iPad

[kyounge1956]

You may be able to get broadband without subscribing to cable TV. You may be able to get DSL or even if you don't subscribe to cable TV, a provider like Comcast will still sell you cable modem service for a higher monthly price, like aroumd $60 a month.

Sixty dollars a month for just the cable modem?!??!? I don't know if DSL is available there. I think you have to have a street address to find out, and since I don't yet have a property, I don't have a street address to check.

I hope it isn't Comcast country out there. My parents have Comcast, and it seems so complicated. They have four remotes for three devices (TV, dvd player and now the new movie box my brother got them for Christmas) and heaven help you if you turn things on or off in the wrong order. It confuses the heck out of me (and sometimes them too).

You really need broadband to be able to download movies with any kind of decent picture quality. You also need it for the iPad, to download system updates and some apps. which will take forever on dial-up.

I use dial-up to download updates etc to Mac programs. It does take forever but I don't care, I just leave the download running all night while I'm asleep or all day while I'm at work. I assume the files for an iPad update would be about the same size as for Mac updates. I've never tried downloading a movie on dial-up—I've always assumed it would take longer than overnight.

THe 3G version of the iPad lets you buy month to month 3G service for $15 or $25 for 30 days of service. You can buy 30 days of service and then decide not to buy it until say 6 weeks later. But 3G service is slower than home broadband and there's a limit to how much data you can download and upload (though home broadband service sometimes have caps as well but they're usually much higher).

OK well this is where my ignorance starts to stick out like a sore thumb. I thought 3G was broadband. How were the iPads in the store on broadband? They had no cables coming out except the anti-theft tether. The guy who did the class showed how to turn off the 3G and/or wifi but I don't remember if the iPad went on the internet after that part was turned off? Or is the whole Apple store a wifi hot spot but if so how does broadband come into it? This is so confusing to me. Anyway it is the you-only-pay-for-it-when-you-use-it feature that appeals to me about 3g. What I hate about cell phones is you have to buy minutes and they expire after only a few months, even if you don't use them. I wanted to get a cell phone just to keep in my car for emergencies, but I couldn't just buy 15 or 30 minutes and just leave them until I need to use them. If I understand how the plan for iPads works, this doesn't happen with them. It's a month with a maximum usage and if you don't use the 3G the next month, you don't have to pay for it. But since there's only one wifi hot spot I'd need to use the 3G every month anyway I guess. I don't really have this all clear in my own mind yet.

Depending on which service you download the movie from, you can watch on the bigger screen of the computer. And if your computer has the right kind of output ports, you may be able to hook it to a big-screen HDTV and watch movies there.

Yeah, I could do that—if I had a big screen HDTV.

The iPad could also play back movies but after transferring movies from a computer to the iPad. You can't directly download movies to the iPad because of the 3G service limits I mentioned above.

So you pretty much need home broadband to really take advantage of the iPad.

You mean one movie is bigger than the allowance for one month? Ouch!

Maybe some of your neighbors failed to put a password on their Wifi and you could use theirs but that's really not a neighborly thing to do. Plus it may be illegal in certain countries or jurisdictions.

I'd be pretty surprised if I just happened to land next to someone with an unprotected broadband connection. You're right, that doesn't sound very neighborly.

So if you had home broadband, you could set up a Wifi network in your home and unless it's a real big home, you can use the iPad anywhere in the house, including possibly the porch or the patio in the backyard, etc.

Oh and one thing, there is expected to be a new iPad model by April. One of the new features is expected to be at least one camera to allow you to use FaceTime, which is a way to videoconference. I believe the Skype app. for iPhone and iPad also lets you video chat too.

So you may want to wait.

I wasn't planning to buy it yet anyway. I've been kind of expecting one to come out with a camera in it and since I don't have a digital camera or a cell phone which might have a camera in it, that seemed worth waiting for (and then waiting some more for the price to come down a little or until I could get a used one on ebay). Also, I don't know if broadband will be available on the property I end up buying. (That's why I still have dial up, I didn't want to get used to high-speed and then maybe have to go back to a slower connection. But if just broadband internet by itself costs 3x as much, I also still have dial up because I'm a cheapskate). If I end up buying a property where broadband isn't available, I guess I will just have to hope that internet cafe survives, or they put wifi in the library. Or I could take the bus out to Ocean Shores for a mini-vacation in one of the two hotels out there that have wifi. Download a bunch of movies and watch 'em later. Nya-hahahaha!

 

[GregLee]

On rates for home broadband service, some Hawaii rates for comparison: Time Warner Cable charged $45/month, last time I checked, with a lower rate possible when bundled with cable TV service, and with higher rates for higher speeds. My DSL service from my phone company is $25/month when bundled with local and long distance phone service, for download speed of 7 gigabits/second, and the unbundled rate is $30/month for the lower speed of 3 gigabits/second download (last I checked). There is also a higher DSL speed available for a little more, but whether you can get it depends on how close you are to a local phone interchange.

 

[explanade]

Apple Stores have Wifi.

If you don't get broadband at home, you'd pretty much have to get 3G on the iPad. Like I said, it would be 200 MB for $15 or 2 GB for $25 for 3G service, which could be considered broadband.

But speeds will vary depending on what kind of reception you get, especially inside a home.

As for movies, 2GB may be the equivalent of 3 or 4 movies from iTunes, I'm guessing. But I think there's also a limit on how large a file you can download at a time through 3G. IOW, that 2GB can only be of small downloads at most, not a large movie file.

Even if there wasn't such a limit, you download a movie and it could severely restrict your iPad usage for that month.

You would look into wireless broadband for the home, such as Sprint's Clear service. Not sure how much it is and coverage is pretty much in urban areas only but they do have equipment for use at home I believe, so that you can set up a Wifi network at home. Sprint markets it as a 4G service so it's suppose to be faster than 3G.

But it likely won't be cheaper than cable modem (though you wouldn't have to subscribe to cable TV to get a lower rate). DSL is usually cheaper but you may have to get telephone service.

 

[Gotadimple]

Sixty dollars a month for just the cable modem?!??!? I don't know if DSL is available there. I think you have to have a street address to find out, and since I don't yet have a property, I don't have a street address to check.

In many communities is Washington state, high speed internet is offered through the phone company or through the cable company. Cable modems offer faster speeds at higher costs. You can check prices via the Internet.

-- Rita

 

[RockMonkey]

Check the other tablet offerings available now and soon. The new Motorola Xoom is awesome! I may prefer it over the iPad. iPad 2 should be available in the next 6 months, and it will have a front facing camera for skype and facetime video chat.

 

[explanade]

The other brands are going to appeal to nerds who focus on the hardware specs. We'll see how things like battery life pans out with these other models.

But the Motorola and probably the BlackBerry Playbook tablets are going to require a data contract if you want a model with a 3G radio. Carriers apparently aren't in a hurry to give out month to month 3G service like they did with the iPad.

These other brands aren't going to have the same software support for awhile. Not nearly as many apps. designed for the tablet.

And they don't have the service and support infrastructure, especially the Apple Stores.

 

[Meadbh]

On a [-]lighter[/-] more fruity note:

My Blackberry Is Not Working

 

[audreyh1]

I needed to while away a couple of hours today, so I went to the Apple store to see if they had any of their seminars this afternoon. Lucky me, they had an Ipad startup class so I got to see the gadget put through its paces and even play with it a little. I even looked up E-R on it to check for new posts. I think the iPad really cool and I want one!!! (But I'm not going to buy it yet. Must......delay......gratification.) I googled "wifi in Aberdeen WA" and discovered that there's only one wifi hotspot in the whole town, so a wifi only model probably wouldn't be much use there. The hotspot is in a little restaurant, so who knows if it will even still be there by the time I arrive? Maybe by then there will be one in the library. After just a one hour overview I still don't know whether I could use this device as sort of a wireless hub. At the moment I don't have a cell phone or cable TV and I'm on dial-up internet. There's already a discussion earlier in the thread about whether you can use skype or similar to make phone calls on the iPad. I know you can download movies and watch them on the iPad, but if there's a movie in your iPad and you plug the tablet into a desktop computer, can you then watch the movie on the larger screen? And likewise with audiobooks, podcasts etc? I am trying to figure out if I could get by with just this one device for computing on the hoof including an occasional phone call via skype, and to access the internet at high speed, including the occasional big file like downloading a movie, without having to have a contract for cell phone and for broadband internet, especially since I don't know if I can get the latter without also paying for cable TV, which I don't want.

Wow - lots of questions.

I can send stuff to our TV from the iPad if I want - you need AppleTV - which is pretty inexpensive $100. I also send music to our stereo that way. And AppleTV lets you rent movies (independent of the iPad) and even a Netflix movie rental subscription if you want to go that route.

I just have a month-to-month type arrangement with AT&T for the cellphone data service. And with my AT&T subscription, I also get WiFI in all the AT&T hotspots like Starbucks.

You might want to wait for the newer iPads that come with camera. IMO - camera is really important and I really with my iPad had one. It's actually a videocamera, so the new one will probably support videochat type apps.

The iPad is not an iPhone - so it doesn't sub for a phone. We use different phones for voice.

The iPads only play HTML5 type video. Anything on youtube - fine. But a lot of video offerings use Flash and are not yet supported. I still watch a lot of video on my laptop. I expect in a couple of years or so this will change and most video will be available on the iPad - but in the mean time.....

Audrey

 

[explanade]

New iPad is expected to be unveiled next Wednesday. There are rumors though that this would be a modest enhancement while a newer model this fall would be a bigger jump, with a "Retina Display" screen.

Meanwhile, Android competitors are coming, with this week seeing the release of the Motorola Xoom with a 10-inch screen for $800 unsubsidized and $600 with a 2-year contract (pushing the total price over $1000).

We don't know what kind of pricing the new iPad will have but who would have guessed Apple would have competitive pricing in the tablet market?

 

[RockMonkey]

I've played with the xoom quite a bit now. I think it is superior to the first generation iPad. We'll have to see what apple brings out this year, but the lack of flash support, widgets, and sd card slot will really make android tablets more attractive to many consumers. I was actually given a samsung galaxy tab this week, and have been pleasantly surprised by it. I'm actually posting from it now. I find myself appreciating the smaller size and wondering if the ipad would be too big for couch and bed use. This device has probably saved me from buying a xoom this month, but DW is jealous so we may still be in the market anyway.

 

[explanade]

Is Flash a bigger selling point than battery life?

Because even if you're not loading Flash websites, the Xoom has about 2/3 the battery life of the iPad, according to reviews.

 

[RockMonkey]

Both are huge things to consider. Imho, at least in the near term flash support is huge.

 

[Zathras]

Highly subjective. Some people love flash, some can easily do without.
Personally I find length of battery life far more important than battery life.
However, I am very much looking forward to the new group of tablets as competition will improve customer choices and prices

 

[explanade]

Only Flash site that I use a lot is Scrabble on FaceBook.

But there's also a Scrabble app. for iPad.

I don't watch video that much but there's a Youtube app. and a lot of sites are supporting iPhone and iPad anyways with HTML5.

 

[Mulligan]

Anybody checked out the IPAD 2 on the internet today? It is set to rollout Mar.11, I believe , and at have the same price as the previous one. It sounds really good. I have wanted one but resisted the temptation. I will get this one soon unless they really drop the price of the original one.

 

[Katsmeow]

It is clearly much better than the original (which I have). I like the better processor and the cover. The camera is sort of nice (I've had situations where I wished my ipad had a camera) but it is sort of unwieldy to take many pictures.

I wish the battery life was better (mine seems to constantly run down).

The being thinner is nice but only a 15% improvement in weight is a little disappointing. I wish it was much lighter.

Facetime -- This would be great if it would work over 3G and not just WiFi. Although relatively few people I can use it with.

As for the xoom -- I would like to have flash. There are not many places where I need it but when you need it you really need it.

I'm probably not going to upgrade to it since I don't think the improvements are so much that I would feel that I really wanted to upgrade.

 

[M Paquette]

Anybody checked out the IPAD 2 on the internet today? It is set to rollout Mar.11, I believe , and at have the same price as the previous one. It sounds really good. I have wanted one but resisted the temptation. I will get this one soon unless they really drop the price of the original one.

The clearance/refurb prices for the original iPad now start at $349, for those who want one, but don't need the extra horsepower or cameras. (The gotcha is that I would expect to see software support for the 1st generation model with fewer features end sooner, possibly just 2-3 years out, similar to the original model iPhone compared to the follow-on models.)

 

[Mulligan]

The clearance/refurb prices for the original iPad now start at $349, for those who want one, but don't need the extra horsepower or cameras. (The gotcha is that I would expect to see software support for the 1st generation model with fewer features end sooner, possibly just 2-3 years out, similar to the original model iPhone compared to the follow-on models.)

Ok M Paquette help the dummy out. Does this mean the apps wont work or, it will continue to work, but they wont help you if you have a problem? I tend to be a cheapo but dont want to be stupid over $150.

 

[explanade]

What that means is future versions of the iOS with new features can't be installed on older machines.

So right now, they're about to release 4.3 for iPad with some minor new features. They will probably announce 5.0 along with iPhone 5 or whatever.

Then next year, as they release iPad3 (though there are some rumors iPad 3 could come this fall) and they announce iOS 6.0 along with iPhone 6, the new iOS6 with whatever new features may or may not install on the original iPad.

Now, the first iPad should work fine but there apps. will be updated to take advantage of some new features in future versions of the OS. You won't be able to use those unless they let you install the newest OS on the hardware.

You will get 2-3 years of software support on these devices. EVen afterwards, it will work the same as before, just won't have the latest and greatest software.

Besides the refurbs, I hear that remaining new ones may be $100 cheaper now.

If you can afford the $150, get the new one because you're getting cameras, much faster processor.

They announced iMovie and GarageBand for iPad. These will probably only run on iPad 2.

 

[M Paquette]

Ok M Paquette help the dummy out. Does this mean the apps wont work or, it will continue to work, but they wont help you if you have a problem? I tend to be a cheapo but dont want to be stupid over $150.

No, no. Everything will work unless it depends on new hardware (cameras, gyroscope), or an app eventually appears that requires a version of the iOS operating system that doesn't run on the original iPad. The absolute worst case is that you might get one less year of supported software updates, compared to the latest shiny new model. Then, that holds true for all the folks who got iPads for Christmas, too.

I expect new versions of the iOS operating system to continue to be made for the original iPad for years. I have a 2007 vintage iPod Touch that got new versions of iOS until last year, when iOS 4.0 came out. That means my old device is stuck at iOS 3.1.3, and when apps eventually appear that need iOS 4, they won't work on the device. It still runs Stanza, Kindle, TripAdvisor, OpenTable, and of course, Angry Birds.

 

[Mulligan]

Thanks for the feedback. I think I will go to the apple store and look at it when it comes out, with my wallet left at home, so I have to think first before I buy!

 

[braumeister]

I'm pretty much an Apple guy, and have been for decades. Nevertheless, I passed on the original iPad, because I just didn't see how it would fit into my life between my iPhone and my MacBook.

After watching yesterday's demo of the iPad 2, I'm sold, and will definitely be getting one. It will replace the MacBook when I travel, and also serve nicely as an e-book reader around home (I have the original Kindle, and have never really liked it).

I'll be going for the top of the line, 64GB/3G model, because I can see it lasting for a number of years and it took a surprising short time to fill up my 32GB iPhone. I probably won't use the 3G data plan very much, but it will be nice to have it available if needed.

 

[Ronstar]

I'm pretty much an Apple guy, and have been for decades. Nevertheless, I passed on the original iPad, because I just didn't see how it would fit into my life between my iPhone and my MacBook.

After watching yesterday's demo of the iPad 2, I'm sold, and will definitely be getting one. It will replace the MacBook when I travel, and also serve nicely as an e-book reader around home (I have the original Kindle, and have never really liked it).

I'll be going for the top of the line, 64GB/3G model, because I can see it lasting for a number of years and it took a surprising short time to fill up my 32GB iPhone. I probably won't use the 3G data plan very much, but it will be nice to have it available if needed.

I have always been an Apple guy also - bought the 3G ipad and its taking on more and more tasks that I used to do on my phone/macbook/imac. I only use the 3G about 2 hours a month, but I like having it for emergencies. I wont be getting a new one - I dont need the camera.

 

[kombat]

I have an original iPad, and I won't be upgrading to iPad2. Same display, neglible changes in weight and battery life, whoop-de-doo. It adds a camera? Thanks, I've already got plenty of cameras.

Maybe if iPad3 adds the Retina display, I'll consider upgrading.

 

[Rustic23]

Wifi only, 16g Xoom is rumored for Sam's at $549. Sam's Club prepping to sell Wifi-only version of Xoom with 'Homeycomb' | Android Central

I'm not an Apple guy, and I am happy with my Android phone. I think the tablet wars are just about to begin and it will be fought on the field of price and hardware specs. I know that the ipad has more apps, but there are at least five major apps that give me weather for my area, I use only one. Same for finance, messages, browsers, mail and others. I look at the new apps when they come out, but I use very few. Both operating systems suit my use, I just like the freedom of Android.