ipad/tablet help

ok please lets start on the basis that I am a techy moron. i turn my laptop on, use it,turn it off....

for my business I use excel and outlook for emails. having these 2 is vital.

but it would be nice to not have to cart a laptop around , so is there any tablet that will let me use these two features ?

if there is then i need to be able to 'transfer' everything from the tablet to my laptop after travelling. i am guessing that is the easier part.

i would also like to use the tablet for IFE so ability to download films/tv is a must.

ok actually i wnat one for when i fly so i can watch stuff and if i can use it for work then i can justify buying one

any ideas all you whizz kids ??

[preiffer]

The iPad has applications which are *compatible* with Excel/Word, etc...

Check here: http://www.apple.com/iwork/

It is rumoured that there will be a version of MS Office for iPad out this year ...

[mitchja]

An iPad is also very easy to set-up with an Exchange server. I have both my work and home email accounts (at home I use Sky email which uses the GMail platform) set-up via Exchange on my iPad and iPhone.

An Exchange server also integrates perfectly with the built-in iPad mail, calendar, contacts and reminder apps with full push capabilities.

As Slinky mentioned above, M$ (accidentally ) leaked news about an upcoming iOS M$ Office app the other week. Not sure when it's due for release though.

Also (if your company uses it), there's a free Citrix iOS app too. XenApp does take a bit of getting used to on an iPad, but it does work quite well. Both the iPhone & iPad also offer full built-in VPN capabilities too if needed.

An iPad is also very easy to set-up with an Exchange server. I have both my work and home email accounts (at home I use Sky email which uses the GMail platform) set-up via Exchange on my iPad and iPhone.

An Exchange server also integrates perfectly with the built-in iPad mail, calendar, contacts and reminder apps with full push capabilities.

As Slinky mentioned above, M$ (accidentally ) leaked news about an upcoming iOS M$ Office app the other week. Not sure when it's due for release though.

Also (if your company uses it), there's a free Citrix iOS app too. XenApp does take a bit of getting used to on an iPad, but it does work quite well. Both the iPhone & iPad also offer full built-in VPN capabilities too if needed.

is there a geek to moron translation available ?????

iPad for dummies??? If so, I need to get the translation too

in simple terms yes e-mail from outlook will work with the iPad's built in Mail app and word/excel/powerpoint have an apple compatible version coming soon or the apple own brand pages/numbers/keynote are compatible.

if your company use Citrix (usually a double log on to a work PC) you can also get that to work on an iPad.

[mitchja]

A VPN (virtual private network) connection means you can connect your iPad directly into your company network securely (if this has been set up and is available to you) from any location just using the internet.

Android Pads (Tablets) are about to get a lot cheaper!
Just had a sales shot from a Chinese manufacturer.

7" tablets offered for $89 ex factory.

Officesuite has almost the full MS Office functionality and compatibility - very, very much cheaper. The reviews on that page will give far more info. than I can give here.

Both MS & Apple profits will suffer.

[preiffer]

Android Pads (Tablets) are about to get a lot cheaper!
Just had a sales shot from a Chinese manufacturer.

7" tablets offered for $89 ex factory.

Officesuite has almost the full MS Office functionality and compatibility - very, very much cheaper. The reviews on that page will give far more info. than I can give here.

Both MS & Apple profits will suffer.

Interesting patent suit if that tablet DOES do well. a) those icons are Apple's, and b) their implementation of Android seems to be a complete rip-off of iOS' interface...

Grabbing popcorn.

[Darren Wheeler]

Android Pads (Tablets) are about to get a lot cheaper!
Just had a sales shot from a Chinese manufacturer.

7" tablets offered for $89 ex factory.

Officesuite has almost the full MS Office functionality and compatibility - very, very much cheaper. The reviews on that page will give far more info. than I can give here.

Both MS & Apple profits will suffer.

Interesting patent suit if that tablet DOES do well. a) those icons are Apple's, and b) their implementation of Android seems to be a complete rip-off of iOS' interface...

Grabbing popcorn.

and well know how quick Apple are to release 'The Lawyers'

If you really don't care about the technology and only care about the function, let me fly in the face of just about every convention out there and mention the Blackberry Playbook.
If you use a Blackberry for work, you can connect them using Bluetooth and the Blackberry Bridge application, and then the Playbook just works with your email, calendar, BBM and so on. And it does it really well. As soon as you get an email on your BB, you can view it, reply, etc on the Playbook.
You also get "Docs to go" included which give basic word/excel editing capabilities, and I think there are more advanced versions available.
It also lets you watch videos etc.
The thing I like about it is that it's just that bit more portable than an iPad. I have had both, and found the bigger iPad just a little too big to cart around with me - whereas the Playbook actually fits in a lot of inside pockets on my coats.
Oh and it's cheap as chips at the moment too.

On the other hand... pPlaybooks are really not popular with the trendies, and you have to consider whether you'd want other apps for it that don't yet exist. They are introducing the ability to run Android apps on the Playbook, which will fix a lot of that issue.

If you really don't care about the technology and only care about the function, let me fly in the face of just about every convention out there and mention the Blackberry Playbook.
If you use a Blackberry for work, you can connect them using Bluetooth and the Blackberry Bridge application, and then the Playbook just works with your email, calendar, BBM and so on. And it does it really well. As soon as you get an email on your BB, you can view it, reply, etc on the Playbook.
You also get "Docs to go" included which give basic word/excel editing capabilities, and I think there are more advanced versions available.
It also lets you watch videos etc.
The thing I like about it is that it's just that bit more portable than an iPad. I have had both, and found the bigger iPad just a little too big to cart around with me - whereas the Playbook actually fits in a lot of inside pockets on my coats.
Oh and it's cheap as chips at the moment too.

On the other hand... pPlaybooks are really not popular with the trendies, and you have to consider whether you'd want other apps for it that don't yet exist. They are introducing the ability to run Android apps on the Playbook, which will fix a lot of that issue.

Looks good - £189 + free delivery on Amazon at the mo !!!

.... Or wait until the end of the year for the Windows 8 tablets that are rumoured to have Office Applications on boards...?

[mitchja]

If you read the reviews, one of the biggest issues (and I've seen this with friends too) for the likes of Windows and RIM tablets/handsets seems to be the lack of available apps from their app stores.

Does the Playbook have an email client built-in now? As it didn't when it was launched!

Apple and Google are really the only ones who offer a comprehensive app store worth spending your money with.

I would agree that Apple & Google have the apps.
Google Nexus looks interesting for a July release.

I use a Transformer TF101
Excellent piece of kit, had a keyboard/docking station with a second battery in, plus connections for USB/SD/MIcro SD, HDMI
Widescreen as well with all the apps you need.
For your Excel/Word etc, have you looked at setting up a "cloud" account, so you can download your files as and when you need them from any of your laptops/tablets/desktops etc?

It all sounds a bit too complicated for me

[Pete]

Unless you need a tablet for a single specific task (such as the vertical markets like medical, etc), then the hardware specs are less important than the software ecosystem. Clearly Apple has that sewn up, as the Android tablet implementations are pretty crappy (as discussed in this PC Mag article: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401676,00.asp ) - and Android has a now well-known problem that the fragmentation of hardware manufacturers and software development, and each manufacturer doing their own tweak of the os for each hardware release, often leaves users stranded with an un-upgradeable phone and/or tablet. Windows tablets haven't really gotten much traction yet in the iPad / Android war, and that's for the simple reason that most apps designed to run on Windows weren't designed for an imprecise touch interface. Part of the success of iPhone / iPad / Android has been the 'apps' environment, which tend to focus on doing one thing like a weather app, or a notepad, or a camera. Windows applications (and Mac OS for that matter), with there menu systems, toolboxes and reliance on keyboards and mice just work better on laptop / desktops. So if you want to run Windows on a light portable device, get a netbook.

I know that I may be asking this in the wrong forum but I'll go ahead and ask anyway? What about the Samsung Galaxy? Ps. I know nothing about tablets as I'm a Sony Vaio Notebook owner but I just saw an ad on CNN and it seems nifty.

I know that I may be asking this in the wrong forum but I'll go ahead and ask anyway? What about the Samsung Galaxy? Ps. I know nothing about tablets as I'm a Sony Vaio Notebook owner but I just saw an ad on CNN and it seems nifty.

I have a Galaxy Tab 10.1. I went Android for a couple of reasons. I have an android phone so synchronising via Google (apps etc.) is easy. Also I'm a fan of the widescreen format. (some hate it, especially when holding in portrait).

Apps wise. I don't have many and they are the major things like you tube and kindle etc. which are high quality apps, designed for tablets, so I haven't hit the android app quality or availability issue.

There is a rumoured Galaxy tab 11.6 coming out with a tablet size marginally larger than the 10.1 and a screen res matching the ipad3 (hmmm I wonder who makes ipad screens). Could be interesting if priced correctly.