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Apple iPad 3 with Retina Display
- Thread starter Jonah
- Start date
tek-monkey
wanna see my snake?
Did hear something about it, but was more interested in pi 
The fact you have posted this in Geeks and Gadgets and not the Computing forum is interesting. I'm not saying either is right! I think it's just a good illustration of exactly why I split the subjects into different forums.
So do people consider the iPad a computer, or a gadget? Maybe it's time for someone to test out the new Poll function.
db
#chaplife
i am addicted to Draw Something, and am getting jealous of all these people i am playing against who obviously have ipads, as their drawings are so detailed! there's just no way my fat fingers on a 4" screen can compete lol..
so that has become the catalyst for me seriously considering buying one of these puppies.. obv's it's not the only reason lol.. but one can't deny that they are a sexy bit of kit & are brilliant as a "coffee table" computer - e.g. quickly wiki "ooh, what else has she been in?", post on the forum, look up the meaning of a word, etc. yes, i know you can do that with your phone, but if you think it's just as easy/elegant as using an ipad then you are fooling yourself!
i figure now is as good a time as any to buy one - i.e. the retina display is clearly a massive upgrade, so i would imagine ipad 4 (and possibly 5) will be incremental updates - so if i buy one now i'll be set for a few years before i feel the need to upgrade..
what do y'all season ipad fans reckon? does that sound about right, or do apple have any massive upgrades planned that you've heard about 'pon the grapevine?
the only disappointing thing is lack of flash support.. yes, i hate flash as much as the next person, but it would be awesome to be able to play flash-based games (e.g. the sims social on facebook) on the ipad during one's morning ablutions!
so that has become the catalyst for me seriously considering buying one of these puppies.. obv's it's not the only reason lol.. but one can't deny that they are a sexy bit of kit & are brilliant as a "coffee table" computer - e.g. quickly wiki "ooh, what else has she been in?", post on the forum, look up the meaning of a word, etc. yes, i know you can do that with your phone, but if you think it's just as easy/elegant as using an ipad then you are fooling yourself!
i figure now is as good a time as any to buy one - i.e. the retina display is clearly a massive upgrade, so i would imagine ipad 4 (and possibly 5) will be incremental updates - so if i buy one now i'll be set for a few years before i feel the need to upgrade..
what do y'all season ipad fans reckon? does that sound about right, or do apple have any massive upgrades planned that you've heard about 'pon the grapevine?
the only disappointing thing is lack of flash support.. yes, i hate flash as much as the next person, but it would be awesome to be able to play flash-based games (e.g. the sims social on facebook) on the ipad during one's morning ablutions!
Vespa-NL
Well-Known Forumite
As I and my brother (Fonzie-NL) have had both iPad1 and iPad2, and now have an ipad3 each, we can say
that we do not look at them as a gadget but as an handheld computer. The lack of Flash can be a downer.
That's why you always need a proper computer to access flash sites.
The retina display on the iPad3 is a real eye opener. It does look very sharp compared to the older iPad's.
Although people who haven't seen the picture quality of the older iPad's will not appreciate this.
Also the better camera in the iPad3 (similar to the iPhone 4s) is a good upgrade.
that we do not look at them as a gadget but as an handheld computer. The lack of Flash can be a downer.
That's why you always need a proper computer to access flash sites.
The retina display on the iPad3 is a real eye opener. It does look very sharp compared to the older iPad's.
Although people who haven't seen the picture quality of the older iPad's will not appreciate this.
Also the better camera in the iPad3 (similar to the iPhone 4s) is a good upgrade.
Jonah
Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
Flash is a steaming pile of doggy-doo. It's the only thing that has ever caused a Kernel Panic on my Mac. I am glad that Apple never put it on iOS and am ecstatic that Adobe are ditching mobile flash.
I have seen an iPad with retina display and its brilliant. So, so sharp.
I have seen an iPad with retina display and its brilliant. So, so sharp.
db
#chaplife
yeah, we have an imac and a dell laptop for "proper" computing bizniz, but i just love the simplicity of the ipad for picking it up, instant-on, and you're straight into google/wikipedia/drawsome/whatever.. like you say, they're not quite at the stage yet where one can do away with a laptop altogether, though..
indeed, and i agree that apple were right to omit it from iOS - just saying that if i could play flash-based games on ipad, i would literally buy one today..
not suggesting that apple should adopt flash; just saying i can't wait until that hurdle is crossed (be it by the advancement of HTML5, or whatever)..
Trapnest
Well-Known Forumite
i am addicted to Draw Something, and am getting jealous of all these people i am playing against who obviously have ipads, as their drawings are so detailed! there's just no way my fat fingers on a 4" screen can compete lol..
so that has become the catalyst for me seriously considering buying one of these puppies.. obv's it's not the only reason lol.. but one can't deny that they are a sexy bit of kit & are brilliant as a "coffee table" computer - e.g. quickly wiki "ooh, what else has she been in?", post on the forum, look up the meaning of a word, etc. yes, i know you can do that with your phone, but if you think it's just as easy/elegant as using an ipad then you are fooling yourself!
i figure now is as good a time as any to buy one - i.e. the retina display is clearly a massive upgrade, so i would imagine ipad 4 (and possibly 5) will be incremental updates - so if i buy one now i'll be set for a few years before i feel the need to upgrade..
what do y'all season ipad fans reckon? does that sound about right, or do apple have any massive upgrades planned that you've heard about 'pon the grapevine?
the only disappointing thing is lack of flash support.. yes, i hate flash as much as the next person, but it would be awesome to be able to play flash-based games (e.g. the sims social on facebook) on the ipad during one's morning ablutions!
Draw Something is old, it was Draw My Thing before Zynga ought it and you can play it on your PC! If you realllllllly wanted you could use a graphics tablet!
Paying too much for the apple brand. idea is nice but lol no, never. Unless I was bought one, which I'd prolly play with a while then get bored. There are plenty of othet tablets that are muuuuuuuuuch cheaper too.
db
#chaplife
i know that, but it's a flash game innit? besides, it's way more fun on your phone/tablet.. that's exactly the sort of thing that ipads are great for imo (hence my original post)..
in your opinion.. we have a dell windows 7 laptop, an imac, and a couple of HTC phones in the house.. the imac wins hands-down in terms of nicest to look at and easiest to use..
the thing is, people who like apple products like them for precisely the reason why people who hate apple products hate them, so they will never agree lol.. namely, their closed "eco-system"..
as i mentioned in the OS X Lion 10.7 thread, i like the idea of a centralised repository for all software/resources, that is tightly controlled and updated.. but it's exactly that that "apple haters" cite as their main grievance!
horses for courses, basically
show me a tablet that is the same/smaller dimensions, weight, has the same/higher screen res, is as easy to use, and costs around the same, and i will buy one right away (because of the aforementioned desire to play Flash games whilst on the bog lol)..
db
#chaplife
right, well, that's it then - after much research, and the advice from my "show me the money" thread, i'm getting an ipad.. going to order it tomorrow..
thing is, i was quite happy just getting the wifi model - i thought if ever i needed 3G i would just use the "wifi hotspot" feature of my HTC.. but i've just found out that the wifi-only ipads also lack GPS..
now i can't decide whether to go for 3G or not! do i really need GPS? do i?? it sure would be nice for the missus to have it in her lap to use when we're driving somewhere new, and i like the location-based features of my HTC phone (e.g. when looking stuff up on right move, quidco, facebook, etc.)..
but is it really worth an extra £100?
AARGH PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET - ADVISE ME!
thing is, i was quite happy just getting the wifi model - i thought if ever i needed 3G i would just use the "wifi hotspot" feature of my HTC.. but i've just found out that the wifi-only ipads also lack GPS..
now i can't decide whether to go for 3G or not! do i really need GPS? do i?? it sure would be nice for the missus to have it in her lap to use when we're driving somewhere new, and i like the location-based features of my HTC phone (e.g. when looking stuff up on right move, quidco, facebook, etc.)..
but is it really worth an extra £100?
AARGH PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET - ADVISE ME!
Fonzie-NL
Well-Known Forumite
For most apps you will not need a GPS.
There are however some applications like navigation (of course!) and augmented reality apps,
that work much better when they know exactly where you are.
These augmented reality apps also use the camera, so this can be very nice together with the screen. (like Plane Finder AR)
I have also used some navigation apps while being a passenger in a train (steam train in this case) to get some idea how fast we were going.
This was with an app called Memory-map showing our location and speed on an OS map.
In those cases the GPS is great to have on the Ipad
There are however some applications like navigation (of course!) and augmented reality apps,
that work much better when they know exactly where you are.
These augmented reality apps also use the camera, so this can be very nice together with the screen. (like Plane Finder AR)
I have also used some navigation apps while being a passenger in a train (steam train in this case) to get some idea how fast we were going.
This was with an app called Memory-map showing our location and speed on an OS map.
In those cases the GPS is great to have on the Ipad
db
#chaplife
so the only time you have found you have needed GPS is AR apps, and maps/GPS?
i'm not really interested in the former, and the latter i could prob's stick with my phone, for the sake of an extra ton..
still, i'm tempted.. any other reasons to go 3G?
Vespa-NL
Well-Known Forumite
With 3G you will have the option to have internet on the fly. Although it could be a pricy option depending on the mobile telephone provider you have. But there are also specific sim-only internet providers. And you will have one big smart phone...
Without 3G you don't have this option and you will only have WIFI available.
Without 3G you don't have this option and you will only have WIFI available.
db
#chaplife
3G isn't the problem really - my HTC phone can act as a wifi hotspot, thereby giving 3G internet access to any device which has wifi (none of this faffing about with dedicated tethering solutions - the phone just behaves like any other wireless access point, so the ipad will see it as just another router/AP and connect to it).. i was just surprised at the lack of GPS..
but, as the other 'alf rightly pointed out, our laptop hasn't got GPS and i never once have thought that was a problem, so i really can't see why i need it on an ipad.. the thing will probably never leave the house, for a start!
i'm ordering later today - 32GB wifi i reckon
db
#chaplife
well, i received my ipad on tuesday, and i can confirm: it is the dog's knees! 
playing draw something and words with friends is soooo much better on a big screen, and being able to check your emails & stuff while doing one's morning ablutions really is the future
the only minor niggle is the fact that the new retina display is so high resolution that all/most graphics look a bit cuffy next to the beautifully rendered text/vector graphics! clearly, this isn't apple's fault (unless you consider "making the display incredibly high-resolution and beautiful" a fault lol)..
i downloaded subler, which effortlessly converts all my HD films (MKV, AVI, whatev's) to mp4, so i can chuck them in itunes and watch them in the native player - either on the ipad itself or on the TV via apple's AV adapter.. i'm as happy as henry scat at a PETA meeting!
playing draw something and words with friends is soooo much better on a big screen, and being able to check your emails & stuff while doing one's morning ablutions really is the future
the only minor niggle is the fact that the new retina display is so high resolution that all/most graphics look a bit cuffy next to the beautifully rendered text/vector graphics! clearly, this isn't apple's fault (unless you consider "making the display incredibly high-resolution and beautiful" a fault lol)..
i downloaded subler, which effortlessly converts all my HD films (MKV, AVI, whatev's) to mp4, so i can chuck them in itunes and watch them in the native player - either on the ipad itself or on the TV via apple's AV adapter.. i'm as happy as henry scat at a PETA meeting!
flossietoo
Well-Known Forumite
I was waiting to hear how you got on, db. I lust after an ipad. But I don't know if I've just had my head turned by a good looking stranger. How do you get on using the touch screen as a keyboard for emails etc? I know it doesn't have Flash but I am so clueless, I don't know upon which bits of my life that would impact - can you access Flickr? I also know that there is no SD card slot, which really irritates me. I recognise that they are doing this to ringfence profit so that people can't just bung in extra memory. But I would want to upload pictures from my camera's SD. Apple make an SD Reader connection but it is extremely badly reviewed.
I shall keep an eye on this thread and read your experiences before I commit the credit card!
I shall keep an eye on this thread and read your experiences before I commit the credit card!