My new toy -- iPad Air

[Snowhog]

Purchased the new iPad Air (32GB wifi only) yesterday. Also picked up a Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Portfolio (Bluetooth). I've wanted a traveling device for some time. It's a very nice device. Getting configurations setup (Email and such).

Just got email configured. Can send/receive using my personal ISP email account. This is so cool.

[MoonRise]

(y)

[SteveRiley]

And now you can use it during takeoff and landing. Woo hoo!

[dmeyer]

Purchased the new iPad Air (32GB wifi only) yesterday. Also picked up a Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Portfolio (Bluetooth). I've wanted a traveling device for some time. It's a very nice device. Getting configurations setup (Email and such).

Just got email configured. Can send/receive using my personal ISP email account. This is so cool.

I am a massive android fan. I jumped on the bandwagon early but I'll give it to Apple. They are the only company that knows how to make a respectable tablet . Android tablets are an absolute disgrace when it comes to apps and their usability is atrocious. The 7" tablets can get away with the half arsed apps and the terrible layout, but the bigger tablets are so bad its a wonder they even sell enough to justify production.

[GreyGeek]

My daughter was an Android smartphone fan until she ran a friend's iPhone. She switched immediately, despite the higher price and the wanky battery replacement costs.

I own iPad 4th Gen tablet 32GB RAM with WIFI only. The 9.7" display is just about as small as my eyes and fingers can barely manage. The weak link, IMO, is the wifi only connection. I am surprised at how few hotspots there are, and how they slow they are throttled. Just barely acceptable for email and LIGHT browsing. I rarely use it any more, keeping it charged only so my two grandsons had something to play games on when they visited. However, in the last month BOTH have gotten iPad tablets so that 3 year old iPad of mine is going to get lonely. Now, I keep it on my night stand so I can jump on the web and fact check something I see on TV. Even then, with my big fingers, the keyboard is a pain to use, so I use Dragon and paste the results into the google search bar. That works 95% of the time.

The bestbuy page shows the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Portfolio and it has two comments. Amazingly, the rating stars give it 3.0 out of five, for two reviews. But, BOTH reviews state "No, I would not recommend this to a friend." The problems appear to be the TAB key, the smaller number keys, the home button right above the Q so if you go to strike 1, you end up closing down the application, and that to use the TAB key or CAPS you have to use the Function key. Both complained about how thin the plastic was, and how wobbly the iPad was while setting in its dock.

Snowhog's purchase explains very clearly why the use of laptops is fading in this country and around the world. At $600, if it were paired with a dock which allowed a standard USB keyboard, mouse and display to be attached, like my old D620 at work, laptops would die rather quickly. Especially when one could merely undock the iPad and take it on trips with a "work off line" capability, or a VPN via a wifi hotspot.

[Snowhog]

Now, I keep it on my night stand so I can jump on the web and fact check something I see on TV. Even then, with my big fingers, the keyboard is a pain to use, so I use Dragon and paste the results into the google search bar. That works 95% of the time.

My iPad Air has Siri, and 'she' is, I understand, so good at speech recognition that she can do for you almost (maybe everything) you would do with your fingers/stylus on the tablet.

The bestbuy page shows the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Portfolio and it has two comments. Amazingly, the rating stars give it 3.0 out of five, for two reviews. But, BOTH reviews state "No, I would not recommend this to a friend." The problems appear to be the TAB key, the smaller number keys, the home button right above the Q so if you go to strike 1, you end up closing down the application, and that to use the TAB key or CAPS you have to use the Function key. Both complained about how thin the plastic was, and how wobbly the iPad was while setting in its dock.

I agree about the Tab key, but it's a minor issue for me. As to the rest, I find my portfolio to be very nicely constructed. This portfolio has magnets, and a strip magnet the width of the 'base' that grabs/locks the iPad securely when opened/positioned. This is a nice portfolio IMO. I like it. This is the specific one I purchased:

Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Folio for iPad Air

Snowhog's purchase explains very clearly why the use of laptops is fading in this country and around the world. At $600, if it were paired with a dock which allowed a standard USB keyboard, mouse and display to be attached, like my old D620 at work, laptops would die rather quickly. Especially when one could merely undock the iPad and take it on trips with a "work off line" capability, or a VPN via a wifi hotspot.

I disagree, but in doing so, without anything more than my personal bias. I take my 17" laptop with me when I travel. It simply has and does more than a tablet would/could do for me. That said, I will now take two items when I travel; my 17" laptop and my iPad Air. When at my destinations, I use the laptop as the 'stay in place' PC. The iPad Air will go with me when I go out.

[GreyGeek]

Betcha that when push comes to shove and you have to make a quick choice the iPad Air will get picked 90% of the time!

[richb]

Arghhh! More funds out of my fixed income. I have been waiting to buy a tablet. This post has sold me on the iPad Air. (Along with research on the product).

[claydoh]

I lust after tablets but has no real need for one, really. Or afford one that has specs I want. I did spy an HP slate for 100 dollars, but it would not power on in the store, so no way to judge the screen, and only has 1 gb ram.

[Feathers McGraw]

Sounds a little unsafe to me. Steve's the man to ask, though!

[Snowhog]

I wanted to be able to use my iPad Air to access/use my main laptop. Not practical really, as to even do so my laptop has to be 'on', which means I'm sitting at it, but I wanted the capability to do so. There are several Apple iPad Air apps that should do this, but they aren't free (cost isn't very much, but still not free). Then I remembered Teamviewer. Searched the app store and there it was, and it's free. Installed it on the iPad Air and downloaded/installed the PC application and viola, I can access/use my laptop from my iPad Air.

[woodsmoke]

Rather simplistic but from Summer of Code, it "should" run on an android tablet.

http://liliputing.com/2013/08/kde-co...x-desktop.html

At one time I had the Android app that would actually let you see a Linux computer and use it, but didn't ever actually use it.

I did have a dedicated hard drive that I made up for it just for safety's sake.

woodsmoke

[SteveRiley]

Sounds a little unsafe to me. Steve's the man to ask, though!

What's unsafe, Feathers?

[Feathers McGraw]

What's unsafe, Feathers?

Posting without checking you're in the right thread, apparently.

That was supposed to go in the thread about using XP after MS stop providing security patches!

My bad :/

[woodsmoke]

aawww one must know that in the virtual hyper-reality of the Kubs that there has to be at least a FEW mixings of post.....

after all...when untold trillions of people have their own individual KUBs .....



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