Revolutionary. Kindle Killer. Giant iPod Touch. The iPad is known by many names and the question since its announcement has been: Is it a viable device for the everyday user?
The answer is a most definite yes. In Apple’s last quarter alone they sold 4.19 million iPads. The business realm has surprisingly become one of the largest proponents of the iPad. It has been the topic of human interests stories in the news for disabled children and it has been showing up everywhere else, including on multiple TV shows. Since April 3 of last year, I have personally been using the iPad in some capacity, along with my laptop and iPhone. As a student, I have found the iPad to be an amazing tool both in and out of the classroom and believe it should be the device students are asking for in the future.
It Is Not A Giant iPod Touch
Yes, it might look like an oversized iPod Touch or iPhone and even run iOS (the operating system shared by iPod Touches, iPhones and iPads), but it is certainly more thae A Giant iPod Touch. As a student, I have used it to write articles and essays, do research for papers, study for tests, download power points sent to me from teachers, oh, and watch TV shows, movies and other more important things than school work.
It is not meant to be a standalone device, which means that it syncs and backs-up to a laptop or desktop through iTunes. This means that you should have a computer if you own an iPad as a student. One of the current limitations that the iPad has is that it is not able to print. Apple has, however, announced AirPrint, Apple’s technology which will allow the iPad to print with printers connected to a computer, which they have said will be released in iOS 4.2, a software update coming this November.
In The Classroom
Note Taking
Fairfield University is not a laptop school–very rarely do you see more then two students in class using a laptop. It is a bizarre thing that I have never understood, but the iPad is actually great for a school in which laptops are not often found in the classroom. I have found in my use over the past seven months that the iPad actually creates a less distracting environment to work on, which results in me being more focused on the class I am taking notes in or the paper I am writing. This is because of the screen size; it’s pretty difficult for me to fill half it with a word document and the other half with barstoolsports.com.
Classrooms on campus are wireless, so the iPad is connected to the Internet. Your text books can be on the iPad, you can be taking your class notes and you can even keep your calendar and “to do” list on the iPad, which in theory means the iPad all you would need to bring to class.
Text Books?
For some students, the concept of a digital text book just seems too far fetched. They miss the ability to flip through pages or don’t like reading off of a screen for long periods of time. However, I have found that there are many benefits to textbooks on the iPad. Personally, I use the Amazon Kindle App for most of my text book purchases because not only can I access them on my iPad, but also on a computer and even my iPhone. Any highlights or notes I leave on the digital pages transfers from device to device every time I open the book. Price wise it is often cheaper than what the Campus Bookstore would buy the book back for. Some books I have even been able to get for free, such as Shakespeare and other older works due to Project Gutenberg, which takes post-copyrighted works and provides free digital copies.
Only for my Morality of Marriage class was I unable to purchase the books digitally and had to resort to hard copies.
iPad or New Computer.
I Already Have A Computer.
Why Do I need an iPad?
The debate that everybody has is “do I really need an iPad?” Need is tough to justify, but the real question is does it make life easier? As I said earlier, it is not a standalone device so when the debate is, “My computer works but is old and slow” the iPad makes complete sense. It is ultra portable and can help save money on textbooks. It will become your primary device for checking email, surfing the web and reading newspapers and magazines.
An iPad will do almost everything, but I still suggest getting a laptop or a desktop if you’re computer is no longer working because there are some things that the iPad still can’t do. I don’t do in-depth research in databases on my iPad and I don’t ever see myself doing so. It is meant for portability and everyday use, not intense research.
Bottom line is that if you are looking to get another device that is easy to transport and want to start leaving your laptop at home, the iPad is the right choice for you.
For college students, this is the model to get:
16 GB WIFI MODEL
$499 (NO MONTHLY FEE)
Accessories:
$69.00 Apple Wireless Keyboard
$39.00 Apple iPad Case
Apps:
Free Kindle (Text Books)
$10 Pages (Word Processing)
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