IPad owners…what exactly do these things do?

[WhiteSteve]

My girlfriend wants a new iPad for Christmas, and she’s encouraging me for the umpteenth time to get one with her. I’m just not sure if it’s worthwhile for me.

From what I understand, it’d be like using apps and such on my phone, just on a bigger screen? Do I have that right?

I’m pretty sure I don’t plan on doing any of the cool shit with graphic design and whatnot like in commercials for computer-y things, lmao.

Is this basically like “watch YouTube, just bigger” for the average person? I don’t do a ton of gaming on my phone, I just get into Stardew Valley like twice a year for a week or so before I start regretting losing losing days of my life and hours of my night’s sleep because I keep going, “Ok, just ONE more day and I can harvest the blueberries, THEN I’ll go to bed.”😂 I don’t really watch much TV either, other than live sports. I use Hulu every now and then, for the same two shows, haha. I’m just not a big TV/movie guy. I can definitely get sucked into YouTube though, that’s more what draws me visually.

There’s probably all kinds of cool shit I don’t even know about, but as far as what I know of, I’m basically looking at $280 to enlarge my phone screen. I’d probably like that, but “do I NEED it?” is the question.

I can’t ask you guys to make that call for me. But I can ask you to sell me on it or talk me out of it, and maybe I’ll be persuaded.

Any experience with these things? They always felt like halfway between a phone and a laptop, but I just never got super intrigued by them. But I’m also tired of being told to get one every other year, lmao, so let’s hear what you folks have to say, haha

[Anonymous]

I would much rather use an iPad than a phone all the time. It is a far better experience. I use mine many hours a day so the cost is worth it and I spent 4x that $280 number of yours. Don’t be cheap, get her the iPad and she fuck you long time.

[WhiteSteve]

Lmao, she’s getting hers, no problem. I’m deciding if I should ALSO get one. I wouldn’t take her Christmas gift request and be like “nah, you don’t need that, boo.”😂

But I’ll mark you down as a “PRO” vote, haha, thanks

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

iPads are indeed a kind of touch-based computer, much like your phone. The larger screen can be ideal for creative things. I remember I enjoyed using drawing programs on my old iPad with a stylus instead of my fingers. If you don’t want it, you don’t want it. I’m sure the sales person can tell you what features it does or doesn’t have compared to a phone.

[WhiteSteve]

Thanks!

I’m actually thinking now, and you’re probably good to ask since you’ve used it creatively…. is it something where I could take a sports logo and tweak the color scheme? I imagine I’d need an app for it, but is that “a thing one could do?” (Sorry, I’m a tech novice😅) I just bought a football video game that you can create teams for using your own uploaded logos, so I’m wondering if this would be a good tool for color alterations using existing logos (because lawd knows I draw like a kindergartner😂). Making an online purchase on a special deal, so I don’t have a sales person, that’s why I’m asking the good folks of GAG, haha. I appreciate the input!🙏

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

For sure, depending on how you use an app like photoshop or any similar knock-off, you should be able to do that pretty easily

[beebella]

I've never had an iPad, but I have owned a couple tablets in the past and I only used them to play games that I didn't want to/couldn't play on my phone. 😅

[spartan55]

I haven't given Apple a dime since it's stupid proprietary file format resulted a loss of 1,300 CDs worth of music. Fuckers.

[WhiteSteve]

Dang, I need to know more about this. I thought I had heard something that iTunes wouldn’t play ripped music or something? Or that they’d report you and you might get fined? This was over a decade ago, I forget, but I was always against iTunes for a long time. So much of my old music is stolen off of Napster and LimeWire when I was like 22 lmao. I actually play hockey with one of the Napster guys lmao, his cousin, the creator, has some tech venture capital business now, just failing upwards, lmfao, and he sponsors their team.

But yeah, I still have all my old music on a hard drive, mostly formatted for Windows, and I found a way to play the files and add them to my Library, but I’m apprehensive about just uploading all of it en masse.

1,300 CDs is a brutal loss😖 I’m an organized-and-contained hoarder, lmao, still have all my CDs and cassettes. Actually have my MC Hammer album on tape sitting right here, just because it makes me laugh to see it, haha. “Please, Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em”😂😂😂

[spartan55]

You are 2 Legit 2 Quit bro! Lol 😂

[zeitgeist057]

I play my curated music collection fine on my iPhone's apple Music app. Sorry for your loss, but I do and would create multiple backups of any important files in the future for situations like this. Don't ever trust a single device with important digital data.

[zeitgeist057]

@WhiteSteve it's fine to "upload all of it en masse" if you have the space. Just be sure to have backups that are not in that Library. It definitely does have its issues and ways of messing with files. An external HD is a great idea and I think you can get 2TB for <$100

[WhiteSteve]

@zeitgeist057 Ahhh, gotcha, thanks. Yeah, I have one EHD, and then I bought another 1 TB one that I still have yet to use because of some connectivity issues with an older MacBook and my newer iPhone.

I’m not super knowledgeable with computers, and when I run into roadblocks, I just quit on the project for like two years until some reason comes up where I want it again, then rinse and repeat, haha.

So I just have like 8 years of photos and videos in my iCloud that I can’t seem to move to a hard drive unless I want to buy a new MacBook I’m not going to use for anything else🤦‍♂️😂 Then I just keep paying Apple more money to save my stuff until I can figure it out. FML, haha.

Like I’m a guy who can get by with only a smartphone, I have no need for other devices, only possible “wants.” I don’t think I used the MacBook 100 times between 2015 and now. But I am someone who likes to take photos and videos of cool shit, long videos from concerts, etc., and I just wish I could plug the hard drive straight into my phone and not have to have some other device as a middle man😒

[zeitgeist057]

I've had 3 of these things and I'm not buying another one. Hardly used the ones I had. I got them because as a college student I sold myself on the idea that I would use them for digital textbooks. Which I did, but not really enough to warrant the expense. I don't like them as a "your phone but bigger" replacement, either. If I want that, I can watch youtube on my 13" laptop or even better my 32" desktop screen.

I'm especially salty bc the last iPad I bought was around Christmas and then they came out with the next one that had double the memory for the same price and when I asked if I could trade in the one I had for less than a month they said no way, maybe we'll give you $100 credit that's it.

Especially as it seems you have no real need, desire, or idea how you would use this device, I don't recommend it.

[WhiteSteve]

Haha, well, I took the plunge on it. For my purposes, it’s fine. I do like that I can multitask between it and my phone. Like I can watch something on YouTube while I’m on GAG and it doesn’t have to be in a tiny box I have to keep moving out of the way of things I need to tap on. And I play hockey and subscribe to a service called LiveBarn that gives me access to cameras at the rinks I play at so I can go back and analyze my play. I hadn’t really thought of that, but that’s much easier to view on the iPad. So it’s looking like a decent purchase, but I won’t be re-upping til this thing is on its last legs, which will hopefully not be for quite a few years, since I only use it for pretty basic stuff.

[NathanDavis]

I'm not an iPad or tablet owner... but any bigger keyboard for my hands is a good thing to switch to

phone keyboards are annoying AF

[exitseven]

It really is an iPhone with a bigger screen. It even runs the same OS. I got one for my wife and she uses it all the time. I will get her a Microsoft Surface the next time.