“Back when I worked exclusively on my iPad, writing posts for Cult of Mac and everything related to that, I had a hell of a time getting some things done” Charlie Sorrel writes for Cult of Mac. “It seemed like every tiny step needed to be researched before I could get anything done.”
“In the end, I quit and went back to a split iPad/iMac setup, but not for the reasons you might think,” Sorrel writes. “Now, when I take my iPad out to work, like when we visit a trade show or I go traveling for a few days, I don’t even have to think about it. So much has changed in the last couple of years that the iPad really is as capable as a Mac for many jobs – and you don’t have to be a nerd to do it.”
“The main hurdle was working with pictures. While the iPad is pretty great for viewing and editing photos, it used to be that this editing wasn’t really about accurate pixel dimensions or working with multiple images,” Sorrel writes. “[Now], if I go away for a week, I don’t take a MacBook. I take the iPad and a keyboard, and I don’t suffer at all. Gone are the days when working from an iPad meant hours or days of setup, testing to make sure everything would work in the field. Now it just works.”
Read more in the full article here.
Cannot agree more with this. So many apps have been released that make up for the, “holes” that were there before. I am truly amazed by what my iPad can do. I can’t wait to see what happens when everything in the iOS eco-system goes 64-bit and truly takes advantage of Apple’s next generation A series chips.
Only Geeks, Microsoft, Google, and John Dvorak keep saying that.
I still can’t get any work on the iPad. Example: getting an email attachment editing it and emailing it again is a grueling experience. Transferring files on and off the iPad is like going to the dentist. The workflow for doing so bad and slow. iTunes is so horrible it can’t even handle syncing any longer. The iPad is still a toy for me. Its too bad because I try every couple months to use my iPad instead of bringing my laptop on business trips. If they could make it easier to move files around, edit and insert into different apps it would be awesome.
I too see the iPad as a toy. Anybody saying they get serious work done on it and that’s it’s as capable as a Mac and blah blah is full of it.
It’s infuriating having to use touch gestures for productivity. It’s slow and sucks. And the screen is just way too small…
Sorry, but it’s not designed in the way that geeks like this want to believe it is.
“It’s infuriating having to use touch gestures for productivity”
You must really hate Windows 8…
What’s Windows 8 ?
For those of you that think the iPad is for doing “real” work. I’ll challenge you to complete 10 tasks and we’ll see who gets them done quicker (if at all).
I’ll offer up the same challenge in 2018.
OK, lie on your back, hold it over your face, and see how much research you can accomplish for that article you need to write. 😛
I have meetings in the middle of fields. Though I still have a laptop I do more and more on my iPad. There are tasks like design that are better with the right tools. But I have people to use those tools for me:)
Maybe it’s like Steve said, the workers use trucks, the owners drive sports cars *weg*
A real estate agent I know uses his iPad for work.
A pastor I know uses his iPad for work.
A doctor I know uses his iPad for work.
An IT friend uses his iPad for work.
A teacher I know uses her iPad for work.
A carer I know uses her iPad for work.
A college lecturer I know uses his iPad for work.
A builder I know uses an iPad for work.
An artist I know uses his iPad for work.
And of course, the journalist who wrote this article uses his iPad for work.
You asked us to give you ten tasks. Instead here are ten people.
See you in 2018? Who knows what people will be doing with their iPads by 2018.
Finally designing and inventing transparent aluminum?
Exactly; the iPad is for doing work a laptop can’t do. GPS, back camera, easy to hold while doing work standing up, handing it to other people. Writing long articles and adding objects is not a job for an iPad. Walking around a large area and imputing data is not a job for a laptop. Go to Apple’s iPad webpage and look at the jobs people are doing with an iPad that could not be done with a laptop; expand your idea of real work.
I’m somewhere in the middle. I get a lot done with the iPad. I take notes, make diagrams, edit PDFs, create presentations with Keynote and use the iPad to present with to groups.
There are applications I have which require the MBP. I’m OK with that. I use the right tool for the job. Being to use just the iPad is a blessing when it works.
As the article points out, the situation is much better now than it was a few years ago. I’m sure it will be better yet in a few more years.
Just use a Surface and you are done. Oh and the Surface can print on any printer! Love my iPad but my Surface is what I travel with.
What makes you think you can’t print from your iPad?
I guess it comes down to what you want to do, but I use my iPad for a lot of productive work and, yes, playing. I wrote this post to describe all the things I do on an iPad: http://www.tech-52.com/2014/03/09/why-ipad/
And what I do is only a small subset of what can be done. But there’s no doubt that I can be more productive for some things on my iMac.
For me one single issue stops me from using an iPad all the time: no file system where I can store files according to my needs.
Tasks, be it work or personal, often only require one file, and for those an app-centric system is just fine.
But a lot of tasks/projects require a number of files, and there, being able to store all related files in a folder (and often a little tree of subfolders) is absolutely a must. Having to remember all the apps and go find the files there is just not practical.
I understand the sandboxing benefits, but this down-side is, for me, a hurdle I can’t get past if I want to use my system efficiently.
It’s just a software issue though, so it might happen one day. Until then, I am quite happy to carry my Macbook around. And given that Macbooks are getting better and lighter every year, if it never happens so be it. “Truck driver” for life, no problem with that.
I’m writing two novels on my iPad in Pages. First one is now over 220 pages and the second is around 175.
Designed the remodel of my girlfriend’s house and then the remodel of one of my own rental properties in 3D CAD with AutoDesk’s 123 Design on my iPad. That is very useful for discovering problems before running into them in actual construction.
Designed the decorations for my granddaughter’s birthday cake on my iPad then executed it according to the design. Did the same for my girlfriend’s father’s 90th birthday, transferring the design by photo-process to the cake at the bakery.
I’ve used the 3D CAD app to design three rings that have been made into jewelry by my jeweler worth several thousand dollars each. The Jeweler is putting them into production for retail sale.
Built presentations with Keynote.
Edited videos for the Keynote presentation.
Did the accounting for the remodel of my rental on the iPad in Numbers.
I’d say that is pretty productive.
Oh, and did my 2013 income tax returns on my iPad. . . that was totally NON PRODUCTIVE.