Should I get an iPad -- not just for the FOOD52 app, but for any other reasons? For those of you who have them, what do you like/not like?

I have and use a laptop all the time for my work, in my home office, when I travel and when I'm with clients. I have an iPhone that I love, but confess that I only use about 25% of its functionality and use very few of the apps that are loaded onto it. (That's solely due to my own laziness in not taking the time to become more familiar with and actually use those features.) I've been told that Santa and two helpers who know me well are thinking about this, but aren't sure whether I'd really love an iPad. So I'm trying to figure that out. Thanks, everyone. ;o)

AntoniaJames
  • 2546 views
  • 30 Comments

30 Comments

calendargirl December 13, 2011
Oh, what about the keyboard on the iPad? It has appeared somewhat awkward or at least unsatisfying to me, but I wonder how those who use it regularly feel?
 
la D. December 14, 2011
Calendargirl,
I've got the keyboard, use it all the time, love it!
 
calendargirl December 13, 2011
Thanks, Sam1148! Forgot to say that I use an android phone, this would be my first apple product. I know I would be an instant convert, but I have always "inherited" laptops from either my children or spouse as they move on to different equipment. i am not a game player. Sounds as though the 3G plus wifi is the way to go.
 
Sam1148 December 13, 2011
Oh and if you have a Iphone, you can turn the iphone into a 'hot point' for data using 'tethering" of device to the iphone. Basically your Iphone become a internet point for the pad.
 
calendargirl December 13, 2011
Am also contemplating this purchase for myself, such a great question AJ!

How much do those of you who use iPads a lot tend to spend for data and apps, etc., each month?

 
Sam1148 December 13, 2011
Apps are normally prices at 5 bucks for most applications. Sometimes you'll get a 9.99 app but that's usually value added (like the food 52 app).
Games, and 'cool apps' are priced in 5 dollar range--10 bucks for some games which are normally from well respected companies like parker brothers or 10 bucks for smaller companies which have some very nice apps.
Much less than a CD application which would cost much more for a game or reference source.

I don't know about Data..as mine doesn't have cellphone contract..I really haven't missed it with the wide availability of wifi hotpoints in most situations.

 
Summer O. December 13, 2011
Get the 3G otherwise it's no good for travel.
 
dymnyno December 12, 2011
Helen, I use my iPad all the time. Great for traveling. I have a Kindle app on it and transferred all my books onto the iPad. Great for not having to lug lots of books. Get the iPad with wireless and 3G. Then you can use it everywhere. The iPad 2 is smaller, faster and even has a great camera.
 
Grandma K. December 12, 2011
Don't have one, but I just bought one for my daughter as a surprise. She has been dying for one since they came out. I'll tel her about the Paprika app.
 
deanna1001 December 10, 2011
Love it! The apps are great. Facetime with friends is awesome. I borrow books from the library on it - it's a great reader. Camera not so hot, but pictures look pretty on it. Just do it!

I did wifi only and am happy with that. I have an iphone for times when I'm out of wifi range and if the 3G is as slow on the ipad as the phone it would be a serious bummer.

Sam- thanks for the reminder about thinkgeek! One of my fave sites for odd stuff and great gifts.
 
JessicaBakes December 9, 2011
Don't ask questions. Just buy it.

As soon as it's in your hands, you'll wonder how you ever looked for reasons to buy. They just appear before your eyes!
 
calendargirl December 13, 2011
Your comment reminds me of how I first felt about a food processor. Then I made a pie crust in seconds, and an entire new way of thinking about food prep opened up.
 
drbabs December 8, 2011
Follow up question: How much memory? Wifi only or Wifi and 3G?
 
Sam1148 December 8, 2011
3G only if you think you need a bill from ATT each month and you'll be using the pad on the road away from a WiFI connection. I'd go with the largest memory available--I always run out of closet space.
 
Sam1148 December 8, 2011
One of my favorite apps for the pad is "Star Walk" It's an astronomy application.
You hold up the Ipad to the sky and get a moving picture of the stars/names/planets. LIke a 'window' to the sky. So, "What is that Star" can be identified.
It's amazing to use...and should be seen to be appreciated. (it uses the internal compass and gyro to get positioning).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgCkXUecS14
We bring it camping..along with game apps like Monopoly, Risk, Settler's of Cataan..etc. The Monopoly App is very well done and great for 'pass and play' with multiple players.
 
la D. December 9, 2011
As far as 3G goes, my ipad is wifi only and I wish I had 3G. I like to be connected and free to open it up at any time. However, you may not mind being wifi only.
 
sdebrango December 8, 2011
I don't have one yet, plan on getting one. I have only heard rave reviews. Going to be a Christmas present to myself this year I think. I have a Mac Air and Iphone for me the ipad is a must have. I am so looking forward to getting one. I bought my Mac Air for the portability and thought it would take the place of the ipad but unfortunately many of the apps I want are only available on ipad. I think it will be an indispensable tool in the kitchen and for other applications.
 
SKK December 8, 2011
I am with you, sdebrango. Love my MacBook Pro and miss out on the apps you can get on an IPad. Looking forward to getting one also. Great question, AJ!
 
kbi December 9, 2011
Not all apps available on iPhone are available on the iPad! That is the one thing I wish someone had told me before purchasing my iPad.
 
Sam1148 December 9, 2011
@ Kibi.
The iphone apps will work on Ipad. But not optimized for the screen.

For example: Ruhlman's "Ratio" calculator is designed for Iphone. But works on Ipad.
You have to expand the screen to get full vision...but have pixel problems. Not a problem on a text application.
And orientation doesn't work..so it's basically a really big iPhone for those apps.
 
Sam1148 December 8, 2011
I love mine! Great for bringing in the kitchen.

I wish there was a decent magnetic mount for the US market you could use to put it on the 'fridge. There's one from a UK company.
Oh wait...it finally hit this side of the pond!
http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/e953/
 
Sam1148 December 9, 2011
Okay, Who bought up all the Magnetic mounts from the site I posted?
When I posted it was available for shipping. Then my partner peeked at my wish list and it's out of stock now, in less than 6 hours.
 
Pegeen December 10, 2011
Of all the commentary I've seen on using iPads in the kitchen, I think the best advice was to put it in a ziplock bag and lean it on a cookbook stand or an inexpensive stand for holding pictures. Although my favorite holder for my iPad is the GorillaMobile by Joby.com. It's an attachable, flexible stand that you can wrap around anything like a pole, hang off the edge of a counter, lean on your stomach if you're lying in bed, etc.
Some other options from a NY Times article: http://nyti.ms/kZTS2p
On a separate note it's a nuisance that iPads still don't run Adobe Flash, meaning you can't view some of the content on web sites via your web browser.
 
Pegeen December 10, 2011
Here's a non-permanent fridge mount: http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=557465
 
lorigoldsby December 8, 2011
AJ--I love my husband's ipad so much that he's now referring to it as "your ipad"....love the color, the ease, the screen is so much easier to see except in the outdoor sunlight. My other app--words with friends...need to get some of my food52 friends to friend me there...LoriGoldz. I don't have a laptop, so I don't know how much different you will find it, but the ease and portability is wonderful.
 
drbabs December 8, 2011
Words With friends ...my new addiction! I'm blrn. Will send you an invite!
 
la D. December 8, 2011
Jenmmed, I've been looking for something like the Paprika you suggested-can't wait to check it out! So glad you mentioned it!
 
jenmmcd December 8, 2011
I absolutely love my iPad as well. Like la domestique, I use it in the kitchen a lot and to watch videos when I'm unsure about a technique (like prepping a fresh artichoke recently).

I have an iPad app called Paprika that I really love - you can go to almost any recipe site and just click "save recipe" and it will import it into your cookbook. You create categories, rate them, make changes, etc. It imports the images too. You can enter your own recipes as well. When I traveled to my mother-in-law's last month and wanted to make breakfast, I had my whole cookbook at my fingertips, inc my favorite drop biscuit recipe. I'm sure there are many such apps, but I love this one. (NOTE, this feature hasn't worked on Food52 recipes since the changeover, but I'm sure it will soon. It did before perfectly.) It's also great for sharing pictures with family when I travel.

I also love curling up in bed and watching a quick show or movie when the hubby is out of town. I've never had or wanted a tv in my bedroom, but it's nice to have the option. What I don't like -- you have to pay for Hulu to see it on the iPad.
 
Summer O. December 8, 2011
Antonia - My Dad got us one for the office last year for Christmas and I thought it was just an expensive doo-dad. But I was wrong, well, not totally wrong. I mainly use it in the kitchen it is great on one of those little stands for cruising though recipes much more so than a lap top. For travel it's great to order books on the fly and read them on the Ipad. Also it's a heck of a lot easier to tote around than a clunky old laptop, I just chuck it in my purse. For work I have loaded our portfolio on to it and hand it to Client's to thumb through. I work in architecture and I load documents, pdfs and drawings on to it and take it to meetings, totally paperless. I also take notes on it during meetings and email them to myself. Quite often I go to sustainable design meetings and I'm there with my Ipad and everyone else has a tower of paper in front of them. What I don't like - it's fragile.
 

Voted the Best Reply!

la D. December 8, 2011
Antonia,
I love my ipad. It's such an immersive experience. I often bring it into the kitchen and pull up recipes to cook. I love the portability. Maybe I'm in the middle of a recipe and not sure about a certain technique- I can quickly find a video on the web to get me through. I have this cute little keyboard that connects wireless to my ipad and so I only use my laptop for bigger projects. I also have an iphone and the screen is so small that, like you, I don't use it as often. Love the ipad! :)
 
Recommended by Food52