[Jim]

anyone used the galaxy tab2 10"?
I've been tasked with getting my parents one and I won't be recomending the iPad

[Johnny Brown]

My Dad has a mac and thinks its wonderful. They're not such a bad choice for people who don't really use technology and don't have expectations about how it might 'just work'.

[douglas]

anyone used the galaxy tab2 10"?
I've been tasked with getting my parents one and I won't be recomending the iPad

I've got one. What do you want to know?

[Jim]

Is it any good?, pro's, cons etc...?

[Jim]

My Dad has a mac and thinks its wonderful. They're not such a bad choice for people who don't really use technology and don't have expectations about how it might 'just work'.

It needs to have flash

[tomtom]

Why flash? If its for vid most sites seem to get around that now...
Can't say I notice lack of flash on the iPad nowadays.. Did a couple of years ago but sites seem to have plenty of workarounds now...

[cofe]

Isn't Flash discontinued on Android too?

I doubt you would, buy don't get a Kindle Fire. Unimpressive.

[douglas]

Is it any good?, pro's, cons etc...?

I like it. Switched on my desktop twice in the 3 months I've had it. Apparently the screen isn't as touch-responsive as a new ipad but other than that it does the job very similarly. It took a bit of setting up to get the home screen to my liking but that's the operating system rather than the device. I think if your parents are not terribly clued up they might not get this right and so find it hard to use and not use it. You could however work with them to set it up as they'd like? The GPS is a feature I use a lot which an ipad doesn't have. The email client seems a little unstable at times and has crashed about 4 times I would guess. Restarting the device is needed if that happens.

[Jim]

what do you use the GPS for, geo-tagging or sat-nav or something else?

[douglas]

what do you use the GPS for, geo-tagging or sat-nav or something else?

Sat nav.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

so I've been pondering...I've been a big fan of my Nexus7 since I bought it but I don't really use it for much beyond the usual stuff, email, twitter, browsing and viewing YouTube etc. Occasionally reading Kindle books.

iPad owners out there, how much creativity do you actually do with your iPads? According to the ads you're all a bunch of photo editing, movie making, music writing, uber-creatives who never feel the need to touch a keyboard or mouse.

There's no real Android alternative to iMovie, Garageband etc. But if you have them do you use them?

I'm not expecting purchasing an iPad to miraculously turn me into a prolific songwriter and expert editor however I do like the idea of making short films and animations etc with my kids.

So do you mainly use it for websurfing, youtube etc or do you actually do something creative with yours?

I suspect that most people would revert to a desktop/laptop if they have the option.

[tomtom]

My PC use is writing, checking email a little data processing and coding/modelling. Some of these things can't be taken away from the PC, but for email and a chunk of writing an iPad works fine.

For me, for work the changer was getting a good keyboard (I now have a kingston folio keyboard/cover) - so I can type nearly as fast on the ipad/keyboard as PC.. I use it on the road (its a 3g one) when I work in cafe's coffee shops - and at home when I want to do something quick (no boot up time). Its heavily used for surfing, watching the odd film (esp on planes) UKB'ing (via tapatalk) and tweeting..

But for writing proper (as in editing multi author papers, multi contributions) that involves figures, charts, equations etc... its useless compared to a PC. The added real estate of two screens and being able to do MsOffice things is important. Google docs, MSOffice online etc.. are all 'OK' but not as quick, snappy or effective as doing this on a PC proper.

I edit the odd photo, and the odd movie (usually do that on the phone) but find the file/photo/movie passing around a pain in the backside on the ipad, so dont bother. I am not in a 'creative' industry (though some might say I make up all my research )

Looking at how I work, and what I work on, I'm very tempted to get a convertible tablet/laptop or even a W8.1 RT tablet in the coming year.. I think the technology there is not quite good enough yet - but getting close.

[Johnny Brown]

We've got imovie and photoshop on ours and never use either. I find it basically unusable for anything like that - just the lack of a file manager for starters. Garageband is great on the laptop though.

[dave]

I've typed docs on mine with the apple wireless keyboard that came with the imac, and done stopmotion animation with the kids when it was pissing it down in scotland. Do basic photo editing with the free Photoshop app just for shits & giggles and twitter use etc. Never tried to use garageband or whatever.

[Paul B]

After my initial displeasure with my Nexus 7 II I am now ecstatic with it, truly they are fantastic.

I got my parents to get a Nexus 10 (1st gen) and that's going strong for them too. I think Jelly Bean and Google gives a very good "just works" solution and its met their needs flawlessly. I wasn't 'wowed' by the screen but I'd imagine the second gen may address this.

I still reach for a laptop (which is still too slow compared to our desktop for 'big' tasks) or keyboard if I need to type long winded posts, code etc. but I suspect that most of their needs could be met by the tablet (all I need is a decent home accounting app). In terms of using a creative suite, I entertained the idea of purchasing a tablet for going away for that kind of thing and came to the conclusion that it just isn't there. Sure, editing quick footage shot using the in-built camera but nothing more taxing.

Littlewad once made some quick adjustments of an image in front of me (color temp and maybe exposure) using his iPad and it looked really slick but anything more than that seemed fiddly to me.

[SA Chris]

According to the ads you're all a bunch of photo editing, movie making, music writing, uber-creatives who never feel the need to touch a keyboard or mouse.

According to the ads you have flocks of hot birds following you if you wear Lynx.

99% of the time ours is used for shopping, forums, email, googling, skype / facetime, watching videos and films, playing spotify through the hifi and kid's games to keep them entertained. And cut the rope.

I think this is the same for most tablets, and all do the job pretty well.

[Jim]

my parents have just come back from holiday and now want a mini ipad so they can take photo's and shoot video on it :handfaceplant: )also the screen on their quality compact has been damaged which I hope to replace)
how can I convince them this is not the way forward....

[Jaspersharpe]

Tell them it's a well known fact that anyone filming or taking photos with an ipad looks a total cunt? 

[psychomansam]

Tell them it's a well known fact that anyone filming or taking photos with an ipad looks a total cunt? 

This. And tell them to get Google Glass instead.

[slackline]

And tell them to get Google Glass instead.

Downside is that Glass isn't currently available  and applications to be an early "explorer" have been closed for a while now.

[tomtom]

And tell them to get Google Glass instead.

Downside is that Glass isn't currently available  and applications to be an early "explorer" have been closed for a while now.

I just pretend and tap the side of my head and say "OK glass". Cool eh! Check me out. Oh yeah.

[psychomansam]

And tell them to get Google Glass instead.

Downside is that Glass isn't currently available  and applications to be an early "explorer" have been closed for a while now.

I just pretend and tap the side of my head and say "OK glass". Cool eh! Check me out. Oh yeah.

Can you send me the instructions?

[lagerstarfish]

maybe throw in some hand gestures that imply you are moving large amounts of information around a 3D data representation?

[tomtom]

maybe throw in some hand gestures that imply you are moving large amounts of information around a 3D data representation?

I tried that, but I ended up in a room with plastic chairs - and they took my belt away...

[Paul B]

Tell them it's a well known fact that anyone filming or taking photos with an ipad looks a total cunt? 

Especially when they have it on a tripod.