Is the new ipad for me?

Irishchick

I am considering purchasing a tablet and I was wondering if some people who own one could advise me.

Im thinking of buying the 16gb new ipad with wifi.

Id be using the tablet for:

Viewing and editing power point files,
viewing and editing Microsoft word ( or any doc file)
Reading and editing pdf files (some would be quite large)

would the ipad be capable of doing these tasks?

Thanks in advance.

Dades

Those all sound to me like tasks that would be a LOT easier done on a laptop.
I'm not sure Adobe has a version of Writer for iPad, either.

TBH, great and all as the iPad is, its not really for creation, more for consumption.

Irishchick

I wanted a tablet because its so portable.

Tom Dunne

No, an iPad would not be suitable for you for these tasks.

Have you looked at netbooks? They are very portable and would probably be better suited for what you want.

whiterebel

No, not for those tasks.

Irishchick

I thought you could get adobe reader for ipad and that slide shark allows viewing of power point slides??

Sad Professor

You'd have no problem viewing those files types. The issue would be editing them and I wouldn't entirely agree with everyone else. While a laptop would do those editing tasks better, an iPad would be able to do them as well. The lack of file system and having to transfer files back and forth between apps would be the main issue.

I'm not sure about editing PDF files though. That's hard to do even on a PC. I assume you mean adding notes/annotations?

Irishchick

I saw on you tube that there is an app where you can remotely work from your desktop on your ipad allowing you to work on word or powerpoint.

Now that I think about it i don't really ever edit pdf files, just read them.

Jesus Shaves

Irishchick wrote: »

I saw on you tube that there is an app where you can remotely work from your desktop on your ipad allowing you to work on word or powerpoint.

Now that I think about it i don't really ever edit pdf files, just read them.

there is an adobe reader

Sad Professor

Irishchick wrote: »

I saw on you tube that there is an app where you can remotely work from your desktop on your ipad allowing you to work on word or powerpoint.

Sure, but I don't know why anyone would want to do that.

Jesus Shaves

Sad Professor wrote: »

Sure, but I don't know why anyone would want to do that.

Obviously the OP does;)

jonnysimples

I'd agree with the most of the comments so far - the iPad is great for consumption but not so much for creation.

If portabaility is key why not take a look at some of the new ultrabooks that are exteremly slimline? Or if you can hold-off for a few months we should start to see the first Windows 8 ARM devices (slates) being released.

Doylers

Irishchick wrote: »

I saw on you tube that there is an app where you can remotely work from your desktop on your ipad allowing you to work on word or powerpoint.

Now that I think about it i don't really ever edit pdf files, just read them.

If its not for you just give it to me:D You can do remote login but the point people are making is that typing a text document on an ipad would be hard just because the lack of a keyboard.

PowerPoint yeah I do it on my iphone so its not that much effort because theres not much text.

Sad Professor

You don't even need Adobe Reader. Almost anything can open PDF files.

Irishchick

Sad Professor wrote: »

Sure, but I don't know why anyone would want to do that.

To access all the programmes and files on my laptop (word, powerpoint) from an ipad while in college.

You don't think that's a useful feature??

Irishchick

Doylers wrote: »

If its not for you just give it to me:D You can do remote login but the point people are making is that typing a text document on an ipad would be hard just because the lack of a keyboard.

PowerPoint yeah I do it on my iphone so its not that much effort because theres not much text.

I can see the the keyboard might be an issue with word but most of the work I would need to do would be on powerpoint.

Id just use word for note taking.

Sad Professor

Irishchick wrote: »

To access all the programmes and files on my laptop (word, powerpoint) from an ipad while in college.

You don't think that's a useful feature??

No, use DropBox.

I don't necessarily agree with the "good for consumption not for creation" comments. That was probably true a first, but there's almost an app for everything now. I played around with the idea of using my iPad for college and found there was nothing that it wouldn't have potentially been able to handle. The main reason I didn't in the end was due to the lack of keyboard, which really slows you down and makes certain tasks very awkward.

Irishchick

No, use DropBox.

But you still need an application to open those dropbox files like word and powerpoint??

The main reason I didn't in the end was due to the lack of keyboard,

What about a bluetooth keyboard??

Hobbes

Irishchick wrote: »

Reading and editing pdf files (some would be quite large)

I use iAnnotate PDF and it works great for marking up PDF files (Use it when studying). Here is a sample.

http://i.imgur.com/exQM7.png

If you are wondering about the huge picture, it is because of the iPad3 screen resolution is awesome.

The other stuff is Microsoft only, so good luck there.

Keyboard on screen is fine for typing, you can also use bluetooth keyboards (like Apple keyboard).

Sad Professor

Irishchick wrote: »

But you still need an application to open those dropbox files like word and powerpoint??

Not to view them. The DropBox app can view most file types. To edit them, yes, but there are iPad apps that can do that.

What about a bluetooth keyboard??

Yeah, but personally I wouldn't fancy having to drag a keyboard add-on around. It defeats the purpose of a tablet IMO.

Irishchick

I use iAnnotate PDF and it works great for marking up PDF files (Use it when studying). Here is a sample.

http://i.imgur.com/exQM7.png

Thats exactly what im looking for, thanks. I suppose with the dropbox app you wouldnt need to waste loads of space putting files on the ipad itself?

Does the ipad have the notes app like the iphone does?

Dades

Irishchick wrote: »

Does the ipad have the notes app like the iphone does?

Yep. And there's loads of really slick third-party notes apps.

Irishchick, I get the impression you want an iPad regardless of what people say. But I can't say I blame you. I'm typing this on my new one and it *completes me*

Basically I'd say a notebook would be far more suitable for your needs, but you could get away with an iPad.

Tom Dunne

Irishchick wrote: »

To access all the programmes and files on my laptop (word, powerpoint) from an ipad while in college.

Think about it - how would that work? How would you right-click, for example? How would you move the mouse around, etc.

Irishchick wrote: »

What about a bluetooth keyboard??

I have one and it is unusable, quite simply. It is ok for basic note taking, but for anything more, forget it.

I'd have to agree with Dades - you seem to have your mind made up about an iPad, despite what we are telling you.

Irishchick

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Irishchick wrote: »

To access all the programmes and files on my laptop (word, powerpoint) from an ipad while in college.

Think about it - how would that work? How would you right-click, for example? How would you move the mouse around, etc.

Irishchick wrote: »

What about a bluetooth keyboard??

I have one and it is unusable, quite simply. It is ok for basic note taking, but for anything more, forget it.

I'd have to agree with Dades - you seem to have your mind made up about an iPad, despite what we are telling you.

I'd be lying if i said I didn't want one! I really want an ipad but i have to be able tio view powerpoint notes in class to justify the cost.

What is it about the keyboard that makes it so unusable?

When remotely accessing your desktop there I no need for a mouse. It's all touch screen.

Sad Professor

As I said, you won't have any problems viewing powerpoint files. I'm able to view them in the DropBox app. GoodReader and Keynote and numerous other apps can also open them. I'm studying for exams at the moment and I'm reading over all the lecture slides on my iPad.

Tom Dunne

Irishchick wrote: »

What is it about the keyboard that makes it so unusable?

The keyboard seems to have a mind of it's own. It continually loses connection and is too small to type. Now, maybe it's my fat fingers, I don't know, but I don't use it any more.

Irishchick wrote: »

When remotely accessing your desktop there I no need for a mouse. It's all touch screen.

I mean on the PC side. You are mimicking a mouse and it's functionality with a touch screen. It is not very straightforward.

Owenw

I don't know what your budget is but have you considered the Macbook Air? Damn sexy looking sliver of silver aluminium and has proper backlit keyboard.

I've tried hard to justify an iPad but so far only got an iPod Touch (which is cool but has it's limitations.)

Irishchick

Owenw wrote: »

I don't know what your budget is but have you considered the Macbook Air? Damn sexy looking sliver of silver aluminium and has proper backlit keyboard.

I've tried hard to justify an iPad but so far only got an iPod Touch (which is cool but has it's limitations.)

MacBook air is too expensive for me

Doesnt it cost around a grand?

Jesus Shaves

Irishchick wrote: »

MacBook air is too expensive for me

Doesnt it cost around a grand?

Did you get an ipad then?

jakdublin

Irishchick wrote: »

To access all the programmes and files on my laptop (word, powerpoint) from an ipad while in college.

You don't think that's a useful feature??

I do that, but it's only useful in an emergency for accessing files. Trying to edit remotely is slow, awkward and frustrating.

You can do all the things you've mentioned with an iPad, just not as easily in some cases. It's great to have and you won't look back, but I'd imagine you'll still be needing your laptop for heavy work.

Irishchick

Update: I got it and its working great. All the files can be viewed from dropbox, its so handy.

Adobe reader is great too with one exception. When you highlight text the highlighter turns off and you have to turn it back on every time you want to highlight a word or scentence

waynegalway

Irishchick wrote: »

Update: I got it and its working great. All the files can be viewed from dropbox, its so handy.

Adobe reader is great too with one exception. When you highlight text the highlighter turns off and you have to turn it back on every time you want to highlight a word or scentence

Good for you! I have an original iPad and I use it for all kinds of creation of items. It's my primary tool for creating presentations (I'm a lecturer, so I do that a lot!) using Keynote. There are occasional formatting issues with running a powerpoint file through Keynote, but for stuff created directly through Keynote, I can honestly say my slideshows look better than anything I could have done on powerpoint on my pc.

On the keyboard: you can easily get over the non-phsyical keyboard "issue" that some people think is a problem. I wrote two 4,000 word dissertations using Pages on my iPad, and I had no problems. A bluetooth keyboard would just add unnecessary bulk IMO, but try one out before you buy one if you're keen to see for yourself.

On remote access: It's great! I use LogMeIn and Teamviewer (both free), and there are no issues with controlling the mouse on the pc end of the equation...there are specialised buttons on the app to perform functions like right click and ctrl+alt+del

The adobe apps are great too.

Most of the apps I have are for productivity and file creation, so drop me a pm if you need any advice on ones you're thinking of getting.

Irishchick

I will, thanks!