[simpkinp]

Thanks to all of you for your input. I bought an iPad today, the full size with the retinal display. It is awesome, but of course I have the new device hell to go through. I bought it at Best Buy and they did an initial set up for me. I'm on it now!

[memason]

That's cool!

Now, you need apps....lots of apps.

Here's a link to a forum, where lots of our TOTV friends have shared their favorite apps for the iPhone and iPad. There's bound to be some you absolutely need... :-)

iPhone and iPad Apps that Sizzle

[simpkinp]

Thanks for the link, very helpful! I have been totally memorized by this new toy, need to go shopping, but here I sit, playing and downloading apps. I am having a ball. It is very intuitive and I am learning fast.

[mitchbr47]

It depends on whether you buy the device with 4G with a ATT or Verison account. The rates are comparable. Yes, you can pay for the cellular plan on a monthly basis. It is up to you to turn it off. Settings> Cellular Data > View Account The $20 a month provide 1024 MB of data.$30 a month is 2 GB.
There is support for the iPad from the Mac User group right here in The Villages. The iPad makes a pretty good GPS.
The iPad meeting at Colony isn't part of The Villages Macintosh User Group. However, you might get good advice.
Whether it is pricey or not depends on how you plan to use it.
If I were new at this I'd go to the Apple Store in Orlando. Much more knowledgeable than local stores.

[batman911]

Originally Posted by mitchbr47

It depends on whether you buy the device with 4G with a ATT or Verison account. The rates are comparable. Yes, you can pay for the cellular plan on a monthly basis. It is up to you to turn it off. Settings> Cellular Data > View Account The $20 a month provide 1024 MB of data.$30 a month is 2 GB.
There is support for the iPad from the Mac User group right here in The Villages. The iPad makes a pretty good GPS.
The iPad meeting at Colony isn't part of The Villages Macintosh User Group. However, you might get good advice.
Whether it is pricey or not depends on how you plan to use it.
If I were new at this I'd go to the Apple Store in Orlando. Much more knowledgeable than local stores.

I have 4G with Verizon and you can turn the 4G option off on your plan when you do not need it. Verizon will charge you for turning the plan back on again. Need to ensure you have your iPad in the "airplane" mode when you do not want to use 4G service. It will automatically go to 4G if you are out of range of a wi-fi hot spot or your router which could eat up your data allowance when you do not want it to do that. Also more important if you are on foreign travel.

[wendyquat]

Originally Posted by simpkinp

Thanks to all of you for your input. I bought an iPad today, the full size with the retinal display. It is awesome, but of course I have the new device hell to go through. I bought it at Best Buy and they did an initial set up for me. I'm on it now!

Get "scotutor for iPad" from the App Store. Is a very good tutorial for new users!

[simpkinp]

Thanks Wendy, I will do it now!

[CFrance]

You can buy an ipad 3G at the AT&T store a previous poster suggested, and you do not have to buy a data plan. You can turn the data plan on if you want it, then turn it back off. Requires calling AT&T. Otherwise it will work off of your wifi (or anywhere there is free wifi), so you don't need the data plan if you don't want it. I suggest buying an AT&T ipad because they have a card in them (micro-sim card) that if you travel overseas or to Canada or Mexico or Caribbean you can replace with a data card in whatever country you are visiting, and have internet access just about anywhere. The Verizon variety of iPad does not have an interchangeable micro sim card. Theirs can only be used in the States. Both ipads are the same price, so why not get the one with international capabilities? You never know when yu might travel, or to where.

Check the iPad and see who it is made for, Verizon or AT&T. Also, there will be a little silver slit on the side if the sim card is interchangeable.

There are classes at the lifelong learning college, but if you just want to get your email up and running, that AT&T store should do it for you. You can take a course later if you feel you need it. If you are computer literate, you probably won't need it.

I find it difficult to type on my ipad for long periods of time because the on-screen keypad is so small, and you're constantly having to switch between three different screens to get the full keyboard complement. For instance, the dollar sign, @ sign and numbers are on a different screen from the letters, and some other keys one uses a lot are on yet a third screen. There are some shortcuts to get around some of that, but I find I forget them because I don't use them frequently enough.

If you think that will bother you (it does me), you might want to consider whether or not the mini can be attached to a full keyboard that is easier to use, like the full size one can. For home use, you could have it set up with a keyboard, and for going out and about, you could suffer through the smaller touch keyboard on the pad to have the convenience of throwing it in your purse and taking off. But keep in mind you won't be throwing it in your purse and taking off aroud town unless you have a data plan, because you won't have wifi in the car unless you have a smart phone and turn your hotspot on. So you might only be dashing about with it on trips, in which case I would go with the bigger one with the bigger keypad and more features.

Just my opinion, but I found the ipad cannot replace my laptop. There are some things it won't do, and the safari browser cannot compare, IMO, to Firefox (my favorte) or IE. But I love it for travel or just banging around with from front porch to lanai or in the car when we're going to anyplace more than a half hour away (data plan required for that last one, like I said earlier) because I get bored in the car.

Hope that helps rather than confuses.