Anyone used iPad on long-haul flight(s) ? - Page 3

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackmccabe 

I do not want to go too far off topic but Ido have to say hat a netbook or laptop will be much more versatile than an ipad and I cannot see how the ipads interface is superior to a laptop or netbook running windows;

The ipad's os is basically just a stretched iphone os.

Ok, I'm just going to make one reply on this point. Given that some 15 million iPads have been sold, and now Apple found it a good enough product to release the iPad 2, it's safe to say that there is a real, sizable market for the iPad regardless of tech specs, yes?

Yes, a laptop or netbook is more versatile. That misses the point, slightly. Certain functions make an iPad more user-friendly, partially due to the mechanics of a touch screen (e.g. DJ/mixing apps, painting apps, e-books), than a laptop.

On your second point about the iPad OS being a stretched iPhone OS, yes, in many ways this is true. However, do you have an iPhone? Do you also have an iPad? It's not immediately apparent, but iPad > iPhone for usability in certain ways: e.g. screen size, especially for reading comics, viewing webpages that don't have mobile versions (like Head-Fi), and typing.

The main point is that more functions/versatility =/= better product. We don't actually make all our decisions based solely on logic; logically speaking, there are good reasons to use an iPad instead of laptop or phone some of the time, and emotionally, there are things like a product's aesthetic qualities and its ease-of-use/lack of hassle that win us over.

What about an Eee Pad Transformer it is a tablet that can have a keyboard attached it also has longer battery life than the ipad and runs android honeycomb which is just as intuitive as the ipad os but provides some more functionality.

The nook colour, hp touchpad, blackberry playbook and samsung galaxy tab all look excellent as well.

ipad battery life is rediculous.  Apple are genius engineers.  I turn off the display, battery doesn't drain, and stays stand by until I turn the display on(no boot).  It's just so well engineered.  ipad is very snappy also, it respons so well, the touch screen is natural and responsive, unlike other touch device types.  It's very genius engineering.  I like how apple condones technology and creative innovation.  You can innovate technologically, but without great ideas, you can't utilize technology to full potential.  ipad doesn't even have a powerful processor, but it reacts much better than any powerful Android devices.  That's innovation.  I have an Adroid device, and it drains tons of charge when on standby, the hardware and software is not implemented well with Android devices. If you pay attention to Apple's design, you will notice how much thoughtfulness of the user went into consideration.  For example the mic button, although it wasn't a technological breackthrough, it was how creatively it was applied.  In today's world, that is innovation.

I am sorry but it sounds like a bit of apple fan boyism there, as ipad's are much slower than a well powered android tablet and this is not arguable as all benchmarks display this.

Also android devices use just as little if not less power in stand by and take a lot less time to boot up as they are more powerful.

I also found the ipad's screen to be just as responsive as any other decent android device, but it's resolution and aspect ratio are very poor so it does not excel for watching movies.

I have actually owned an ipad 2 and just found it mediocre it was not excellent at anything and the only place I could think to use it is on the toilet 

I'm  not sure I agree with the benchmarks you speak of. I've yet to see and android tablet to surpass an iPad 2 in overall performance with my own personal testing. Specs are meaningless if the overall experience is sub par. iPad 1 most definitely. The iPad does what I want it to do better than any other tablet and my laptop does the rest. However,  tablets suck for portable listening IMHO. To each his own.

Sorry estreeter, I did want to address jackmccabe's points briefly, but I admit it was going OT. 

Back on topic: I might be using my iPad on a long-haul, 12/13-hour flight this July, and a fair bit while backpacking. Not sure the data will be of any use to you by then though.

I think that Apple's engineering department is genius, but their marketing/PR department is the true evil.  The design of the basic hardware for Apple products is elegant and generally quite functional, it's usually when the marketing gets in the way of making hardware function over form when things start to get iffy.

But back on topic, uh.  I honestly think the topic has been pretty much worn out. :P  The iPad has outstanding battery life and will last well through any flight under almost any circumstances, perhaps short of playing a game like Infinity Blade for the entire 12 hours straight.  End of story, I'd say.

Besides you can get a generic USB battery pack or two, and use it to charge, anything that has a USB cable, iPods, iPods, Nintendo DS, Mobiles etc. Handy when its theres no handy mains.