Apple Ipad?!?

My brother has one and LOVES it. He used it recently on a long car trip to play movies and keep his young daughter entertained.

We have one. We use it a lot and love it. My husband takes it w/him when he travels. My 4 year old daughter works it better than any of us-it is very intuitive. We have gotten excellent use out of it.

ok my response is gonna be kinda weird but oh well lol! I am against buying any apple product. Apple is slowly building a monopoly with its products, and you have to use its biproducts to get your products to work. example: my sister got a ipod for christmas a couple years ago it hold 2gb music and she can only load music onto it from itunes. I got a sony mp3 player and it was $100 cheaper, held 4gb of music and I could load songs from any program on my computer (excluding itunes) or online (yahoo music, rhapsody, napster ect.) I think there stuff is way over priced compared to their competition and I dont see why you would spend money on something like a apple ipad thats basically just an overpriced laptop with out the keyboard, ok I'm done

Forget what the object is -why is he trying to talk YOU into getting a certain something he obviously wants for YOUR birthday? Get something YOU want and have an interest in, and when it's his birthday, if he wants an iPad -then he can get one. If you investigate it and really like it -then go for it. Steve Jobs himself said, "It's a big iPhone." I have an iPhone, and I like it, but I have no use in my life or desire right now for an iPad.

Everyone I know who does have one loves it. It's basically a big version of iPodTouch.

But, they're all people really into technology.

It's great if you love technology and want to be connected that often. If not, I'd tell him that he should get you what you want for your birthday, not a toy he secretly wants to play with!

i'm a big ol' mac person so from the perspective i'm envious! but really, the iPad is sort of inbetweeny device that is useful only its niche. if just want something to keep your writing on, or just watch movies, then it's good for that, but as you say you can find cheaper stuff. ipods can do most of what ipads can that don't involve writing, so that might be all you need. if you want to surf the web, just get a mac laptop.
khairete
S.

My dh gave me an I pad for mothers day and gave him one for fathers day. We both use them more than our lap tops because you don't have to wait for boot up, grab it check e-mail, all my recipes plus apps to get other cook books and recipe sites. Family photos, tv programs, videos, e books, and much more. You can get cases or stands if you find them hard to hold,which we do not. You aren't going to use it to do spread sheets or type extensive reports, but for what most of us use the internet for the Ipad is well worth the money. It will make your flight much easier, entertaining for the kids, flight tracker info so you can keep all the trip on target.

Updated

Although I am a big Apple fan, I did not plan on getting one because I already had an iPhone. Well, when the 3G version came out I broke down and ordered one, and I think it is one of the most useful things I ever bought. I'm actually using it to type this in bed right now. I use it constantly, to check e-mail or Facebook, watch TV shows I missed, play games, and other things. I take it along to restaurants and read USA Today or Time when eating alone. I don't have small kids, but I can see how it would help to entertain them. One app you can get is like finger painting. Only thing I would be concerned about it is kids fighting over it or not being careful with it. I am certainly getting my money's worth!

I have one and I love it. We got the WIFI version before they had the 3G versions out. I would recommend getting the 3G because you don't have to be in a hot spot in order to use it. I think that's what makes the WIFI version less appealing. Outside of my house I can't really use it and I don't like having to drive to specific places such as a panara or starbucks.

It's expensive of course like anything apple makes but it's well worth the money, it's made with quality and will last you a very long time. The kids will love it. My girls play games on it all day long and of course on the trip they can watch movies for hours. The battery life is excellent on the ipad.

If you are looking for a cheaper alternative then you can just buy an ipod touch. Its essentially the same thing only smaller. The Ipad is cool, I would recommend it.

I don't actually have one, cause like you said it cost's a small fortune :)
But I think they are a great idea if you are actually going to use it.
Like you said for taking trips and such.
I kinda compare them to having a laptop only easier to carry around lol
I think for something that expensive, if you have the money & think you'll get use out of it GO FOR IT!

I personally would LOVE to have one, but for me it would be pretty pointless and probably would be more of a paper weight than anything else lol

hi,
we have both the ipad and the ipod touch. we bought the ipod touch in may 2009 when we took an overseas trip with our 3 yr old. it was a substitute for having a DVD player and DVDs. Yes, so we loaded movies on it and kid games. and it was only $199? hubby has the ipad now and because of the expense, we will not let our son touch it or play with it. So, not sure how old your kids are and if they can be careful with something so expensive on your trip. But, for our trip, the ipod touch was just right.

I'm an Apple fan from way back -- I still have our very first Mac up in the attic and it still works just fine.
If you can get one - get one. You'll love it! I have an iTouch and I love it except the screen is too small - the iPad's screen is perfect!!
If you can afford it, get it... just be sure not to drop it on a tile floor... a friend of mine's child did that and it shattered. It's not a toy...
LBC

We have one...it's pretty swank, that's for sure! It works really well and seems pretty sturdy... however after spending that much $ I am not sure I would be that excited about the lil' kids "playing" with it...but that's just me, my DH got one from his company (he's a programmer) otherwise we would have NEVER spent that much $ on another computer:)

My only dislike so far is that it is not comfortable or user friendly to lay it on your lap flat like a laptop, you have to hold it... so I find that my left wrist kind of feels uncomfortable (hurts a lil actually) after awhile from holding it up...does that make sense?

I bet you are like me, if my husband ever surprises me with something you can bet you have to charge it up! He got the iPad but I really like it. I like checking my email and looking things up in a hurry (my computer is up stairs). I play a few games on it and it does have some useful apps. I keep it cranked up all day long while he is at work. A mom with little kids is pretty busy and i can see how it would be a great thing for you.
Barb

My husband has one. He travels so it is VERY convenient for him. So I don't get to "play" with it much, but I know it is convenient with our boys. He has games, movies, etc on it for them. It is perfect for traveling. Much smaller than carrying a laptop. My hubby has actually talked about selling our home computer and buying me an i-pad. Although I don't have experience using the i-pad, I would be ok with it. Definitely would be helpful on your trip. In the car, airplane, hotel, etc!

My hubs keeps telling me I "need" one, when I can barely e-mail. He is the tecky, he really wants it!! I think that's your hubs too. If he gets it for you for your B day then you can't complain he spends too much money on his "toys" because the i-pad is yours. If you do get it let us know who uses it more! LOL

I have a 32GB WiFi + 3G iPad and love it. I've got all my music on there, my applications and I can connect to my PC at work.

My 5 year old son loves it, too! I have all his applications on it, his favorite cartoons and a couple of movies on it. That, along with his travel DVD player, is how we've made it through vacation in Santa Monica and to Disneyland last month because it is quite a waiting game at the airport and not much to do on the plane. He brought his 5 favorite DVDs with him for his travel DVD player, he had his shows and a couple of movies on his iPad PLUS he had his coloring and games on the iPad. Don't know how parents did it before all this technology!!

Plus, the map on there is a ton of help when you're driving in a strange city and much easier to see while driving vs. the iPhone!

I downloaded tv shows onto my ipod when we went to Disney earlier this year and it was great for the kids on the airplane. But, I have to admit that I would have liked the internet features of either an itouch or ipad.

Good luck!
L.

We love our Ipad, I we got it for our trip to Disney... There are TONS of games that are super fun for the kids to keep them busy.. ITs like a bigger version of the IPhone but my husband has both and loves them both.... WE have the ipad in a Case so it does not slip around in your child's lap,,, ITs super fun!

Our company has just launched Children TV application for iPad. There are hundreds of safe sorted cartoons. You can enjoy videos in 10 languages and filter only the once of you interest. Filter by age category is also available. Check out the application here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/childrentv/id491518606?ls=...