iPad

Z

Z4 Beemer

Senior member
 Glasgow
Ok, need advice, and I know a few of you have got them.

From a business point of view, i.e. reading documents/reports (MS Word, PDF, Excel, PowerPoint etc.), editing documents, getting the documents onto the iPad, getting them off the iPad and back onto a PC... how useful is the iPad, and how easy are these things to do?

Any advice appreciated. :thumbsup:
 
I use one for business. But to be honest mainly for notes during meetings, I use evernote (www.evernote.com) which has PC/Mac, iPhone and iPad apps. I do use quickoffice which is cheaper than getting all the Apple apps as they are sold separately. I then use Dropbox (www.dropbox.com) which integrates into quickoffice as a great way of getting files to and from the iPad.

I do love the iPad but it doesn't replace a laptop yet. But hopefully we will get some better office type apps soon.

Sean
 
+1 dropbox is excellent - i use it all the time for my ipad, laptop, desktop and iphone and get 50GB for £5 per month - although the service can also be free and comes with 2GB + you get an addtional 250MB each time you refer someone

PS have a look at the advent vega - £250 from dixons, well when they get them back in stock
 
Just a heads up though, the new iPad is due out Q1 2011, probably with a higher res screen. IMHO the iPad screen is too low res to do a lot of document work.
 
sp3ctre said:
Just a heads up though, the new iPad is due out Q1 2011, probably with a higher res screen. IMHO the iPad screen is too low res to do a lot of document work.
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Higher res on a smaller screen won't necessarily make it easier to work with, and I have no problem with 6 point text on the current iPad.

However, I wouldn't want to do a lot of work on it because none of the MS Office compatible iPad apps (QuickOffice, iWork, Docs2Go, Office²) I've tried have been anywhere near good enough to use for anything other than reading the files - there have always been too many formatting errors to make it of use in my day-to-day work.

Word files
  • paragraphs above a picture, when the original on the PC is below the picture
  • solid black boxes where imported pictures where
Excel files
  • most don't handle charts very well, if at all
Powerpoint files
  • no slideshow view (you can do fullscreen, but you can't change pages or annotate)
  • terrible formatting - even when the font it Arial/Helvetica - boxes move all over the place
  • some files try to open, but then the app just either crashes/quits or goes back to the document list
The best solution I have found is to VPN into a PC/Mac at the office/home or do mark-up on a PDF version in Goodreader (with a stylus to make it easier).

BTW, I challenged some of the 'mobile office' app providers over the limited functionality (mainly Powerpoint), and they all blame Apple, as some of the rendering is produced by the iOS itself and has nothing to do with the app you've bought.

For viewing them, you might as well just stick then on an email to yourself and view them in the email's built-in browser.
 
I use mine as a web browser, email, and document viewer.

But for editing or doing anything serious I would always use my laptop.
 
You can buy a mac version of office, I just cannot believe that MS have not launched an office app for the iPad. Will probably take the plunge in April/May for iPad 2.0 :)
 
sars said:
You can buy a mac version of office, I just cannot believe that MS have not launched an office app for the iPad. Will probably take the plunge in April/May for iPad 2.0 :)
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The Mac version of Office is not as fast/feature complete as the supposedly equivalent Windows version.

I have 8 versions installed over 4 machines - Office 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010 for Windows and Office X, 2004, 2008, 2011 for Mac - mainly because I have clients that haven't upgraded for 10 years and despite supposed older version compatibility, I still find formatting & fonts can change between versions, which means going through page by page and double-checking every time it needs to go to a different version.

I bought all the 'mobile office' iPad apps I could find, and they all claim similar functions - but I hoped one of them would make it possible to at least accurately display the file, even if I couldn't modify it.
 
mmm-five said:
Higher res on a smaller screen won't necessarily make it easier to work with, and I have no problem with 6 point text on the current iPad.
Click to expand...

Not convinced it will be a smaller screen to be honest, and the difference between iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 is night and day, so much crisper and nicer to look at. Also, unlike higher res LCD screens on computers the text would probably remain the same size on the iPad, just the pixels per inch would increase. IMO looking at text ont he iPad for a long period of time messes with my eyes, whereas I could happily do it on my iPhone.

I guess what I'm saying it it may be worth waiting for the new one, then you can either benefit from the better screen (if it comes), if not then just pick up a 1st gen iPad for a cheaper price :)
 
mmm-five said:
sars said:
You can buy a mac version of office, I just cannot believe that MS have not launched an office app for the iPad. Will probably take the plunge in April/May for iPad 2.0 :)
Click to expand...

The Mac version of Office is not as fast/feature complete as the supposedly equivalent Windows version.
Click to expand...

Yes you are not the first to say so, is it a case of a different OS that gives poor translation or the fact that it is Microsoft and it is for a Mac?
 
Microsoft are a platform vendor and their main cash-cow is Windows, and one of the main reasons corporate is locked into Windows is the Office product. It would be commercial suicide for them to release an Office product for Mac that has feature parity with the Windows version.

As for iPad, I have several (for development purposes) and everyone I know who has seen and used one in anger wants one. So they're not doing bad. It is definitely geared more towards consuming content rather than creating it though. Although with the keyboard (either bluetooth or the docked one) it is surprisingly capable. Oh, they also released AirPrint although the compatibility (so far) with available printers leaves something to be desired.
 
Some really helpful comments here - appreciated. :thumbsup:

I did have a play with one in the Apple store yesterday and was quite impressed with it, but just wonder how 'useful' it would actually be from a business / work-related point of view.
 
playalistic said:
they also released AirPrint although the compatibility (so far) with available printers leaves something to be desired.
Click to expand...

If you have a mac attached to the printer you can make it share any printer... bit of a hack but I've got it working v.nicely :)
 
I would also say it is mainly a 'content browsing device' / 'note taking device' rather than a content producing device. If you had proper content to produce then I would say a laptop is a better device. If you just want access to your emails/PDF's/files etc then it's not bad, and is small and light enough for you to put in your bag 'just in case'
 
sp3ctre said:
I would also say it is mainly a 'content browsing device' / 'note taking device' rather than a content producing device. If you had proper content to produce then I would say a laptop is a better device. If you just want access to your emails/PDF's/files etc then it's not bad, and is small and light enough for you to put in your bag 'just in case'
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbsup: -Totally agree sp3ctre

I spec up, install, handover / train a fair bit of kit to clients, including the iPad and would agree that if you looking for a device to produce a fair bit of content on, yet you like the idea of an iPad; then you would be better served getting a tablet PC first, a laptop second. The iPad is great device for browsing web & watching / listening to music & video, using apps etc and the odd bit of content making- its certainly not ideal for creation per se. More so if you are used to churning out docs / spreadhseets/ PPoints etc on a PC.

If you are already an apple fan, have a MAC & the corresponding software and are used to all this, the iPAD is the logical progression for a small mobile device, IT IS NOT a business device if you are a PC user.

I'm a PC through & through- however I challenge any manufacturer to produce something in the iPAD vein that is as nice to use and does what it does as well as it does, then you have the extensive list of apps available, there is simply no competition IMHO.

that's why even though I'm a PC, My iPAD turned up yesterday :rofl:
 
Totally agree with all that... and although this is slightly straying from the topic, if anyone has parents who are using (struggling?) with a netbook that they use for web/email/ebay etc then the iPad is a godsend in saving the usual 'tech support' calls. Battery life is epic and it is easy to use... my folks have just got one and I no longer get the calls about things crashing, going slow, out of space etc. It's great :thumbsup:
 
sars said:
Yes you are not the first to say so, is it a case of a different OS that gives poor translation or the fact that it is Microsoft and it is for a Mac?
Click to expand...
Purely down to the two Microsoft Office Business Units working in isolation, rather than together.

Don't forget that Microsoft Office was originally only available on the Mac, as the PC's of the time couldn't handle it.

The Mac version looks better (e.g. less of the invasive ribbons), but the Mac BU has a smaller budget and I believe they just tag on some new bits to an old code base to save time & money. It's starting to become a resource hog (e.g. the same Excel file takes 8 times longer to open on a 3ghz 8-core Mac than it does on a 2ghz dual core PC), and it needs a ground up rebuild to remove the thousands of lines of code that are not used anymore (and to fix stuff that still doesn't work since 2008 came out).
 
I couldn't see the point in the ipad at first apart from predicting it's use as a universal remote. I have now decided that I'm going to get an ipad 2.0 largely because of the home cinema related apps that are now available. I'm planning on getting a new Denon amp which has an iphone/ipad app to control it.

I used to have a laptop though haven't replaced it because I just didn't feel I could justify the cost of a decent one. I largely want something for browsing with at home whilst watching tv and as much as I hate to admit it I think the ipad is the ideal device for that. It's expensive for what it is but a basic model isn't too bad.
 
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