Is it normal?

[carlodf64]

I'm the owner of two Galaxy S2 and one iPad 2 3G with 64 gig that costs a whoppy 800 €, no less.
I've just upgraded to iOS 5, "The best OS in the world" according to the welcome message (TBOSITW for brevity from now on)
Well, first of all, I started as a programmer and then system engineer more than 20 years ago, and have seen so many OSes, including Apple Lisa's and ven Apple I and Apple ]['s, and I won't subscribe to that, simply because the best thing in every field is the one that tops the bill, so it is just old plain marketing hype - that came unwelcome straight into my tablet. Shame on you, Apple!
But I have another set of questions:

1. Is it normal that TBOSITW still does not allow email attachments? Yeah, I know that I can share files from within the file's application, whatever it is, but what if I want to send more than just a single file, and maybe even of different types? For example, a spreadsheet and a zip file? Email attachmentsnhave been around for quite a few days already, maybe it's a too-aggressive concept for Apple? Or it just implies that they do not whant to include a file browser in the little beast?

2. is it normal that TBOSITW still can't transfer data from one application to another (e.g. Two different office suites) without using some external aid? I mean - cloud, PC, web service - you name it. Almost any othe device on the planet can be connected an browsed freely with an USB connection, becoming just like an external hard disk. Once again, file browsing forbidden?

3. Is it normal that TBOSITW does not support recharging the little beast from an USB 3.0 port, that can provide a higher voltage/amperage than USB 2.0? What does Apple want? Kryptonite-equipped USB, b-rays from Thannoiser Gate or what?

4. Is it serious that the TBOSITW offers iCloud backupping a 64 gigs device?!? I want to backup my data BEFORE retirement age. Yes, I can use iTunes, but my PC uses Linux and I have to use Windows just for the sake of iTunes. So it seems that plain backup (drag'n'drop or copy) is too an advanced concept for the geniuses at work in Apple

5. Is it normal that TBOSITW needs iTunes to remember "him" which application I purchased? On the android marked thay are permanently associated with my ID, so I don't even need a PC to reinstall all apps OTA - oh, and to keep multiple devices in sync, for that matter. Maybe it's still too much of rocket science?

6. I have 81 apps installed on my iPad: is it normal that iTunes does not have a "select all" checkboks when it comes to syncing the apps? Which, BTW, has to be done manually, since iTunes does not do it automatically. On the companion of TBOSITW I had tomselect one by one 81 checkboxes. Actually, I had plenty of time to stare in awe at the wonderful interface, but what if I was a bit short of time? Probably Apple users have to wait for another update before a "select all" checkbox appears

7. Is it normal that TBOSITW on a 3G device does not support SMS in the WOW!-new message application? Ok, I'm free to talk with any other Apple user on the planet, unfortunately for Apple, 90% or so of mobile user do not have a smartphone or, if they do, there's more than 50% probability that it's not an Apple. This is a small detail probably overlooked by Apple marketing guys

8. Is it normal that TBOSITW still does not support Flash? And no, HTML5 does not work on more than half on the videos, nor do the other browsers offer an acceptable performance. Yes, I know, someOne told that it's possible to live even without Flash. For that matter, it's possible to live even without Apple, Windows, even a PC or a TV, but why should I? Flash is there and looks like it's going to stay for long time yet, why Apple does not come to terms with reality?

9. Is it normal that TBOSITW does not support DLNA, which is endorsed by more than 200 companies? Why should I buy an Apple TV? I can stream live media from my mobiles with no hussle, but not from an 800 € beast. Something has gone awry somewhere?

10. Is it normal that TBOSITW comes with almost no useful software preinstalled? I had plenty of SW on my mobiles, including a powerful office suite and a plethora of other apps. On the iPad what I got? Photoboot?!?!? Funny guys at Apple, ain't they?

11. Is it normal that TBOSITW does not support C&P from Skype? Or is it a Skype limitation? Can't tell for sure, but I do can C&P on my mobiles' Skype to sms app or to translator app, so I can't help but being a little suspicious....

12. Is it normal that TBOSITW takes AGES to sync my Google Mail contacts? And not natively, but with an ad-hoc app written for iPhone that works in iPhone mode (half res, portrait only) mode. On other devices it's a breeze, here it's more of a brick

13. Is it normal that amongst the 81 apps I have, the best ones (I mean, well written SW) only seem to be games?

14. Is it normal that the keyboard of TBOSITW does not allow access to symbols by shifting or long pressing keys? Only a few keys have a long-pressing feature, mainly for accent purposes. If I want numbers, time to swap KB layout, and if I want more symbols yet,mtime for another swap with a different key. Well, apparently, ergonomy did non yet made it's way into Apple's design dept. Oh, and no numeric keypad too - well, I guess that after all it's possible to,live without a numeric keyboard as well as without Flash support

You may wonder why I purchased the little beast if I see so many limitations in it... Well, for anyone used to work on a computer or even a Windows Mobile (even with WM 6.1!!!!) smartphone, all the above is given more or less for granted.
Oh well, maybe I just made the wrong purchase after all - but I expected more of a business companion from a device that costs much more than an Intel i7-equipped notebook. And instead I ended up envying what my friend can do with a much cheaper, non-Apple tablet that also has an optional keyboard. Maybe I took an expensive toy too seriously.

Time to move forward, but for real this time.

C.

PS: I apology for any error or typo, but I'm not anglophon and typing on the little beast's keyboardh

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

A couple of comments. It's easy to add attachments to an email on the iPad - as many as you want and of different types. I use GoodReader to do this, it works seamlessly with the iPad's Mail app and allows you to mix and match mail attachments. It's the app that most Members use for this purpose.

On your second point, I have no trouble transferring files between WP or other apps that support the app file format - I use the iOS 'Open In' feature and that too works seamlessly for me. I've never had to move files to and from external storage to accomplish this.

The iPad will recharge from any USB port - but just not very fast. Apple supply a special 2.1A charger that is intended to expedite the charging process. It will recharge from USB2 and USB3, but just not as fast as from the supplied charger.

Tim

 

[carlodf64]

A couple of comments. It's easy to add attachments to an email on the iPad - as many as you want and of different types. I use GoodReader to do this, it works seamlessly with the iPad's Mail app and allows you to mix and match mail attachments. It's the app that most Members use for this purpose.

On your second point, I have no trouble transferring files between WP or other apps that support the app file format - I use the iOS 'Open In' feature and that too works seamlessly for me. I've never had to move files to and from external storage to accomplish this.

The iPad will recharge from any USB port - but just not very fast. Apple supply a special 2.1A charger that is intended to expedite the charging process. It will recharge from USB2 and USB3, but just not as fast as from the supplied charger.

Tim

Thanks for the answers. I'll check out GoodReader, although one would expect that TBOSITW on a 800 € HW boost a pretty decent email app without the need for another one.

Concerning the 'Open In' feature, I haven't got the i-cloudest of what is it, can you articulate it a little bit further?

Thanks

 

[carlodf64]

A couple of comments. It's easy to add attachments to an email on the iPad - as many as you want and of different types. I use GoodReader to do this, it works seamlessly with the iPad's Mail app and allows you to mix and match mail attachments. It's the app that most Members use for this purpose.

On your second point, I have no trouble transferring files between WP or other apps that support the app file format - I use the iOS 'Open In' feature and that too works seamlessly for me. I've never had to move files to and from external storage to accomplish this.

The iPad will recharge from any USB port - but just not very fast. Apple supply a special 2.1A charger that is intended to expedite the charging process. It will recharge from USB2 and USB3, but just not as fast as from the supplied charger.

Tim

Oops, i forgot to mention the USB part: on both 2.0 and 3.0 USB ports I clearly see a "not chargin" message in the top bar.
Just in case you are referring to some sort of jailbreaking the device, I won't for many a good reason

Tnx again

 

[Milliebert]

Yes it is normal. It is TBOSITW now. It isn't perfect. But it beats the opposition, and is being used by how many millions already? Therefore, by definition, it is the norm.

 

[carlodf64]

Yes it is normal. It is TBOSITW now. It isn't perfect. But it beats the opposition, and is being used by how many millions already? Therefore, by definition, it is the norm.

Now I see why I'm starting to like Windows more. For that matters millions of peoples smoke or do any sort of werid stuff, but it's a long stretch to say that it's good. Quantity and quality are two different concepts.

 

[Milliebert]

It's good for what it says it can do. Well, it does everything I want it to do. For all the stuff it can't do, I'd get a secretary.

I have had Wiindows since its inception... I can't believe I refused to buy Apple all this time. Everything is easier for me than it is on a pc. Horses for courses, I guess.

 

[andysmfc]

I love my iPad. I use it for work every day although I have to admit it is let down by not having flash ... Not much else I can think of that let's it down.

 

[carlodf64]

It's good for what it says it can do. Well, it does everything I want it to do. For all the stuff it can't do, I'd get a secretary.

I have had Wiindows since its inception... I can't believe I refused to buy Apple all this time. Everything is easier for me than it is on a pc. Horses for courses, I guess.

Well, of course different people have different needs, but still I can get why an 800 € (sorry if I stress the price, but it's big bucks for just a toy or a half way business tablet) still needs an add-on for email attachment (not free, BTW) - just to name one of the many limitations I feel.

I deal with russian speaking countries, I do speak russian fairly enuf to chat, but now and then I have to use a comp translator.
Well, on both Win and Android I can C&P text from Skype to the translator, but not on the iPad. This is bad for both social and business needs - someone ought to tell Apple that there is a whole world outside there that does things and speak in thongues other than Apple's, and they'd better interoperate rather than sit on top of their ivory tower.

JM2C

 

[info]

You sound like a bright guy Carlo, use the iPad for a while and look for different ways of doing things. I think that you will eventually find that you made an excellent purchase. I too come from the Windows/Unix world and initially felt a bit frustrated as well. As Tim pointed out above, you will often find the solutions within the apps (GoodReader); or, for many more configuration options you might want to jailbreak the device though I do not. You also might find it comforting to not have to worry about malware, something that is not so normal elsewhere.

Good Luck!

 

[Milliebert]

I'm learning Russian, thanks to an iPad app. Something I always wanted to do.

If you want to translate when you're on Skype, you could open Safari and set it to Google Translate. Now that there is the four finger swipe, it is really quickly to copy, swipe to safari, paste and translate, no? It is not perfect, but a fairly okay workaround.

I think people forget that Microsoft make Windows, but most of the stuff we use there is an add on from a third party developer, such as Google, Yahoo, Scrivener etc. in that way, Apple is no different, but because it is new to us, we just have to give it a little more thought.

 

[carlodf64]

I love my iPad. I use it for work every day although I have to admit it is let down by not having flash ... Not much else I can think of that let's it down.

Can you use it as an USB storage? With 64 gigs, it's a reasonable request. What if you want to transfer some file to your social/business pal's comp if they don't have itunes or give you network access? To me, this is a huge drawback.
For example, I have some 8 gb of music that would take way tooooo long to transfer over the net, and at the same time they are not indexed by iTunes - neither do I want iTunes index them, since they are a subset of a much larger 60 gigs collection stored on a non-NTFS filesystem.
So I'm stuck with still not having music on my toy, whereas with Android I just attached the USB cable to my Linux comp (since ANY comp supports USB storage) and copied my 8 gb playlist in a matter of minutes. Still wondering how to accomplish this task with iPad and Linux - no way, probably.

It does not have microSD support, so you can't backup your main storage on-the-fly, wich I did seamlessly on a now 10-years-old Palm device. So you MUST sync your iPad with some external device over some sort of connection with some sort of software running.
MicroSD support also carries along an additional benefit: shouldn't you have an Apple USB cable at hand, you could always take the MicroSD out and put it into whatever computer.

Additionally, which office suite do you use? I had to buy-and-try three (no refund, guys, sorry) before I resolved to the expensive one I'm using now. On Android it come preinstalled, and works pretty well too. And if I want to play around a bit before taking a decision, I can get a refund.

Can you attach files to email out of the box? No.

Does it have keybord cursor arrows? No, just the finger-lens, which is nice but often less quick than plain old arrows. Ever tried to edit a long structured document with only finger-lens? I tried and still have nightmares at night

Ever tried to insert long series of numbers without a numeric keypad? How'd you feel?

I keep all my contacts in sync with google mail, which almost every client device can connect to. I have some 300 contacts, and it took half an hour with an iPhone app for the iPad to sync all of them. Of course it's not automatic nor incremental (as far as I remember) so I'm supposed to rerun it from time to time. This is not good for business too.

As I said in another post, I can't copy and paste text from skype to a comp translator - or to any other app.

In a nutshell, it can be used for business to a limited extent (I've seen similar complains from other users), but for its pricetag tis is simply not acceptable for me.

 

[carlodf64]

You sound like a bright guy Carlo, use the iPad for a while and look for different ways of doing things. I think that you will eventually find that you made an excellent purchase. I too come from the Windows/Unix world and initially felt a bit frustrated as well. As Tim pointed out above, you will often find the solutions within the apps (GoodReader); or, for many more configuration options you might want to jailbreak the device though I do not. You also might find it comforting to not have to worry about malware, something that is not so normal elsewhere.

Good Luck!

Hy Info/junkie , thanks for your compliments.
Jailbreaking on Apple or ROM flashing on otherndevices is good only if you have a small set of data/apps to restore in case you need to turn the device in for maintenance - and then you have to reset the device to not-jailbroken status. For those bucks I want something that works pretty well outta-da-box, not one that I have to fill up by myself with new apps.

About GoodReader, I understand that it's sort of an universal reader, of does it solve the attachment problem? Can I write an email and on the spotmdecide to attach something, which is such a common thing that Thunderbird even pops up an attachment request if it sees the word "attachment" in thentext? Do I have file preview, at least for images? Or should I decide beforehand which files I have to attach, select them and then select "share with"? Does GoodReader access other apps' files? Or just its own whithin his "sandbox"?

Thanks for your help

 

[carlodf64]

I'm learning Russian, thanks to an iPad app. Something I always wanted to do.

If you want to translate when you're on Skype, you could open Safari and set it to Google Translate. Now that there is the four finger swipe, it is really quickly to copy, swipe to safari, paste and translate, no? It is not perfect, but a fairly okay workaround.

I think people forget that Microsoft make Windows, but most of the stuff we use there is an add on from a third party developer, such as Google, Yahoo, Scrivener etc. in that way, Apple is no different, but because it is new to us, we just have to give it a little more thought.

That works fine for me as long as I can copy text from a Skype chat.
Did you succeed in copyng text from a Skype chat? If so please tell me how you did it, becouse so far I was unable to do it.

Thanks in advance

 

[info]

Goodreader is not able to reach outside of it's sandbox to reach other files, no program can do that unless you want to deal with the problems of jailbreaking (even then, I don't know if you will be able to approximate the functionality that you are hoping for). However, you can use it as a file manager of sorts and files that are placed in Goodreader can be easily be attached to an email. Put it this way, everybody buys Goodreader, it's part of the discovery process.