Apple's iPad Megathread - Page 46 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

FanIn80 · 04-07-2010, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

I'll concede that point because I haven't used an SD card to store and run media off of. I can't prove you wrong so lets just assume you're right here.
However, it does have USB capability and I HAVE done plenty of work off and watched media off of those types of devices with great results. So why ignore that part of the discussion which is the actual point I'm making?

You must have missed my edit in my first response. If they're expecting you to connect your device to external storage in order to use it, and you're ok with that, then you're both missing the point of the device. It just sounds like more laptop thinking to me.

Also, say goodbye to any kind of a battery life when your powering all those USB hard drives.

Yeah_Baby · 04-07-2010, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pastiche

It's essentially a content distribution device to deliver music, books, videos and games from content producers through Apple's stores to your hands.

The lack of basic computing functionality in the creation software like file sharing limits its usefulness for anything other than consuming content.

It is also the first generation.

Phaneuf3 · 04-07-2010, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FanIn80

You must have missed my edit in my first response. If they're expecting you to connect your device to external storage in order to use it, and you're ok with that, then you're both missing the point of the device. It just like more laptop thinking to me.

Also, say goodbye to any kind of a battery life when your powering all those USB hard drives.

True. It's not ideal.

I'm intrigued by the idea of these types of computers but basically, none of them meet my requirements. If I were to actually seriously look at buying one of these instead of just being at the point of kicking tires in a thread it would have to (at the minimum):
Have 32GB of storage or more.
Be able to get files from several sources (i.e. USB)
Have multitasking support

Obviously, none of these would meet those requirements out of the box. The android based system comes the closest by being able to increase your storage through other means. It looks like the iPad is missing some very basic features and I'm assuming these are being withheld on purpose for the release of iPad 2.0.

edit: of course there's other things that would be nice to have: very long battery life, camera, etc. but those are just extra bells and whistles.

FanIn80 · 04-07-2010, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

If I were to actually seriously look at buying one of these instead of just being at the point of kicking tires in a thread it would have to (at the minimum):
Have 32GB of storage or more.
Be able to get files from several sources (i.e. USB)
Have multitasking support

Well the iPad:

- Can go up to 64GB of internal storage
- Can access files through USB and wireless transfer
- Should have multitask support with OS 4.0 (if the rumours are true)

So does this mean you'll be buying one?

Phaneuf3 · 04-07-2010, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Well the iPad:

- Can go up to 64GB of internal storage
- Can access files through USB and wireless transfer
- Should have multitask support with OS 4.0 (if the rumours are true)

So does this mean you'll be buying one?

I thought it didn't have USB support and the USB adapter you can plug into the dock is so locked down that it can only be used to import jpegs and RAW camera files into its photo app.

Russic · 04-07-2010, 09:44 AM

The issue with file transfer could quite easily be dealt with using the dropbox application. I suppose you couldn't save back to the dropbox ... that would be an issue.

FanIn80 · 04-07-2010, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

I thought it didn't have USB support and the USB adapter you can plug into the dock is so locked down that it can only be used to import jpegs and RAW camera files into its photo app.

The portion of the device that is used for documents is treated like a USB hard drive when you plug the device into your computer. The complaint about not having a USB port isn't about file transfers (I hope), it's about not being able to use other USB devices.

Besides, there are a ton of apps that manage wireless file transfers to and from the device. I don't think I've ever dumped data onto my iPhone by way of USB transfer. I always just do it wirelessly.

Russic · 04-07-2010, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FanIn80

The portion of the device that is used for documents is treated like a USB hard drive when you plug the device into your computer. The complaint about not having a USB port isn't about file transfers (I hope), it's about not being able to use other USB devices.

Really? I've totally missed this.

FanIn80 · 04-07-2010, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russic

Really? I've totally missed this.

It was mentioned as a feature when it the iPad was announced. Also, we can already do it on our iPhones.

Pastiche · 04-07-2010, 09:53 AM

You can drag and drop files on and off of an iPhone through a usb connection?

Phaneuf3 · 04-07-2010, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FanIn80

The portion of the device that is used for documents is treated like a USB hard drive when you plug the device into your computer.

What I'm thinking is a situation like this: If I'm collaborating on something with a client or co-worker and I want to load some files onto my computer and they hand me a USB stick (something which isn't all that uncommon) I don't want to explain that I can't use that because I'm using an iPad and make them head back to their workstation to find an alternate way of getting me these files.

Basically, it would be nice if I had one piece of hardware that was my go to device. I don't want to haul around a cell phone and a smartphone and an iPad and a netbook and a laptop so I'm able to deal with whatever very common scenario life throws at me.

Pastiche · 04-07-2010, 09:56 AM

What if I'm taking pictures with my digital camera, can I plug it in to my iPad through USB and transfer the pictures to it like any other netbook, laptop, personal computing device on earth? Hell I can do that with my 5 year old iRiver mp3 player.

FanIn80 · 04-07-2010, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

What I'm thinking is a situation like this: If I'm collaborating on something with a client or co-worker and I want to load some files onto my computer and they hand me a USB stick (something which isn't all that uncommon) I don't want to explain that I can't use that because I'm using an iPad and make them head back to their workstation to find an alternate way of getting me these files.

Basically, it would be nice if I had one piece of hardware that was my go to device. I don't want to haul around a cell phone and a smartphone and an iPad and a netbook and a laptop so I'm able to deal with whatever very common scenario life throws at me.

You're right. An iPad won't be able to use a USB memory stick.

Phaneuf3 · 04-07-2010, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pastiche

What if I'm taking pictures with my digital camera, can I plug it in to my iPad through USB and transfer the pictures to it like any other netbook, laptop, personal computing device on earth? Hell I can do that with my 5 year old iRiver mp3 player.

Yes, they have an adapter for that. But they've (for some mysterious reason) locked it down so much it can ONLY be used with a camera for transferring picture files into their photo app.

Pastiche · 04-07-2010, 09:58 AM

Oh, cool so I get to buy an extra adapter to do that?

Phaneuf3 · 04-07-2010, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FanIn80

You're right. An iPad won't be able to use a USB memory stick.

Its an interesting idea. It looks cool. But for my needs, it's not quite there yet. Maybe the 2.0 version when they fix this lack of USB, add multitasking, add a camera and drop the price a bit...

Russic · 04-07-2010, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pastiche

What if I'm taking pictures with my digital camera, can I plug it in to my iPad through USB and transfer the pictures to it like any other netbook, laptop, personal computing device on earth? Hell I can do that with my 5 year old iRiver mp3 player.

Yes you can do that with the adapter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

Yes, they have an adapter for that. But they've (for some mysterious reason) locked it down so much it can ONLY be used with a camera for transferring picture files into their photo app.

I'm a little confused as to what else you want it to do. The photo app is simply the storage area on the iPad ... apps like pages, keynote, numbers, photoshop mobile etc are all able to pull from it.

Phaneuf3 · 04-07-2010, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pastiche

Oh, cool so I get to buy an extra adapter to do that?

$30 (if my memory serves me right)

FanIn80 · 04-07-2010, 10:02 AM

Edit: Oh wait a minute, never mind. We were talking about 6 different things there. Yes, you need to buy an adapter to connect your camera to a device that isn't a computer.

Phaneuf3 · 04-07-2010, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russic

I'm a little confused as to what else you want it to do. The photo app is simply the storage area on the iPad ... apps like pages, keynote, numbers, photoshop mobile etc are all able to pull from it.

As an example pulled out of my ass: I want to take a word document from my co-worker's USB stick.