Thanks for coming to iPad Coffee Talk. This outline will have some of the information from the talk. I teach iPad classes in 15 different communities across the Twin Cities.
If you have any further questions don't hestiate to contact Mike.
Tablets
There are numerous tablets available. In this coffee talk we are going to talk about the iPad, which is the most popular tablet on the market.
iPads
In the fall of 2013 Apple released the following iPads:
- iPad Air
- iPad mini with Retina Display
The iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display both have higher resolution screens, better graphics, and faster processors than previous iPads.
The iPad is a general purpose tablet. With approximately a millions apps you can customize your iPad to do basically whatever you want. I have seen people in all sorts of industries (medical, real estate, construction, education, photography, marketing, sales) incorporate the iPad into their daily workflow. School districts are buying students in their schools iPads to use in the classroom. Many people are buying iPads to replace their computers.
As you can see in the chart above there are numerous choices a person must make when it comes to purchasing an iPad.
- Which device?
- What size?
- Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + Cellular?
- Color?
If you click this quote it will take you to the review that it came from.
Having used the iPad Air since the day it came out I would have to agree with the above quote. I believe that the iPad Air is the best large tablet you can buy. I chose the iPad Air for myself because I like the additional screen size making things easier to read and I find that the keyboard is easier to use compared to the iPad mini. The iPad Air received a 9.3 out of 10 from The Verge.
If you click this quote it will take you to the review that it came from.
The iPad mini with Retina Display is just as fast and capable as it's bigger screen sibling and is a great option for anyone that wants a very capable tablet that is a bit easier to carry around in a bag or purse.
If you are looking to purchase an iPad mini with Retina display you may want to place your order sooner than later. They are in high demand and are limited in supply at the moment making it difficult to walk into a store and purchase one. I would recommend ordering from Apple's website and having it delivered to your home.
The iPad mini with Retina display received a 9.3 out of 10 from The Verge.
Both the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display have very high marks in reviews and have been well received by people that have bought them. I don't think you can go wrong with either of them. It simply boils down to whether you want a bigger screen or a smaller screen.
Learn more about the iPad Air on Apple's website. Learn more about the iPad mini with Retina Display on Apple's website.
Most people buy the iPad that has Wi-Fi. This allows them to connect to the internet at home, at the coffee shop, at the hotel, or any other public place that offers a Wi-Fi connection. If you have this particular model of an iPad, you would be unable to connect to the internet if you were a passenger in a vehicle, in the middle of the woods, or at a hotel where the Wi-Fi signal is out.
You can pay a small premium ($130) to add a Cellular connection to your iPad. You can then pay a monthly fee to be able to connect to the internet anywhere a cell phone signal exists. The data connection can be turned on and off depending on when you want to use it and you aren't charged a cancellation fee. This is a great option for people who travel!
If you choose to get a Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad you will have to choose which carrier you plan on using:
- AT&T
- Sprint
- T-Mobile
- Verizon
iPads come with a limited amount of storage. This storage is what holds your photos, songs, movies, television shows, apps, documents, etc.
How Much Does A GB store?
- 4,473 books (200 pages or 240,000 characters)
- 341 digital pictures (with 3MB average file size)
- 256 MP3 audio files (with 4MB average file size)
How Large Are Movies & TV Shows?
- HD Movie (2.5 hours) = approximately 5-6GB
- SD Movie (2.5 hours) = approximately 2-2.5GB
- HD TV Show (43 min) = approximately 1-1.5GB
- SD TV Show (43 min) = approximately .5-.6GB
If you click this quote it will take you to the review that it came from.
For the first four iPads that I owned I would always purchase the 16GB model. I have found over the past year that I would often find myself in a situation where I would need to delete stuff on my iPad to free up some space so I could put new stuff on my iPad. I decided to purchase the 32GB model for myself when I purchased the iPad Air and I think that for most users a 32GB model would be sufficient.
If you are planning on using the iPad as a laptop replacement I would definitely recommend a 32GB or 64GB model. If you plan on using the iPad primarily to surf the web, check email, and read books I would recommend the 16GB model.
The iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display come in two different colors. They are Space Gray (black on front) and Silver (white on front).
The iPad Mini and iPad 2 are practically idential except for the size of the screen.
The two reasons that I would recommend an older iPad for someone is if they are mostly concerned about cost or if the iPad was for a kid.
If you click this quote it will take you to the review that it came from.
Warranties For iPads
Here is some information about the warranty coverage on the iPads from Apple's website.
“Every iPad comes with one year of hardware repair coverage and 90 days of telephone technical support. AppleCare+ for iPad gives you two years of repair coverage and technical support from the original purchase date of your iPad. And it adds coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage due to handling for your iPad, each subject to a $49 service fee plus applicable tax.”
You can purhcase AppleCare+ for $99.
Where To Buy
You can purchase iPads at:
Community Ed
I teach a series of four iPad classes in 15 different communities.
The classes are:
- Get To Know Your iPad
- iPad - Beyond The Basics
- iPad - Tricks Of The Trade
- iPad - Exploring Entertainment
You can find the winter schedule starting in early December by visiting the Commuity Ed page on my website.