Sharing apps across devices

[Dad52]

Hi all,

I have an iPad (the original) and my wife is planning to buy an iPad2. Of course we want to share the apps (nothing else per se) we buy.
Now, I have read a number of solutions here but am getting confused... Essentially my question is: what is - bottom line - the best an easiest fool-proof way to share apps across multiple Apple devices via one (family) PC:
- share one account? (not preferred)
- share one Apps directory? (if so, how to?)
- sync with eachother's account via the option under Store in Settings? (if so, any drawbacks?)
- other?

Many thanks!
Dad52

 

[DefBref]

Absolute easiest way is use one account. Using more than one account is feasible but a bit more fiddly especially when it comes to updates.

 

[gwynsoft]

I have a similar situation and I have found that sharing one account works fine. If you tell iTunes not to synch automatically, you can then decide which apps, music, books etc get synched with each iPad.

In effect the computer becomes a central repository for content which either iPad can tap at will. For example: my apps and books tend toward the technical while my girlfriends' tend toward the philosophical. Each of us synchs the ones we want at any given time.

In addition, anything one downloads is instantly available to the other over the air. Another example: we are both sitting in a cafè and only I have my iPad. She gets interested in something in Montaigne's Essays so I go to the iBookstore and download it so that she can read the interesting bit. When we get home the book is already available under 'purchased books' in iBooks on her iPad so she can continue reading. I remove it from my iBooks, or not, as I need.

The above applies also to apps, photos and music. The only thing is to check before you synch what you want on each pad.

I am not currently sure what would happen with the content for non-Apple apps such as Stanza etc. I imagine that one could tick the loaded content for each, but I'm not certain whether it is global or individual.

Hope this helps in some way

Sent from my iPad 2 using iPF

 

[thewitt]

The only way to share apps is to use the same iTunes account.

You can have multiple iTunes accounts on the same device. Use a shared account for common, purchased apps and private accounts for everything else.

Be aware though that things like photo sharing through the cloud may automatically send your pictures tontour wifes phone and vs vs...

-t

 

[Dad52]

Many thanks, all!

Many thanks, all. Much appreciated!
I will try out various options once we have the second iPad and let you know how it went.

Cheers,
Dad52