iPad Insight

[Deftscythe]

So I've decided I want to get a tablet and most of the articles and reviews I've been reading have lead me to the conclusion the iPad is best suited for my purposes. I've used a friend's iPad extensively but there are some things he doesn't use it for that I would. I'm hoping any iPad owners here can give me some insights before I make my final decision.

1)Skype: This is my primary tool for messaging and VOIP on my PC and I know there's an IOS app version, but it's hard to get a handle on the quality of it from googling. Any significant differences between the platforms?

2)ebooks: How does this work on IOS? Is there some itunes equivalent for books I'll be stuck with or can I use whatever ebook format?

3)Sound: The speaker on my friend's ipad is of a quality I'd call meh at best and while his is an older version I've heard the most recent incarnation isn't much better in this regard. However the sound quality via the headphone jack is said to be much better. Y/N?

[Tyche]

1. idk, never used skype. I'll say the front camera sucks.
2. ibooks. pretty mich every book released is available there. Can also load ebooks you find online with relative ease. Also a kindle app so you can read books you bought from amazon.
3. It's not really load, the external. The headphone jack works fine. The quality of both seem fine to me, but I'm not banging load music either. Mostly audiobooks and podcasts.

[Krandor]

Like Tyche, don't use Skype

iBooks/Kindle App are your best options in the iOS world for reading e-books. Sideloading book files into iBooks can be a bit of a hassle, but the app itself is fairly competent.

Sound qualify on any tablet speaker is going to be dogshit, laws of physics apply there. Headphone out in any Apple product is going to be good, probably better then any other tablet. If you're legitimately concerned about audio quality, LOD to a headphone amp is the way to go.

[Boyiee]

So I've decided I want to get a tablet and most of the articles and reviews I've been reading have lead me to the conclusion the iPad is best suited for my purposes. I've used a friend's iPad extensively but there are some things he doesn't use it for that I would. I'm hoping any iPad owners here can give me some insights before I make my final decision.

1)Skype: This is my primary tool for messaging and VOIP on my PC and I know there's an IOS app version, but it's hard to get a handle on the quality of it from googling. Any significant differences between the platforms?

2)ebooks: How does this work on IOS? Is there some itunes equivalent for books I'll be stuck with or can I use whatever ebook format?

3)Sound: The speaker on my friend's ipad is of a quality I'd call meh at best and while his is an older version I've heard the most recent incarnation isn't much better in this regard. However the sound quality via the headphone jack is said to be much better. Y/N?

1) Skype
Wonderful on an iPad. It was the only way I was able to talk to my girlfriend while she was in Dubai for 2 weeks. We only had wifi only ones, but we talked the entire hour she was stuck in an airport and every single night where she was staying. Before using it on the iPad my only experience with skype was on my PC doing PVP in WoW, I'd have to say that the quality is nearly identical. Once in a while you get a little delay or short skip, maybe even a quick disconnect, but it was absolutely great for what we were using it for. Dubai is pretty far from New Jersey too.

2) Books
I have about 30 books on my iPad. I will say that I'd prefer using them on a kindle because nothing beats a kindles screen and that e-ink shit for books, but the iPad is a close 2nd. I haven't paid for a book yet, I've torrented them all and used a quick program I found to convert them to the proper format for iPad if they weren't already in that format. Like Tyche said there is even a kindle app if you use amazon for your book buying. One of the main reasons I bought an iPad was to either torrent or buy e-versions of my textbooks for college, I figured 4 text books torrented would pay for the iPad in itself. Turns out none of the texts I've needed have been available so far after 2 semesters of bullshit courses. I've had lots of trouble with all those sites that have all the textbook files but haven't gotten lucky yet. Luckily I'm on a grant so I've just financial aided all my books anyway, so they were still free.

3) Sound
Headphone jack is fine. Great for music and movies, which I have about 5-8 movies on mine at any one time. The speaker isn't great, it's not very loud, especially since its positioned in the back. I've sometimes cupped my hand behind it to reflect the sound towards me for when I've used it in a running vehicle. Although it does get loud enough to disturb people in a public library - Probably shouldn't have used American History X as our clip for that group project.

So far I've found my iPad both worth it and not worth it. I bought it for textbooks and notes for school. Text's I've failed hard with so far, and notes while okay are that at best. If that actually. Plus, more and more professors are trying to get away from you using electronics for notes, not to mention get away from notes entirely if they can. Every semester I get less and less professors that allow the use of an iPad in class.

edit: I think the program I use for turning torrented or non-iOS ebook files into iOS files is called Callibre.

[Krandor]

http://calibre-ebook.com/

Great program, used it for years with my Kindle and tablets. Implementation for iOS hardware is a little clunky, it will treat iTunes as the "hardware" and import it into to your media library.

[rezn0r]

+1 for Calibre, it's an excellent program. I never had an iPad so... </useless post>

[Omnipotent]

If you have an iphone or iMac, get an android tablet. The iphone is literally the exact same thing as an iPad just smaller, you will find yourself never using the iPad because of your phone and laptop/desktop. Get an android to spice things up and make it different.

[octopus]

you will find yourself never using the iPad because of your phone and laptop/desktop.

Eh.... maybe that's the case for you, but I use my iPad over my iphone and laptop for web browsing/games/books almost all the time.

[Tyche]

I have an iPhone, iPad, desktop, laptop, kindle fire, and a coby. The iPad gets more use than every other peripheral combined. I do like the fire, it's rooted with an android interface. I'd love a nexus tablet. Still, the app selection is inferior although the ease of pirating can offset that weakness.

[Krandor]

App selection for games is inferior (though made up for imo by easr of access to emulators on Android). Non games I would give the edge to Android at this point, since users aren't effectively forced into Apple's sometimes inferior 1st party products.

Comic reader (Comicrack), e-books (Aldiko and others), music players (Hone Mad, Poweramp), browser (too many to name), launchers, etc. Any actually useful app is probably going to have a superior option on Android.

[Tyche]

There's a lot of incredibly good 3rd party apps for ios and most on android have an apple port. Apple isn't Nintendo lol, they aren't monopolizing third party apps. Tbh, I don't think I have any first party apps. iBooks I guess.

[Krandor]

Safari/Music/Messages/Calendar/Video player?

Was generally referring to things embedded in the OS where it's more trouble then its worth to try to usr a superior program.

[Ayn]

Also going to vouch for Skype on iPad.

Heck of a lot more convenient than on my PC or Laptop. Quality for me, at least, is pretty much identical.

[Boyiee]

Also going to vouch for Skype on iPad.

Heck of a lot more convenient than on my PC or Laptop. Quality for me, at least, is pretty much identical.

Yepp I feel the same.