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i recently bought an ipad2. at first i was impressed by what seemed like a really innovative new tool in the computer arena. i was on vacation at the time and hadnt brought my laptop with me as it would have been a pain to lug it around, but i wanted something. i had seen the ads for the ipad2 and decided to take the plunge.
at first, it was a lot of fun. it's small, lightweight, fast, and easy and intuitive to use... once you unlock it. yes, it has to be unlocked. you unlock it by putting itunes on another computer and connecting the ipad2 to that computer. it then does a whole registration thing and finally unlocks the ipad2. that's a complete pain in the butt and even insulting and even almost criminal. i just paid $700 for this thing and i cant use it unless i have another computer? that's just wrong and really annoying.
still, once i got it unlocked and running, this thing was pretty slick. it doesnt come with very many apps, but i got mine with wi-fi built in and could surf the internet almost anywhere, since wi-fi's hotspots are very common. i also got a couple passwords from friends to use their wi-fi connections. you can also get the ipad2 with 3gs built in.
so, i went ahead and set up an account with the apple store and downloaded some freebies and some pay-for apps. now, this was a bit surprising... most of the apps you pay for are less than $5 a piece and some of these are really good apps. sure, there's a lot of junk, so you just watch the ratings in the store. ok, so i was liking this, especially because it was so handy while i was out and about on vacation.
at one point i came home for a few days to pay bills, check on the cat and generally make sure the house hadnt blown up or anything and that's when the troubles started. i wanted to move files to and from the ipad2 and my pc.
the ipad2 has some serious drawbacks that arent apparent at first. i have the ipad2 and i'm frustrated constantly by it's unwillingness to share. moving photos to or from the ipad2 is a pain. you have to have itunes installed as it acts as the medium to facilitate transfers of data. but, if that's not odd enough, you have to have itunes installed just to unlock a new ipad2. and, itunes has to be installed on a regular computer, mac or pc. additionally, you can only 'sync' one file from your pc to your ipad2. syncing is a sort of temporary transfer system. if you want to sync another file or folder you have to erase the earlier one from the ipad2. this makes no sense whatsoever, but that's what it requires. thus, if you want to move photos from your pc to your ipad, they must all be in the same folder and you sync that folder, but if you want to move anything else to the ipad2, like your music files, you have to unsync the photos, which erases them from the ipad2. this is completely bonkers.
to further screw with you, once you move photos to the ipad2 from your pc, you cant move them back. so, you might have this really cool app for altering the photos somehow and you really like it and now you want to put it back on your pc, you cant. ok, you can, but you can only do it by emailing it from the ipad2 to your pc email.
and, if you want to move photos that were gathered or created on the ipad2 to begin with, it's a trick to download them to the pc and even trickier to view them. apparently the only pc program to currently be able to view apple's proprietary format is photoshop elements 8. now, i'm sure we all have the program, right? lol. you cant view them in paint shop pro nor in photoshop, itself.
when i first got the ipad2 i was impressed by how much they had packed into this little device. now, i'm seriously looking around for a better tablet. these restrictions are totally unnecessary. all i can think is that apple is somehow convinced that everyone is going to rush out and get their tablet and buy their apps and therefore they dont have to be compatible with anyone else... the world is supposed to be compatible to apple, not apple to the world. this always surprises me about apple. for a company that really does have some good creative ideas, they get totally whacko when it comes to opening up their market.
oh, and did i mention that you cant play anything with adobe flash on the ipad2? that means most of youtube is restricted. tons of web games are not available. tons of animations wont play. apple gets really retarded again. i'm seriously thinking of trading this thing in for a Samsung tablet. it's too bad, too. it really could have been the answer to a viable, compact, lightweight, seriously fast, affordable, mobile communication device, but with all these restrictions on files and file sharing and blocking flash stuff, the thing basically becomes a toy for buying apps from the apple store. granted, some of those apps are pretty cool, but i certainly dont want to be locked down to only that. so, apple once again does something totally cool and then shoots themselves in the foot doing it. i dont know who's running the company these days and setting these weird policies, but the board and shareholders might want to reevaluate their choice.
now, just in case i'm wrong, please tell me there's an easier way to move files and more than one file, back and forth between the two devices. i've looked at the apple site support stuff and from what all i read there and in the ipad2 manual, i've got it right, but i'd be happy to be wrong if someone knows a good way to do all this and bypass all those apple restrictions. i just hate goofy things like this.
anyways, that's my current take on the ipad2. it really is a slick device; just dont expect it to play well with the other children.
at first, it was a lot of fun. it's small, lightweight, fast, and easy and intuitive to use... once you unlock it. yes, it has to be unlocked. you unlock it by putting itunes on another computer and connecting the ipad2 to that computer. it then does a whole registration thing and finally unlocks the ipad2. that's a complete pain in the butt and even insulting and even almost criminal. i just paid $700 for this thing and i cant use it unless i have another computer? that's just wrong and really annoying.
still, once i got it unlocked and running, this thing was pretty slick. it doesnt come with very many apps, but i got mine with wi-fi built in and could surf the internet almost anywhere, since wi-fi's hotspots are very common. i also got a couple passwords from friends to use their wi-fi connections. you can also get the ipad2 with 3gs built in.
so, i went ahead and set up an account with the apple store and downloaded some freebies and some pay-for apps. now, this was a bit surprising... most of the apps you pay for are less than $5 a piece and some of these are really good apps. sure, there's a lot of junk, so you just watch the ratings in the store. ok, so i was liking this, especially because it was so handy while i was out and about on vacation.
at one point i came home for a few days to pay bills, check on the cat and generally make sure the house hadnt blown up or anything and that's when the troubles started. i wanted to move files to and from the ipad2 and my pc.
the ipad2 has some serious drawbacks that arent apparent at first. i have the ipad2 and i'm frustrated constantly by it's unwillingness to share. moving photos to or from the ipad2 is a pain. you have to have itunes installed as it acts as the medium to facilitate transfers of data. but, if that's not odd enough, you have to have itunes installed just to unlock a new ipad2. and, itunes has to be installed on a regular computer, mac or pc. additionally, you can only 'sync' one file from your pc to your ipad2. syncing is a sort of temporary transfer system. if you want to sync another file or folder you have to erase the earlier one from the ipad2. this makes no sense whatsoever, but that's what it requires. thus, if you want to move photos from your pc to your ipad, they must all be in the same folder and you sync that folder, but if you want to move anything else to the ipad2, like your music files, you have to unsync the photos, which erases them from the ipad2. this is completely bonkers.
to further screw with you, once you move photos to the ipad2 from your pc, you cant move them back. so, you might have this really cool app for altering the photos somehow and you really like it and now you want to put it back on your pc, you cant. ok, you can, but you can only do it by emailing it from the ipad2 to your pc email.
and, if you want to move photos that were gathered or created on the ipad2 to begin with, it's a trick to download them to the pc and even trickier to view them. apparently the only pc program to currently be able to view apple's proprietary format is photoshop elements 8. now, i'm sure we all have the program, right? lol. you cant view them in paint shop pro nor in photoshop, itself.
when i first got the ipad2 i was impressed by how much they had packed into this little device. now, i'm seriously looking around for a better tablet. these restrictions are totally unnecessary. all i can think is that apple is somehow convinced that everyone is going to rush out and get their tablet and buy their apps and therefore they dont have to be compatible with anyone else... the world is supposed to be compatible to apple, not apple to the world. this always surprises me about apple. for a company that really does have some good creative ideas, they get totally whacko when it comes to opening up their market.
oh, and did i mention that you cant play anything with adobe flash on the ipad2? that means most of youtube is restricted. tons of web games are not available. tons of animations wont play. apple gets really retarded again. i'm seriously thinking of trading this thing in for a Samsung tablet. it's too bad, too. it really could have been the answer to a viable, compact, lightweight, seriously fast, affordable, mobile communication device, but with all these restrictions on files and file sharing and blocking flash stuff, the thing basically becomes a toy for buying apps from the apple store. granted, some of those apps are pretty cool, but i certainly dont want to be locked down to only that. so, apple once again does something totally cool and then shoots themselves in the foot doing it. i dont know who's running the company these days and setting these weird policies, but the board and shareholders might want to reevaluate their choice.
now, just in case i'm wrong, please tell me there's an easier way to move files and more than one file, back and forth between the two devices. i've looked at the apple site support stuff and from what all i read there and in the ipad2 manual, i've got it right, but i'd be happy to be wrong if someone knows a good way to do all this and bypass all those apple restrictions. i just hate goofy things like this.
anyways, that's my current take on the ipad2. it really is a slick device; just dont expect it to play well with the other children.
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