for the audio system, but seriously that's the only real use I've been able to think of for one! And I can live with using an iPhone for that, which is after all free.

[soundbitten1]

Oh, and it's great for facetime, far better than a smartphone, IMO.

That's my favorite use ... goofing around with the grandkids on facetime. I'll probably learn to love the new ipad in time ... if I can ever pry it away from my wife.   

[Pez]

I'm lukewarm too. But then I don't have one I think jqp put it into perspective well, when he talked about a "consuming" device vs a "producing" device. I imagine that it would be "nice" as a remote for the audio system, but seriously that's the only real use I've been able to think of for one! And I can live with using an iPhone for that, which is after all free.

All I have to say about the whole consuming/producing thing is this: My live blow by blow RMAF coverage would not have been possible WITHOUT the iPad period. A 13" MBA is too big to carry around and even my 11" MBA would require a 3G dongle or some other irritation that wouldn't have worked right. And a mere smartphone could not do enough to make coverage possible. So in many very real ways iPad is superior to anything else for on the go productivity.

[ctviggen]

It's been over a year since the first ipad2 purchase for me and my completely subjective opinion of it is that it is a 'tweener' device not made for me.

I'm posting this topic b/c I want to see if I am overlooking some facet of performance it offers or hear from others that are similiarly disenchanted with it's charms. So, bring on yer' comments.

Please understand I appreciate many things about it. - to whit:

* Built sturdy - feels a jewel in hand
* Screen images are sharp
* Light'ish
* At least at the time of buying, no other tablet compared in price and features

But, when I boil down it's net positives for me....I prefer the iPhone for quick checks of messages, etc and as my business requires many emails with attachments, its inconvenient to pluck attachment from my cloud storage (SugarSync) to use that way.

Honestly, for $500 (16 gig wifi version) + $100 Logitech Blutooth keyboard/cover I could've bought one of many netbooks with bigger screens, internal storage, ability to add software as needed, handle flash sites, etc.

It's not a zero by any means.  I actually own two of these now as my 15" HP laptop was stolen in Lille, France on the way to Germany in October....and, as I needed some device other than my iPhone for the 4 days left on the business trip....I had to buy an iPad because there are no computers with english keyboards available in Germany. 

Btw, the German version I have is notably heavier than the other one (now, my wife's).  I assume getting coveted GS certification in Germany had Apple add thicker gorilla glass or some internal ribbing for reinforcement to meet these strict requirements of GS.

The wife LOVES the product and constantly uses it.....and my daughter happily watches YouTube videos on it.  But, for me, it's a device largely without love for me.

My wife and I can't figure out what the hysteria is over iPads.  Kindles are better for reading, and we each have one.  We don't play games or watch movies on the iPad (we don't play electronic games at all and why watch movies on an iPad when you have a 92 inch screen with 7.1 sound?).  You can't really do "work" on an iPad; we use computers for any true email, documents, etc.

For us, we use the iPad every once and a while to surf the web.  That's it.  However, since we both got smartphones, we typically use those instead.  We take the iPad out maybe once a week if that.  Sometimes it gathers dust for weeks.  It also seems that a lot of the websites I want to see have Flash, so I use my android phone for those (and it's one less incentive to pick up an iPad).

Now, if I were younger and in college or just out of college, I could see where the iPad might be nice, to stream Netflix, etc.  I'm well beyond that though. 

[TheChairGuy]

Let's just clear the air in all the stupid BS tech sites write regarding a smaller iPad for factor. Steve Jobs was absolutely vehement about never releasing a smaller version of the iPad. It's not going to happen end of story.

As far as chairdude being lukewarm to the iPad it is odd honestly. I love mine, my wife does, my daughter does, my mom AND dad do (my dad carries it with him like it's an extension of his body) obviously all anticdotal, but honestly you are the first real person I've ever met that truly didn't like/love iPad.

Jason,

The Kindle Fire's success HAS to have changed the idea at Apple if they are to keep their 60% market share in tablets.  You can buy very basic 7" tablets as low as USD$69.99 today....MANY folks aren't going to willingly spend $500 in that competitive environment.

Some of the competitors:
J & R Music: http://www.jr.com/category/computers/notebooks-and-tablets/pc-tablets/

Fry's: http://www.frys.com/search?query_string=&site=sa:Tablets%20&cat=-68332&pType=pDisplay&sort=price%20asc&start=0&cat=-68332&from=0&to=24

I've been in consumer products for 25 years....no leader in a hotly contested segment worth $billions could avoid entering the fray to keep their product on the shelves. It's with about 98% confidence that Apple will have a smaller tablet available out within a year.

Steve Jobs is no longer with us and competitive environment is not what it was 2 years ago when he vehemently dispelled the notion of a smaller iPad.

[Pez]

I have to disagree with you on that. Apple completely avoided the fray when he came to netbooks. Then 2 to 3 years after netbooks were made popular the iPad came along and destroy the netbook market. As far as Steve Jobs no longer being with us, His leadership is built in to the DNA of Apple now. in essence there is no way that just because his leadership is no longer at Apple that they will revert to a company that just follows something that may be popular ie netbooks and kindles, just because they are the bottom feeders of the tech field. There is no money in netbooks and there is no money in making cheap garbage tablets with the hope of surviving on content alone. if Amazon even break even on tablet sales with their current strategy I will eat my hat.

[Don_S]

I thought I had a slow internet connection until I got my iPad3.  Pages load almost explosively on my iPad compared to my wired desktop and wireless laptop.  Pages really slog on my desktop and laptop.

Are Apple laptop and desktops just as fast?  What makes an iPad so fast and fun to use? I also like the feature of being able to expand images and print. I am just getting used to my iPad but so far I am 

Sent from my iPad and Zaggfolio

[TheChairGuy]

I have to disagree with you on that. Apple completely avoided the fray when he came to netbooks. Then 2 to 3 years after netbooks were made popular the iPad came along and destroy the netbook market. As far as Steve Jobs no longer being with us, His leadership is built in to the DNA of Apple now. in essence there is no way that just because his leadership is no longer at Apple that they will revert to a company that just follows something that may be popular ie netbooks and kindles, just because they are the bottom feeders of the tech field. There is no money in netbooks and there is no money in making cheap garbage tablets with the hope of surviving on content alone. if Amazon even break even on tablet sales with their current strategy I will eat my hat.

Jason,

With siri fully integrated into the architecture of future Apple products....Apple has the killer app to make a smaller tablet, charging more than competitors do for theirs, to engage folks interested in a smaller tablet (and, perhaps less so, to cater to an audience that wants to spend a little less money). No one is thinking a smaller tablet will be garbage: merely, that it will be smaller.

Much of the reason for the iPad's success and 60% market share despite a plethora of competitors is that they are charging much the same for their 9" unit as others are charging for their (lesser) designs. I looked around at ALL the available competition a year ago and decided why buy anything else for much the same money as they were certainly no better.

That's a very different equation than when looking at a laptops where the premium for the Apple name is ~ 30% more than for equivalent PC makers. 

You can refer back to this topic within the year, but I will go on record saying that with 98% confidence, Apple will have a smaller and less costly tablet on the market within the year. 25 years of doing what I do and working with buyers from major retailers of all stripes gives me the confidence to state it succinctly.