Kindle or iPad 3?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Like it or not, the iPad as we know it will be dead in a few years because Windows 8 will force ipads to enter the realm of having a full OS onto a tablet device. I'm expecting a slimmed version of OS X to be running on iPad in 4 years Max. After all, the best way to make someone use a Mac is if every apple product essentially is a Mac.

Lots of people would argue that the latest version of OS X has already made a number of large steps/concessions to being a powered-up iOS.

In the very near future, there won't be a difference between iOS and Mac OS.

But it's silly to say that the "iPad as we know it will be dead." PCs didn't "die" when they switched from MS-DOS to Windows; it's just an evolution to a (theoretically) more powerful operating system.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

How about simple productivity with Office programs? That's one thing no tablet I've ever tried has been able to do. It's why when my last netbook died I bought another netbook instead of the iPad.

The iWork iOS apps all convert to and from MS Office files on the fly and are $10 each in the iTunes store. They're not as powerful as the full MS Office programs (although I'd argue that Microsoft has stuffed Word, at the very least, full of features no one cares about, simply so they can justify new versions), but handle the standard tasks very well.

There's also a rumor that keeps cropping up that Microsoft is working on iPad versions of MS Office already. (They have one or two very simple apps in the iOS store already and are, of course, the biggest makers of Mac OS software already.)

 

[Mercutio01]

The iWork iOS apps all convert to and from MS Office files on the fly and are $10 each in the iTunes store. They're not as powerful as the full MS Office programs (although I'd argue that Microsoft has stuffed Word, at the very least, full of features no one cares about, simply so they can justify new versions), but handle the standard tasks very well.

There's also a rumor that keeps cropping up that Microsoft is working on iPad versions of MS Office already. (They have one or two very simple apps in the iOS store already and are, of course, the biggest makers of Mac OS software already.)

Thanks. This now also begs the question about keyboard. Can I type on a touch screen as fast as I do on a regular keyboard, or would I need to buy a compatible keyboard? And how much screen real estate of an iPad is taken up by the keyboard?

I'm not in the market now, but I hope to be so come Christmas-time.

 

[falcarrion]

if you want microsoft office, check out the "ONLIVE DESKTOP" app.
It is the best I have found for the Ipad.

 

[Gilladian]

Thanks. This now also begs the question about keyboard. Can I type on a touch screen as fast as I do on a regular keyboard, or would I need to buy a compatible keyboard? And how much screen real estate of an iPad is taken up by the keyboard?

I'm not in the market now, but I hope to be so come Christmas-time.

While I adore my Ipad for almost everything, the touch keyboard is lousy for more than a few short sentences of typing. I do all my composition on my regular desktop.

The keypad takes up a noticeable but not aggravating amount of space. The problem is that you are essentially doing hunt-peck typing. There's no way to do two-handed real typing.

I have not tried any of the attachable keyboards.

 

[Alan Shutko]

Like it or not, the iPad as we know it will be dead in a few years because Windows 8 will force ipads to enter the realm of having a full OS onto a tablet device.

We'd had tablets with a full OS on them since 1991. What will make them a better idea now than they were before?

I'm expecting a slimmed version of OS X to be running on iPad in 4 years Max. After all, the best way to make someone use a Mac is if every apple product essentially is a Mac.

Actually, they are today. The core OS and frameworks are extremely close. The UI is different, mostly around user view to the filesystem (i.e., they don't have one). Metro is very interesting, since they hope to run a tablet UI on desktops (as opposed to a desktop UI on tablets). I'm interested in seeing how well it works.

 

[Banshee16]

Sorry, Canada's got you beat. Our telecoms suck large, plus we have government rules to keep out foreign-owned companies, despite sharing a border with one of the largest phone-using countries around.... *sigh*

Canada's cellphone rates among highest - The Globe and Mail

US, Canada have priciest cell phone plans in the world

Until I threatened to leave, my Canadian carrier was costing me......$130-140 per month for relatively moderate use. Those overages bite..

Banshee

 

[Kzach]

Well, I finally made a decision; the gym equipment I've been saving for has to take precedence. I've been using it as an excuse not to exercise for too long. Things like iPads and Kindles can come later, when I'm fit.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Wise choice. Since I got my iPad2, my resemblance to Jabba the Hutt has only increased!

 

[Relique du Madde]

We'd had tablets with a full OS on them since 1991. What will make them a better idea now than they were before?.

Better technology. Better marketing.

Trust me, if Apple were to release a version of the iPad that was completely cross compatable with a mac (without having to rely on iTunes as a interface) they would be held up as geniuses and mac ownership would jump by leaps and bounds. That is why they are being so dismissive about MS's Windows 8 attempt because they don't want Balmer to be the person that saids "There is no need to learn 3+ different interfaces anymore... you just have to learn one easy interface, the Windows 8 Metro interface for all your computing needs be it on a tablet, a smart phone, your personal or work computer."