iPad - For Work or Just a Toy?

I think of it as a toy (but what a fun toy!). But, if you want to read work-related pdfs, it would be perfect.

Don't know about the stylus application.

Mine is basically a toy, but my husband uses his for both and loves it. Much better than toting a laptop everyday - especially when traveling.

My best advice though.....is whatever you do.....DO NOT let your toddler see it!! It will never be yours again. LOL!!

The i-Pad can most definitely be used for work. We bought my 6 year old one for her last birthday. She suffers from developmental delays that cause her to have issues with her gross and fine motor skills. When writing has fatigued her at school she uses her i-Pad to type. There is an on screen keyboard but we also purchased her a blue tooth keyboard to use. There is an app that you can purchase for like $10 called pages. it is a prgram that functions just like word does for documents. You can also print from the i-Pad but it does require an air printer, which we have yet to buy. Any Best Buy could educate you on them.

If you do purchase one I wouold recommend doing so from Best Buy. Their warranty is about $30 more but it covers much more. Apples warranty only covers software issues where Best Buy's warranty even include things like damage from dropping, water damage, and other device issues (they said the most common one was the home button wearing out form being used so much).

I use my iPad mostly for fun. My husband has used his for fun and work. I know a number of people who uses it for both work and fun. And depending on their needs, some have stopped taking their laptops for work travel and instead bring their iPad.

I also use time on it as a reward for potty training. :-)

I don't know about a stylus app. I would do some research online or using the App Store portion of iTunes to see if there are productivity apps that match your needs. It's very possible to use it for work as long as there are apps that will help you do the work that you need to do.

I use it to check email, FB, and play games. It's basically a toy:)

Ours is basically a toy.

I read books on it and the kids play games on it!

There are Apps that might work for you with a stylus. Check with your local Apple store. I love my iPad and love reading on it. I do have a app that you can write with your finger....... not that great, but it makes me think there must be a stylus app out there.

The only negative to an iPad that I have found is that you must turn it off when taking off and landing on a plane. I hate that.

For my job, I really couldn't stand to use the iPad for work - or anything where I have to type a lot. Viewing certain websites - like mamapedia - is a real pain if they don't format for the iPad.

My toddler gets more use out of the iPad than I do!

I have a laptop for work and don't think I could survive without it.

I have a tablet and I use it for work and as an e-reader. I do a heck of alot of reading and research and I love it! I'm sure you'll find using the iPad or any device convenient for work. I have a few games for my son but he isn't allowed to play it unless we are stuck somewhere for more than an hour, like traffic or hospital emergency room. I refuse to download Angry Birds on it for that reason. The tablet is MINE! He has all his gadgets - his iPod, DS, digital writer and digital art maker thing, so don't feel too bad for him.

I went to a technical seminar last fall, and the techie people were recommending ipads for many types of applications that could be used for business, especially for those who do a lot of traveling.

Also, my daughter is taking an AP history class (in high school) and the entire class was issued ipads. They use them all the time for taking notes, sharing data etc.

Your iPad can be used however you want. It's basically a computer bit like everyone said, it has limitations. I love mine. I'm a big Apple techie. I would recommend you get the iPad with 4g. Since you plan to use it outside the home, this model will work best for you. Did you know that movie directors use iPads for their storyboards? I was impressed with that. You really can do anything with it and there are so many apps for productivity. You can always check out the apple app store just to get an idea of what's out there to fit you needs. I mainly use mine for mail and web surfing and also to get news. I have a bunch of kids apps on here too because my 4 year olds on loves to play on it.... And he's very good at navigating it too.

If you are just going to be reading articles, PDF, then sure, the iPad will be able to do that and it will be practical for you.

And yes, you can use it to take notes via typing it etc. OR you need to get an app that will take the stylus.

OR, what is really useful is... go to an Apple Store. Ask the customer service guys/gals there. They are VERY VERY VERY helpful and will tell you everything, you need to know about it, per what YOU need it for.

The iPad is more than a toy.

I may be wrong, but I don't think ipad is compatible with Adobe, so you may not be able to view pdfs... I'm not 100% sure though... You may want to check out a Windows based tablet or other e-reader (Kindle, etc....)

Good luck!

My husband uses it when he travels (instead of a laptop) for checking his email, etc. We can also access the company's intranet/resources, etc.
My son plays games on it.
I'm unfamiliar with the stylus app but if it works like the "notepad" feature of the iPhone (which I use all the time) it would be perfect for that application you need....
Reading the .pdf files--should be good.

I have the ipad2, and like it a bunch for looking on the web, sending and receiving email. I'm not a techy person, I think it has certain limitations. 1st) always getting some damn pop up telling me that I need to purchase more storage my I cloud is full.....why do I have to purchase more? How do I back up to the cloud? How do I retrieve what is on the cloud if I need it? It's all so aggravating. My husband keeps telling me "google it". I have no patience for that...I want to know what I want to know now...I don't want to reaearch it! I have yet been able to pri t with it. We have a blue tooth printer at home....no go. My boss was able to get his to print on one of the printers at his house, and we tried mine, it worked once....now it won't print on his printer...no idea why. The photo storage...I have a little device that plugs into the one and only port on the iPad, and in that device I can plug in a micro ad card, and sd card, USB and micro USB, and one other something..no idea. I upload pictures from the sd card from my camera, but the iPad dumps them into one spot...organizing them into files is tricky to remember, and laborious, so then you end up with the orginal "photos" , some how they end up in "photo stream" and after you organize them they are in "albums".... All of them are still in "photos" and some of them in "photo stream"...I don't know why. I have the 64G version, so I am told that I won't run out of space forever but the photo thing does seem kind of inefficient. My cousin has the version that will go online (forgot the name) on it's own, you have to pay for service like cell service ...she is disappointed with the performance as it drops out all of the time, she finds it easier to just find a wifi hotspot...I have wifi at work, McDonalds has free wifi, in the car when my husband is driving he makes his cellphone a wifi hotspot and I am able to go online with it. Overall it is handy as it is small and very lightweight and portable, but has it's limitations for sure.
ETA: one more thing that I forgot.......it will not work on certain web pages ...ie: Disney , or open attachments on certain emails because " this device does not have the latest version of flash".......and guess what...because of a feud between Apple and Microsoft..most likely never will.