Sooo much pooping

[..lay a little egg for me]

DS (age 11) has decided he is desperate for an Apple iPad for Xmas! We have said we would not spend so much on him for Xmas but if he contributes at least half from his pocket money savings, we and the grandparents could possibly fund the other half. However, I am still not keen on getting one if it is no good for him to do his homework on. So, I thought I would ask you All-knowing Omleteers what you think about its usefulness for work as opposed to play! Can one use the Microsoft Office programs on it, for example? Is the lack of Adobe Flash a big problem? Those kinds of things.

 

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[Geoid]

You can't use office on it, not having flash is a pain in the backside, there is no point in getting one (in my opinion)

[chickric]

I agree with Fred, it is a great toy but not something you could use easily for homework, better off getting a good laptop for half the price.

[The Dogmother]

Not really suitable for a kiddie doing homework on - no really suitable programs that he'd need - they are for play only really. You could get a proper laptop for less, and that'd be more use.

 

Having said that, I'm not a fan of children having their own laptops - despite all the parental control on mine; I only let Rosie (12) use it when I am around and can see what's going on.

[jackie45]

Hi

I fancied an iPad and spent a long time in an Apple store playing around with it. It looked great and appeared to do everything but make the tea. However it didn't do what I thought it would do-word processing and writing reports etc. I found that it was difficult to handle as I am am old bird and my wrists and hands can be painful sometimes. My OH who is a wizz with computers also found it was an expensive gimmick and said it would be far better to by a good notebook (smaller computer) for a lot less money.So I saved myself some money and have not found anything that the iPad would do ,which I cannot already do on my home computer.

Jackie

[Couperwife]

I am currently typing this on my ipad well, I've borrowed it from school, not really mine.

 

So, in my opinion.

It's a great "toy", brill to play on, books to read are fun cos you can turn the pages with a sweep of your hand.

Some apps are fun -if not totally pointless

Maps are good for a look around

Zooming in and out is fun

 

But

If he uses msn or Facebook to chat it's pants - you can't!

Flash not working is a pain

It's really hard to copy and paste something like a hyperlink, in fact, I've not worked out how to do it yet.

When you are typing (which is quite funky on a touch screen) your keyboard is on 3 different layers, so if you want letters its one bit, numbers is on another bit and dots, dashes and such like characters is on another level.

 

Fun for a toy, but an expensive toy with limitations,

 

Personally, I wouldn't buy one.

[mags]

i like the look of it but I got my self a netbook in purple

ags

m

[stehaggan]

Hey

 

Writing this off my iPad, if you want excel download the "numbers" app it's microsft excel for the iPad and word is "pages" app. You can type/ do work on the iPad or computer and then work on them via verca. As for Facebook use "friendly" facebook app it's exactly like facebook with the chat on it.

 

I love the iPad, I'm now learning to play the piano in it

 

Give in and get the lad one

[..lay a little egg for me]

Thanks for your thoughts people. I remain dubious about its usefulness as many people have said. However, a few more questions: do you have to pay for the apps? What is the battery life like? Can you insert SD cards or memory sticks to move data from the iPad to the PC? Would the data be compatible if one could (i.e., can a document created in Pages be moved to the PC and further edited in Word?)? Can one play DVDs on it to watch films? Can one access BBC iPlayer to watch TV? If one has the WiFi version, could one plug one's mobile phone into it to access the internet that way? If I can come up with a long list of things it does and doesn't do, I might persuade my son to make a more reasoned decision about getting one. It will be taking a lot of his hard earned pocket money after all.

[Geoid]

Do you have to pay for the apps? - Yes, for some of them, quite a few are free. Prices range from about 50p - £150

Can you insert SD cards or memory sticks to move data from the iPad to the PC? - No, you have to sync it through your computer and iTunes.

Can a document created in Pages be moved to the PC and further edited in Word? - Yes, they are compatable.

Can one play DVDs on it to watch films? - No, you will have to 'rip' the DVD's on your computer and save them as a mp4 file (or similar) and transfer it through iTunes.

Can one access BBC iPlayer to watch TV? I think so, I am not 100% sure on this.

Could one plug one's mobile phone into it to access the internet that way? Nope

[..lay a little egg for me]

Thanks Fred you are the fount of all computer knowledge!

[PurpleTree]

I can use iplayer on my iPhone, so I assume you can use it on an iPad. I use a programme called TV Catchup too, which allows you to watch live TV, most of the Freeview channels, over the Internet. My 3yr old has regularly watched Cheshire on both my MacBook and my iPhone.

[PurpleTree]

Lots of info here, on the Apple website, about what it can do http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/

[Space Chick]

I am going to buck the trend (she says typing from her iPad )

 

I LOVE my iPad and I do a lot of work on mine using Pages, I then email it to myself as it find that easier than syncing via Itunes. Pages the app costs about £6 I think but worth every penny (and dead cheap when you consider the cost of a Microsoft licence )

 

You can also get Bluetooth keyboards to type traditionally using a keyboard and the iPad then becomes the monitor but this is all extra expense, about £50 for the keyboard, and in fairness I rarely use the one I bought.

 

As for the lack of flash..... Hmm, she says trying to word things carefully on a family forum. It does make access to certain Internet material difficult. Maybe that's something that would appeal to you as a Mum of a young boy

 

As for facebook chat and MSN I use both successfully on mine.

 

I find the apps cheap, and you can often get iTunes vouchers on discount in Morrisons

 

Also, my iPad comes everywhere with me. It's really small to fit in my handbag, so much more portable than a net book or laptop.

 

If you decide to get him one, I would say it's worth paying the extra for the 3G model, as this means you can get Internet anywhere. I have used the Internet in a number of bizarre places from my hairdressers to the seaside

 

Feel free to PM me with any questions

[Geoid]

Instead of getting an ipad, how about a tablet computer, its a laptop, but with a touch screen. So you get all the fuctionality of an ipad and a laptop in one.

[Christian]

Glad you bucked the trend Space chick. My friend has one and loves it!

 

I am very tempted, but lack of finances means it is on hold. One day though

[The Dogmother]

Try the new Galaxy pad that's coming out for Christmas - cheaper and does more going by the reviews. Bloke at work has one that he got in the far east, I'll try to get a go on it when he next has it in work.