BoatBanter.com - View Single Post

F.O.A.D.

On 6/27/13 1:54 PM, iBoaterer wrote:
In article ,
says...

On 6/27/13 10:51 AM, iBoaterer wrote:
In article ,
says...

Some of you may recall I got an iPad III about a year ago, after selling
my Mac laptop to a friend. I figured the iPad would be a decent
replacement for the laptop I only used on occasion for work-related
purposes while traveling.

I did like the iPad, and thought it was more than sufficient for
informal web browsing and to write or answer emails, and for
entertainment, too, but the few times I needed a ?computer? handy while
traveling to write or edit a text for work, I found it a colossal pain
in the ass for two main reasons:

1. the ?file? system on these tablets is counterintuitive and you can?t
simply store or retrieve files from folders the way you do on a ?real?
computer. I recall this was true on Android OS systems, too. It?s a real
hassle for someone like me who has dozens of text files he is juggling
at one time, and for several clients, too. Storing working files in ?the
cloud? has little appeal for me.

It is true (somewhat) on an Android tablet as well, that is true. BUT,
there is a very easy workaround for it, you can make your own folders
similar to a windows folder.

2. though I had a nice ZAGG external keyboard and cover for the device,
there was no way to use a mouse and therefore cutting, pasting,
clipping, saving, inserting, deleting - the whole catastrophe involved
in serious writing and editing - wasn?t working for me. Too much
?touchy, feely touchscreening? for my taste and patience.

Hmm, you can use ANY Bluetooth mouse with my Android tablet, as well as
any Bluetooth keyboard. There are also keyboards onto witch you dock the
Android tablet.

Another aspect of the device that annoyed me was that you really
couldn?t see much of its screen out in daylight. This is pretty much
true of all these portable devices. I?m not sure why it is, because even
relatively inexpensive screen devices for boats - GPSs, fish finders, et
cetera - are pretty much easily readable in sunlight.

Well, same with a tablet. But, I am with you, while I LOVE my tablet and
take it everywhere because it's much nicer to have a bigger screen than
my Android phone, it doesn't come close to taking the place of ANY
computer.

Mine is a 7" Samsung, and what I really like about it, is it's small
enough to hold in one hand, and I use a stylus with it. Much bigger
screen than my phone, but if I were to use a 10" one, I'd just have a
laptop!

Yeah, I used a bluetooth docking keyboard with my iPad. But there was no
facility to use a mouse the way you might with a laptop or desktop. That
really annoyed me. The screen size was fine...it had what Apple calls a
"retina" display, and it was sharp as a tack, even to my old eyes.

In any event, the iPad is with its new owner, and I'm getting a new,
very lightweight laptop from Apple, direct from the PRC and perhaps with
chopsticks.

I can go two ways with the keyboard, either a dock, where when you press
it into the holder it actually uses the port, OR Bluetooth. And I can
use a Bluetooth mouse as well, but it just doesn't operate like a
windows computer, and that is a negative for me. But, as a device I love
it, I use it for all of my appointment calender stuff, address and phone
book, etc.

Yeah, I've used the iPad I had with a bluetooth keyboard. There wasn't a
capability I knew of to plug a keyboard directly into a device port. But
I had no problems with the bluetooth keyboards I used.

There was a "jailbreak" program that allowed very limited use of a mouse
on an iPad, but not enough use to interest me. I'm not familiar with
what might be possible on an Android device with a mouse.

In retrospect, I view the iPad as an iPhone in a larger form factor. I
keep track of appointments, addresses, phone numbers and more on my
iPhone, and it works well when I want to dictate a short note.