More Ipad questions from a potential buyer.

[brianmaslen]

I have a number of simple questions that hopefully someone can answer in a simple manner before I splash out on the wrong iPad. Currently thinking iPad 32gb 3G.
I intend to use it for email for personal and business accounts and the usual business use plus iTunes which I currentky use on the iPhone.
About to buy an iPad, so might as well go for the latest model, I am on O2 using an iPhone 4 which is due for renewal so will probably do that soon or wait for next edition. My company pays my phone bills and is happy to pick up any additional costs so thought for simplicity I would tether the iPad to the iPhone for 3G useage when no WiFi available whilst travelling. Are there any downsides to this? I can upgrade foc my existing O2 contract to allow tethering and this may prove useful with my laptop also.
I find my iPhone 4 is really slow when using 3G and I was advised that as I have an old Sim card I should replace it with a new free card which may help, given my experience is 3G noticeably slower than wi fi?
If I change companies at some point I may want to stop tethering to avoid running up bills, so thought i'd buy the 3G version as i believe it also has GPS capability which may come in handy. Is this useful?
Email, currently I view email from two sources Virgin (NTL world account) and my company account which I would like to do on the iPad but also synch with my iPhone and possibly laptop, will this be a problem? In the office I would typically still use my laptop for mail so synching is important.
Powerpoint, I want to be able to view and present Powerpoint on the iPad, not bothered too much about creating as I can do this on the laptop, so will iPad handle this easily? How hard is it to transfer files over?
Similarly Excel files, not a massive user more of a viewer of spreadsheets for sales figures, budgets and price lists.
What about printing? I have wi fi printer at home and in the office, is it just the same as printing from a laptop, never managed to do this from my iPhone?
Is there a simple magazine/book for new iPad users like myself. Loads on the shelf of newsagents.
Given that I want to travel with the iPad for business and also with the bike, can you run Mapsource on the iPad, I suspect the answer is no?
Also I access files stored in secure area on servers at work from my laptop, is this feasible too.
iTunes, currently synch Iphone to my laptop, would this be the best approach or synch to the iPad, or both?
Can you run Mindmanger, Skype on an iPad? Are there any obvious disadvantages to using an iPad instead of laptop?
What about linking the screen ouput to a projector as you would do with a laptop, is this possible?

Sorry for the long list but as you can see I really have very little understanding at present.
Regards Brian.

 

[Jiffy176]

I think you have answered your own question re 3G or not. The data packages are about the same price now unless you want to keep buying new sims from eBay etc. I tether mine to a 4s and works fine. Quick enough for light browsing and mail.
As for email. I don't use mine for work but my mobile me cloud mail and gmail both sync with my other devices. However there is an ap you can download that gives you access to you work desktop. It's called good for enterprise. Don't use it myself but have seen in action and it replicates your work computer with mail and intranet etc.

32gb should be fine for your planned use as photos and whatnot can now be stored on the cloud.
Brilliant piece of kit IMO and has left my laptop truly redundant.
You can run Skype on a pad and of course FaceTime.
When on wifi the pad and phone will sync with iCloud so that would cover

I think you could pick up the secure server using good for.
The pad can output to a screen with a hdmi cable that you can mirror the screen. If the projector has hdmi then yes. Though I would imagine but have not checked you could by pad leads that connect to svga etc.

Hope that's of some help.

Jiff.

 

[brianmaslen]

Thanks Jiff, that cetainle helps with some of the questions. If I go for the 3G but don't insert a Sim can I still use the GPS capability?

 

[Gipsy]

Thanks Jiff, that cetainle helps with some of the questions. If I go for the 3G but don't insert a Sim can I still use the GPS capability?

Yes is the simple answer. One other point, re the 3G option. Once the iPad is locked to a particular network it can't be switched. We previously ran Vodafone contract iPhones and at the end of the contract we contacted Vodafone and they unlocked the phones for us. ( It's something all networks are now obliged to do ). We now have unlocked iPhones to use as personal hotspots. It works particularly well while travelling as you can buy sim cards locally in the relevant countries. This tends to be much cheaper than the roaming charges with UK networks.
One other practical issue relates to the difficulty in getting printed copies out of the iPad. We've successfuly booked air flights on the go using the iPad, and then had the problem printing off the hard copy that is more often than not needed for presentation at the ticket desk at the airport. The new electronic ticket apps for the iPhone may get us round the problem in the future, but as yet not tried it.

 

[cookie]

Yes is the simple answer. One other point, re the 3G option. Once the iPad is locked to a particular network it can't be switched. We previously ran Vodafone contract iPhones and at the end of the contract we contacted Vodafone and they unlocked the phones for us. ( It's something all networks are now obliged to do ). We now have unlocked iPhones to use as personal hotspots. It works particularly well while travelling as you can buy sim cards locally in the relevant countries. This tends to be much cheaper than the roaming charges with UK networks.
One other practical issue relates to the difficulty in getting printed copies out of the iPad. We've successfuly booked air flights on the go using the iPad, and then had the problem printing off the hard copy that is more often than not needed for presentation at the ticket desk at the airport. The new electronic ticket apps for the iPhone may get us round the problem in the future, but as yet not tried it.

ipads are not locked to a network. certainly not the ones you buy from apple anyway. i've got an o2 SIM in mine, and it is not locked. i can swap SIMs as i feel like it

AAMOI iPhones bought from apple (in the UK) are not locked either.

you can print from them using Air Print. this involves connecting to an Air Print enabled printer, or installing a small program on your computer to act as a bridge to the printer.

personally, i just send the document to the computer and print from there. if it's a photo, it will be on Photostream and be available there already.

 

[Gipsy]

Thanks once again Cookie. The Apple Store IPhone is now definitely available unlocked.

 

[brianmaslen]

Thanks chaps, i'm getting closer to buying.