What is a tablet useful for?

[mike175]

I am genuinely interested to know how many people actually use their ipad/tablet for anything other than facebook or playing games. I've tried them from time to time and find the interface very unfriendly. When you're typing, the keyboard obscures the screen. It is infuriatingly easy to accidentally touch the screen and trigger some unwanted action. And you are constantly needing to clean off the fingermarks. Outdoors on a fine day the shiny screen is more use as a mirror than a screen.

As far as I can see they are OK for viewing 'stuff' but really no use at all for anything serious. More for viewing than doing 

Or am I just showing my age? My 4 year old grandson automatically tries to 'swipe' any screen whether or not it is a touchscreen

Mike.

[isobelw]

I use mine for virtually everything now. All my family history research is done on it and I find it really user-friendly and convenient as you can carry it around in a handbag.
Isobel

[sarah]

Hi Mike,

I use my pc and my tablet in very different ways.

I find my tablet is very handy and small enough to carry around in my handbag. My family tree is on the tablet, I can show my photographs to friends and I download TV & Radio programmes to watch or listen to on long journeys (very handy) I have similar apps on my mobile and tablet that are useful for weather, walks and planning on watching the stars..

More serious work....my PC

Sarah

[jaybelnz]

I love mine too!  I have an iPad mini. I use a stylus, as I'm not able to master the swipe action.

Use it for everything, has a fab camera, takes high res. Editable images, and a video, fits well into my handbag,  I've made my own cover for it from polar fleece, lined with microfibre cloth, and a stick-on Velcro across the top. So not much in the way of finger marks, but a gentle rub over with the polar fleece cover takes care of that easily.

Initially I bought a mini keyboard to use, but find it simpler to use the onscreen.

I have a Kindle app on it, so plenty of reading material choice. Saves trips to the library!

I do my research from anywhere, my Ancestry tree, emails, websites, including Rootschat of course. 
The only thing I can't do is post any of the images directly to Rootschat.  The photos are named by image number only.  Ie Image 1 Image 2. Etc. Not acceptable on here, as at some time there will have been such a name already used by someone else). If I have an image stored the iPad that I want to post on here, I just email it to myself from the album, pick it up on my PC, open my editing programme, change its name and post it from that.

I can use cables to connect it to my TV, so it will show ANYTHING that is on my iPad screen.  Great if I want to log in to my tree and show to family.

I can be very comfortable sitting in the lounge, where I can look out at the garden, at the hills around, instead of being shut away in the bedroom where my PC is, looking at the wall, (or the unmade bed 😄).

The battery's great, especially if I'm on a train or bus read on the journey.  On a plane, or some long distance car or coach trip, can charge with USB, connect to wifi if available, or use wifi hotspots around towns and cities!

Everything is saved in the iCloud, even a tracker, which can locate it if I lose it!

I find it much better than a laptop!

AND NO, I'm not being paid by Apple for this plug! 
I just love it!   And I'm really old!  A very long time since my any of my grandchildren were 4!

Jeanne

[Ruskie]

They are useful due to their small size, portability and the fact that for general use they are as good as a laptop.

I find them more difficult to type on and they can be a pest if you accidentally touch somewhere you had not intended to touch, but, like everything, you get used to their limitations and work around them.

You need to practice more Mike. 

I love my ipad mini. 

[Redroger]

The advantage over my smartphone is that I can read email attachments more readily.Have 2 one 8" android and the other (new ) Linx 8" Windows 10. So far this is the most useful

[Mean_genie]

I bought my first iPad in April 2010, when they were really new, and there were no apps (other than iPod/iPhone apps x2). I was going to get the separate keyboard, based on Dick Eastman's review, but when I tried it out in the Apple store I found I was perfectly OK with the on-screen keyboard. I have always used it for taking notes, first with the built-in notepad, now with Evernote, which can sync with all my other devices. But then I once wrote a whole (short) book on a Psion - remember them?


I would hate to be without a laptop, because there are several functions that work better with a bigger screen and keyboard, but the big advantage of a tablet is its portability. I can carry a version my family tree in my handbag, on my iPad, although only for reference, I only make updates on the master tree on my PC. I use the camera to photograph documents as much as anything (although I do take the occasional actual photo, too). If you have a tablet with a decent amount of storage space, it's a good way of carrying document images with you, as well as old photographs.

I can check emails and look at the internet on my phone, but I find the tablet's bigger screen more comfortable and convenient to use. It's also better for watching video - more portable than a laptop and the image quality on the newer models is amazingly good.

I also found an unexpected advantage, when giving a scripted webinar the microphone will often pick up the sound of pages turning, but swiping a screen is silent. If you are also on camera, it's easier to have a tablet in your line of sight, without looking down at notes on paper. I've also had presentation slides on the iPad so I can see what is up next, although I have not yet been brave enough to run one from and iPad - although I know it is possible.

[jaybelnz]

I just thought of something else!  My iPad also serves as a dictation machine.  I have been transcribing a lot of poems and speeches made by my great grandfather.  Instead of typing them, I can now just read them out with the microphone on, and they will type right in front of my eyes. It has voice recognition, which soon kicks in, so knows me now. And puncutates too. I just have to say comma, or full stop etc, whatever is needed!

Then I email them to myself, pick them up on the PC, check them over, alter any errors I may find, and print them.

An example - for you.  I am currently dictating this sentence to you! But I do have to go sleep now.
Goodnight!

Jeanne

[mike175]

Well, you're all doing your best to convince me 

I guess if I did more travelling I might find one useful. Not sure I could get used to the handbag for carrying it around though 

For now I can use my Blackberry for many of the things listed, and it sits in my top pocket so I don't need that handbag.

Mike.