Apple iPad - Legit BSchool Tool?

If you check out the current issue of Wired, the cover story is all about how the iPad and tablets are going to change computing. I can see the possibilities but am going to wait until all the dust settles out from the iPad launch before having an opinion. Personally, although I have an iPhone and used Macs in the past, I'm looking to get away from Apple products because of their "walled garden" approach.

For portability, I'm with you guys looking to get a 11-12" netbook. This T400 Thinkpad I'm using feels huge in comparison!

I think everything on your list could be done with a smartphone.

I think a lot of the traditional print magazine publishers can be a bit biased in their reviews as well. The iPad and other tablets can buy them more time to keep their traditional subscription revenue model. While book publishers often resist e-readers for cutting into their profit margins, magazines are already sliding downhill and willing to take whatever they can get.

Alright, I saw one today in person and must say that I was impressed with the form factor and weight. If they really have B-School books available at bargain prices on the ereader... it may be worth it for me. However, the web browser is weak without flash, and I can do everything else on my iPhone (e-mail, calendaring, etc.).

Re: Apple iPad - Legit BSchool Tool? - yes, if you get one, you might be viewed as a legit b-school "tool".

hype over substance.

I would say it is good start but definitely Apple has to do a lot of work to kill laptops.

One small example, I tried to download pdf files from internal Chicago Booth site with course materials but Safari doesn't allow to do so. It's a "invisible" problem but critical for me to decide on laptop/iPad question. Moreover, mail.app doesn't have a spell checker. It's second why I will use laptop rather than iPad...

Here is what will convince me to roll down the hill for buying ipad: will profs allow ipad in classes? If, for ex, the cases to be discussed at kellogg class can be read off an ipad instead of printouts, that will be pretty slick.

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No, an ipad is not a legit tool for school.

that will not stop you and many others trying to justify them as such so they can buy them, and I am sure there will be dozens of them about.

If your prof doesn't like laptops, they won't like ipads. The issue is that you can piss around on the internet rather than reading the case. So, depends on the Prof.

I tried the iPad for a few hours yesterday. It's the bees knees. I love it.

HOWEVER, for now it's likely going to be more an entertainment device than a productivity tool -- and that is how Apple seems to be marketing it as. It's not supposed to completely replace your laptop (but may cut into some of the time you spend on your laptop - i.e. all time you spend watching video, reading, browsing, emailing, checking scores, etc -- and the laptop becomes purely a productivity thing to do your heavy spreadsheets, editing huge documents, presentations and all the "boring work" stuff).

It's great for reading, surfing the web, checking email, watching movies, checking sports scores (you have to see the MLB app, and I haven't seen the NFL one yet) and so forth. In other words, it's more comfortable having something like this in your living room, bedroom, bathroom (you know how guys like to read while on the can) and so forth.

However, the *concept* of a touchscreen is the future (yes, Apple didn't invent it, and the technology has been around for years now, but Apple through the iPad will make touchscreen mainstream) -- it may not be the iPad itself, but the iPad is just the beginning. You may see more computers - laptops and desktops move towards this to the point where the mouse and keyboard may be a thing of the past.

I never thought it to be a big deal *conceptually* about doing everything touchscreen - until I actually tried for an extended period of time. In a subtle but powerful way, surfing the web and fiddling with applications is a completely different (and more intuitive and immersive in my opinion) of an experience when you're directly touching, swiping, dragging, tapping, etc. what you see on the screen directly (on a size that is comparable to a laptop screen with comparable resolution). It may not seem like a big deal if you do it for 5 minutes. But after playing around with it for a few hours running through applications and web browsing, it did feel weird to go back to a mouse and physical keyboard. I can imagine what it would be like being on a touchscreen computer (not necessarily the iPad, but other devices in the future) over a period of weeks or even months and years -- the intuitive aspect of a touchscreen on something that size (and not a tiny screen like a PDA) will make it difficult to go back to mouse and keyboard.

It's hard to explain, and hard to convince people conceptually - you have to really play around with it for a while before the actual experience sinks in to know that this is pretty damn cool.

But for now, the iPad likely won't replace a laptop if you're doing hardcore spreadsheets, making presentations, and writing long-ass writeups for class - for now.

However, that shouldn't prevent you from getting one. I sure want one once the 3G version comes out later this month.

Guys and gals, remember that Apple loves to improve its gadgets. Look back at the iPod and the iPhone: by version 2.0 or 3.0, they really take off. The first one tests the waters, in terms of the appetite for the concept. Gen1 stuff doesn't even begin to tap into the potential.

I imagine that an iPad 2.0 will be out by Sept 2011 (the relevant date for me) and it may really ramp up the productivity factor.

I hope we will see something interesting today as Apple will present OS 4.0

Open Safari, log on the internal Chicago Booth site, click on Develop on the top bar of Safari > User Agent > select the browser that you know works with this internal site

I don't see "Develop" button in Safari on my iPad. I can see pdf files but I can't save them to see later offline.

Sorry I thought you meant you were trying to download it from a Mac, not an iPad. This option I mentioned works on a Mac

Personally, I don't think I'm ever going to get an iPad. It would be a nightmare of compatibility issues with fellow students with laptops. Also, I'm still very doubtful that it will catch on, so I'm not very keen on spending on that much money on unproven technology. Don't get me wrong - I love my iPhone, but the iPad is a completely different story. Apple would have to break into the laptop market and make the iPad into a standard. That just doesn't happen overnight, if at all. Furthermore, the iPad just doesn't look professional enough. They look more like a children's toy than a real computer. Can you imagine bringing one into a board room? I can't. Anyway, just my $0.02.

no multi-tasking, no deal.

is there really anything a ipad can do that a laptop can't? i work in IT procurement for a major company and all the executives are buying them and forcing procurement and product management to make them standards. it's really exposed to me how limited their functionality is. maybe it's a bit more slick but really you're just paying for a toy. nothing wrong with that of course! if you've got the money then go for it, i probably would, but otherwise i couldn't justify it.

The way I'm looking at this is what do you use a laptop for while at bschool? If the iPad can more or less do those things, then great, it's easier to lug around than my old MacBook.

I'm looking at this from the perspective of someone who will have an iPad anyway, and am trying to determine whether I need to buy a new laptop for school next year.

Thoughts?