What is an iPad really good for?

It's all perspective. The average users places less value on things like hardware specifications, while the techie or geek factors this in when buying electronics. I'd definitely say apple users are a bit disillusioned.

Apple is a Unix based operating systems, akin to Linux. It is obviously lighter than Windows. But to be fair, Windows was designed to work with a much larger array of hardware and software components. Windows needs to be compatible and optimized to work with hundreds of drivers, keyboards, motherboards, memory cards, graphic cards, sound cards, mice, plus a much larger selection of software and games. Apple isn't under nearly as much pressure, since developers and users have predominately leaned in favor of windows. What is apple good at? Media software: photo and video editing, music (iTunes), etc. Apple is obviously maturing in this regard to include its own office like software. Apple users see faster boot times and a lighter operating system compared to Windows. So apple is worth it?

But apple users are disillusioned in other areas as well:

Apple has put a lot of work into the aesthetic design of their devices. Apple users feel they are getting a premium device with a sleek, thin design. This is no different that a guy showing off his car, a geek showing off his command center and desktop, and a mother priding herself on her home's interior design and landscaping. We are all competitive in different ways. Users have learned to equate specific materials with quality. Food network and other interior design shows are pushing materials like aluminum in kitchens. Why wouldn't similar trends work with smartphones? Plastic or Polished, Sleek Aluminum.

This brings me to my next point, apple is really keen on advertising. Behavioral psychology influences not only the physical design of their devices, but the design of their operating system and software. Users equate smooth and snappy transitions, paired with faster boot times with speedy performance. We know its all visual, but users base their decisions on perceived performance. They don't care about actually testing performance, but if it does well that's an added bonus. People honestly believe what they hear and see more than any any thing else. Apple knows that if average users come into their stores and see other customers excited about using the new <insert apple product> that it will generate demand. You want what others want. Common marketing strategy, but I got to say Apple is really good at doing this. They pay attention to detail that most geeks overlook because we chalk it up as hype or gimmick.

Apple doesn't like to flaunt their flaws. They bury them beneath generalizations and hype. Leaving everything else to word of mouth and fanboys (that pounce on anything anti-apple). But apple is not different than any other electronics company. Their products are flawed, but users don't necessarily notice it. For example, how many iPhone users know what an app crash looks like? You know when the app seems to be starting but exits to the home screen. Yeah, that is a crash, but a lot of iPhone users, including my parents, chalked this up to not pushing the icon right. Understandable for non-tech savvy users, but this begs the question. If we make excuses, everything is alright, right? In contrast, other platforms usually generate pop-up alerts to indicate a crash. Why doesn't apple? Even search results are much more noticeable for other platforms. You can easily turn up 140+ google search page results covering issues affecting Windows. But I rarely see this for apple. I think a reason for this is that apple users generally rely on the geniuses or apple support. This results in swapping out defective hardware or upgrading to a new device. In contrast, Windows users can't really depend on windows tech support. We turn to third parties if we aren't capable or willing to resolve the problem ourselves. We get similar service, but apple users seem more carefree while going about these problems. Maybe its the store environment? But I see this especially with my parents. They get a lot more up tight about fixing their Windows machine.

These are just some of the factors leading average users to use apple over say Windows. I would note that my earlier comment on them not caring about specs isn't entirely true. A lot of folks consider weight and size when shopping for devices. Apple products can be fairly light weight and a lot of iPhone users say they prefer the size of the device in their hand over some larger screen phones.. I wouldn't say my Windows laptop is that heavy, considering some gaming laptops. But I can understand why folks might consider the cost for macbook or other apple product worth it. I would like to mention that I had an instructor with a chromebook and the weight wasn't terrible on that either. So I don't apple users can exclusively corner the market on light weight devices.

 

2 GB RAM requirement is lighter than Windows, are we still living in the Vista era?

 

Talking about laptops, i just ordered a Vizio Thin + Light 14" yesterday.
Should be here in a week or two.

 

Photographed in Zion National Park, USA.


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rich

 

You took of a picture of someone taking a picture? Inception.
I hope you did not use an iPad yourself. Welcome back, long time no see.
Mrk

 

I personally think for social purpose, iPad is a better choice. I only bought one tablet since it came into the market. So many limitations prevent it from replacing my desktop or laptop.

 

The Vizio Laptop arrived today!
Looks awesome, works fast and does the job. I got it for dirt cheap!

BTW, there are some news around the web that the new iPhone 5S "Slow Motion" feature is just an upscaled 360p/480p to 720p and they market it as an HD "Slow Motion" feature, in fact it was one of the highlights of the new iPhone 5S.
Now thats shocking!

 

Hi Mrk,

Since retiring, I travel a lot, and I confess to not keeping up with everything in the security world.

Yes, I photographed someone photographing.

No, I did not use an iPad to photograph the person photographing with an iPad!

I thought about a comment earlier in this thread,

This observation could apply to, say, audio:

Well, it depends on what types of music one listens to, and how critical one is regarding sound reproduction (frequency response, etc).

And so, with photography, it depends much on what type of photography one is interested in, and, especially, what the final image will be used for (sizing for the web and email? 30"x40" wall size print?)

Consider the iSight camera:

• 5MP photos
• Autofocus
• Face detection
• Backside illumination
• Five-element lens
• Hybrid IR filter
• ƒ/2.4 aperture
• Tap to focus video or still images
• Tap to control exposure for video or still images
• Photo and video geotagging
• HDR photos

That's pretty impressive -- not quite up to what the latest smartphone cameras can do, but getting there.

(My first digital camera was 5 megapixels, and produced very nice 8" x 10" prints.)

The iPad camera is very capable of basic landscape, outdoors, photography in good light. The capability to control exposure is a big plus for this.

With the iPad and Smartphones, applications are available for basic photo editing. An impressive one is PhotoPal for iPad:

Photo Editing Apps For iPad
http://appadvice.com/applists/show/photo-editing-apps-for-ipad

That's quite impressive. Note the reference to "casual photographer."

There are limitations, of course. The iPad camera would have difficulty with a scene like this:



You just can't zoom that far with any quality since the iPad's camera uses digital zoom, meaning, that the camera crops on the sensor to simulate zooming, thus, reducing the megapixal output.

However... enter Photojojo's iPad telephoto lens earlier this year:

Photojojo introduces iPad telephoto lens
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31747_7-57580768-243/photojojo-introduces-ipad-telephoto-lens/

I have no idea how good this is, but being an optical zoom, it has to be a huge improvement over the camera's digital zoom.

When my brother and I were photographing in Zion National Park, we saw two people with iPads, and hundreds with smartphone cameras, far outnumbering those with regular cameras. "The times they are a-changin'."

Other uses for the iPad I've observed:

First hand -- a while back, I had to file a claim for some damage to my house. The insurance adjuster had an iPad with which he photographed the damage. I asked to see the photos and they were sharp and had excellent color. I was impressed! He filled out some forms on his iPad. When finished, he emailed them to me on the spot from his iPad.

Second hand -- from a business person who has observed that the iPad is popular for seminars and presentations, where, using an adapter, it can connect to a large monitor or TV. So much smaller and more convenient than a laptop.

First hand-- last year a friend purchased an iPad instead of upgrading an old laptop. I'm impressed at the nice case with keypad it has. She travels, and does everything she needs to using the iPad, including reading her current subscribed magazines which she can download on the road.

She doesn't use any programs that require a lot of processing power, so it's ideal for her (and for millions of others!)

I can't see a use for it myself, but I marvel at how technology is providing computing tools to meet many needs.


----
rich

 

I couldn't bring myself ever to buy something called a yoga tablet

 

lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga??

It's an "ultra" laptop rather than a tablet. the specs are really good for the price, but i haven't tried one. the idea is you can rotate the laptop screen 180 degrees backwards and use it as a tablet (touchscreen controls etc). I personally prefer power/gaming laptops, but if I wanted a laptop that was small and convenient the "yoga tablet" would be on my shortlist.

 

This is really great http://www.asus.com/us/Tablets_Mobile/ASUS_VivoTab_RT/
or the Nokia 2520 RT http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/22/4862952/nokia-lumia-2520-windows-tablet-hands-on-photos-video

Over a 1.5 year ago I bought a Asus TF301. Great battery life, greatcombo of keyboard with touch screen, I can even plug in a mouse. I bought the android version hoping to be able to upgrade to a Windows RT version. Still Android version works okay, my wife uses my laptop now.

With the money I had reserverd for the upgrade (from Android to Win8 RT) I bought a cheap Huawei W1 Windows phone, to compensate for troublesome connectivity of Android to Outlook (office word, excel, Powerpoint work fine on Android with Asus standard software). What a great operating system for a phone (Huawei W1 is as fast and user friendly as a Apple 4S, cost only 1/3 )