ipad basically fell out of the sky today, why does this make me sad?

[pbkmaine]

I got my iPad 2 by way of DH, who worked in IT for many years and is an early adopter. He's frugal in other ways, so I deal. I get his cast offs, which I am more than happy with. I use my iPad in the following ways: 1) to surf, 2) to watch movies on airplanes, 3) as a Kindle via the Kindle app. When I was working I used it in client meetings to look things up in real time. Sell it if you'd like, but I have found it to be a useful ancillary device.

[kudy]

I've wanted a tablet since I was a child watching the crew of The Enterprise use them on Star Trek TNG. I don't like the Apple "culture" and price, but I am a bit of a gadget nerd so I've been in the android camp since the whole smartphone thing started. I've owned two android tablets - the first was a large one (similar size to an iPad) and I didn't like how bulky it was. The 2nd is a 7 inch, and it's the perfect size. I unfortunately don't find myself using it all that much.

[arebelspy]

I don't understand why you have to keep it.

We have won two three different tablets before, and HTC flyer, a Kindle Fire, and an iPad.  All were sold (the first was used, as a tech website giveaway after their review, and we intended to use it, but after sitting around for like six months, we finally sold it. After that we had learned our lesson and the other two were sold brand-new, unopened, right away.)

Why are you, and most people commenting, thinking that just because you won it means you have to use it? Sell the damn thing, pocket a few hundred bucks, and move on. :)

[Noodle]

It sounds like this has been a good lesson that you still feel emotionally entwined with your "stuff" even if it's about being identified as a frugalist rather than a consumer. Perhaps it would be worth some meditation, to see if you can get to the point where stuff is just stuff. If something potentially useful comes into your life, you consider and do whatever is most practical (use it, gift it, sell it) without getting all tangled up by what it says about you to people whose opinion really doesn't matter.

[okits]

We aren't ipad people!  I read a real book on the plane, I read blogs on a laptop.  And now we're going to be ipad people.  I won't make him sell it so we can buy Vanguard funds, he's excited and I'm not trying to get divorced over this.  But in a way I'm sad. 

Many have analyzed your situation, I'll just offer a solution. Don't hassle your husband about keeping the iPad since he's so excited, but don't touch it, yourself. You stay a non-iPad person with pride intact. :)

(Reply written on my iPad, which might make me a sucker but I love the damn thing.  :D )

[chouchouu]

Meh. I kind of think our ipad is mustachian. We bought the first generation ipad mini wifi for DH to use as a phone. We call each other using Skype and his free wifi at work. When I am in Europe for the summer with the kids I will be able to Skype call him. He regularly Skype calls his mom on it. We don't have home Internet, we use free Internet wherever possible and I thought this was the more economical and practical option than lugging the lap top everywhere or getting home Internet here. I guess this is only frugal if you travel overseas a lot but I think it's marvellous. No expensive travel sims or getting a new sim and number in each country or looking for an Internet cafe. I can download maps for the cities we visit, email and take videos and photos all in one device that I can keep in my handbag. Anyone for us it is the cheaper option, even better than calling cards but DH family all live overseas and they call all the time.

[Ricky]

I think it's just your inner anti-conformist talking here. I have an iPad - in fact, I've had a few. I guess I don't care to own one so much because I literally don't know anyone that owns one around where I live - which is strange. I have one of every possible computing device. A little overkill, but I don't spend my money in other places really so it's what I value. I would probably be kicked off the forum if I revealed how much I've spent on Apple products over the years. The only redeeming factor is that Apple stuff holds its value incredibly well.

Lately, I've been thinking it would be awesome to just have a laptop and a phone, eliminating my desktop and iPad. I think it's just mentally cumbersome to have so many devices. Only problem is, I game and GTAV for PC is getting ready to come out. Also, I paid too much for my current iPad and couldn't even get half of what I paid right now so there's little reason to sell it. I have a Kindle too...but I still prefer physical books and magazines to the iPad/Kindle anyway.

Really, there's nothing an iPad can do that a laptop can't do. The iPad only does a few things better - video and reading certain things while laying down or sitting anyway else but "normal". It plain sucks for typing - and I don't get people who try to add a keyboard case to it and replace their laptops completely. I will say that is gets incredible battery life and you can do a lot of things with it - but it just can't and won't ever replace a laptop.

I could understand not wanting to fit in with what everyone else is doing - but seriously, you own three Macs. You're already fitting in where you are.

[Elle 8]

This isn't iPad related but I know how you feel.  I was given an official major league baseball jersey for the local team here (someone else won it and gave it to me).  I have worn it for the playoffs, but I always feel self-conscious that someone would think I paid $80+ for this shirt.

[scrubbyfish]

Really, there's nothing an iPad can do that a laptop can't do. [...] I don't get people who try to add a keyboard case to it and replace their laptops completely.

I'm one of those :)     Like samusugiru, I don't pay for home internet, so my access comes and goes and is frequently reliant on wandering to another location. My laptop is extra wide for project stuff, and a pain to carry around. My son's iPad -inside a keyboard case- absolutely rocks for fitting into my handbag just its exact size, being lighter than a book, and coming to wifi with me. I do up to four hours of project-typing on it (though I often find the screen keyboard just as fine).

Though I think the point of the thread was more about the angst some of us feel when we own things we don't believe in spending on, thus wouldn't have spent on. That incongruency between true self and what others see, and even point to as example.

[MoneyCat]

I got an iPad as a gift also and I'd say the hardest thing is having to constantly explain to people on this forum how I got it.  Honestly, it's an okay piece of technology but not something I'd pay for with my own money.  I use it for reading when I travel so I don't have to lug around heavier books.  I also use it for doing email and posting on forums sometimes and for checking accounts.  It's okay for listening to music as well.

[arebelspy]

I got an iPad as a gift also and I'd say the hardest thing is having to constantly explain to people on this forum how I got it.

Why don't you just not mention it?  Or not bother to justify it (plenty of people on the forums have them)?   That seems weird to me that you've done it more than once, let alone "constantly."

[MoneyCat]

Well, when you post using Tapatalk, it tells people what device you posted from.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[iwasjustwondering]

Just because you won an iPad doesn't mean you have to keep it.  Give it away.  Problem solved.

[AlanStache]

I too got an iPad for free from work, tried really hard for a few months to figure out what to do with it but never could come up with anything (cat videos were not a killer-app).  It just did not fit in my life style.  It sat around gathering dust for another month or two then I gave it to my mom, she loves it, it totally works for her.  Some people just are not meant to have a tablet for whatever reason.

If you dont want it sell it, re-gift it.  Lots of people would very much like to have the iPad and would be willing to trade you tokens you can use to obtain goods, services or fractions of publicly traded legal entities.

[arebelspy]

Well, when you post using Tapatalk, it tells people what device you posted from.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I turn off signatures ASAP.  That line can be annoying, IMO, and I don't need all of my posts advertising something I don't care about.  :)

[penguins4everyone!]

I don't understand why you have to keep it.

We have won two three different tablets before, and HTC flyer, a Kindle Fire, and an iPad.  All were sold (the first was used, as a tech website giveaway after their review, and we intended to use it, but after sitting around for like six months, we finally sold it. After that we had learned our lesson and the other two were sold brand-new, unopened, right away.)

Why are you, and most people commenting, thinking that just because you won it means you have to use it? Sell the damn thing, pocket a few hundred bucks, and move on. :)

arebelspy commented on my post!  I'm a big fan, big fan.  So, i mentioned in the first post, my husband actually won the ipad, not me (although i FEEL like i won it too, isn't marriage awesome?!).  Making him sell it would mess up all of my carefully laid plans to slowly convert him into "full mustache."  Cause then he'd be like "this mustachianism thing is starting to suck I don't want to do it anymore- why can't I keep my toy!?" So, plan is to see how we like it and sell one of the laptops in a lil bit.

[arebelspy]

arebelspy commented on my post!  I'm a big fan, big fan.  So, i mentioned in the first post, my husband actually won the ipad, not me (although i FEEL like i won it too, isn't marriage awesome?!).  Making him sell it would mess up all of my carefully laid plans to slowly convert him into "full mustache."  Cause then he'd be like "this mustachianism thing is starting to suck I don't want to do it anymore- why can't I keep my toy!?" So, plan is to see how we like it and sell one of the laptops in a lil bit.

Ah, converting the spouse is a delicate balancing act.  That makes sense.  :)

[patrickza]

Let him enjoy it for a while, then once he bores of it sell it.

[TomTX]

Sell the iPad. Just because you won it, doesn't mean you are forced to keep it.

My wife won an Xbox several years ago. We don't do that kind of gaming. We sold it on Craigslist for 10% less than retail.

[cerebus]

My iPad isn't a status symbol. It's a cookbook, an ebook reader, a mobile game console for the kids, a social networking device, a studying device, a TV when we're lazy to get out of bed, a Skype phone, and otherwise generally fantastic piece of utility that I wouldn't give up for anything. I had to do some hardcore Gumtree-ing to obtain it in the first place, and it's repaid the investment umpteen times over.

[Bob W]

I'm a tab person.   I would give up TV, cell phone and booze before I would the tablet.   Our local library has an electronic loan program so the world of millions of books is open for free.   Also,  how do you learn anything about home repair without youtubing your tablet?   

I also use Roku on the TV with no cable.   I use the pad to research which youtube videos I want to project onto the TV. 

That said you can sell the ipad for big bucks and buy yourself a very nice Samsung for a little cash.   I think ours cost $100 -- have had it a year and a half  -- no problems.    I use it a lot to research movies and series while I am watching them.  Currently doing this with Twin Peaks!   

Bottom line -- Tabs are great!

[BlueMR2]

Some people just are not meant to have a tablet for whatever reason.

I've managed to find a couple uses for mine, but honestly, I could lose it tomorrow and not even care (I might not even notice for a few days).  There just isn't that much electronic content that I care that much about.  If I'm only going to have one device, it'll be a real computer since that can do everything.

[AlanStache]

Just to make sure the thread is 100% off topic....

I am not a tablet person, but I love my Chorme book.  A real keyboard, usb (real mouse if needed and thumb drives), HDMI-out and hands free angle-able screen.  Has a factory installed YouTube icon, streamed Netflix last night, have typed and read plenty on it.  I'm willing to add 1.5lb to the device to get a real keyboard etc; some (most?) people would not make that trade off.

[Jack]

I've wanted a tablet since I was a child watching the crew of The Enterprise use them on Star Trek TNG. I don't like the Apple "culture" and price, but I am a bit of a gadget nerd so I've been in the android camp since the whole smartphone thing started. I've owned two android tablets - the first was a large one (similar size to an iPad) and I didn't like how bulky it was. The 2nd is a 7 inch, and it's the perfect size. I unfortunately don't find myself using it all that much.

Here's the quintessential difference between the promise of a tablet as a futuristic tool vs. the content-consumption toy they've turned out to be:

The stylus!

I had a (very expensive and anti-mustachian) full-blown Tablet PC back in college, complete with a Wacom-type digitizer. The interface sucked because it was Windows XP with handwriting input bolted on, but nevertheless it was much more useful for actually creating things than an iPad (or Android tablet) is today. OneNote + handwriting recognition was brilliant, for example, and it would be an excellent tool for a digital artist. The fact that it had a real keyboard, for when you didn't need to draw diagrams along with your text, was great too.

(By the way: if you don't think the PADDs in Star Trek used styluses, watch Jake Sisko use one on DS9.)

[Guses]

To all those people that say that the tablet makes them save time, I would REALLY like to know what they are doing with it.

From my experience, it is quicker for myself to actually go to my computer, open it, load a browser, find whatever I need and shut down the computer than it is to type what I want to search for on the tablet and wait for it to load.

Sure, if you have no computers at home, a tablet is quicker than walking to the library to use their internet (although it might be only barely so) but I don't see how it is actually any better than a computer in terms of speed.

I have a tablet that I got for free from a bank promotion. I haven't used it in a long time since I find it way too slow compared to my real computer. It is like reliving my first computer experience from 1995. Click, wait, click, wait, click.

The brand does not matter, I tried a Ipad, Galaxy, you name it. They are all much slower than a modern computer and typing on them is a major pain.

[Syonyk]

To all those people that say that the tablet makes them save time, I would REALLY like to know what they are doing with it.

I wouldn't say it saves me time exactly, but it's a very useful device to have around.  I use mine (I have a 2013 Nexus 7 and an iPad 3 I use) for an awful lot of reading.  Reading long articles of the variety I enjoy (long, dense, complex) is easier on a tablet than sitting at my desk, and I read a lot of ebooks right now since we've got a newborn.  I read full page PDFs (Home Power, various academic papers, etc) on the iPad as it's a standard form factor for paper, and read most reflowing stuff on the Nexus 7 as it's lighter.

I would say I use tablets more than computers for general use, though.  I use my desktop for work, but the bulk of my other time reading is on a tablet of some variety.

From my experience, it is quicker for myself to actually go to my computer, open it, load a browser, find whatever I need and shut down the computer than it is to type what I want to search for on the tablet and wait for it to load.

Congratulations - you have discovered why cheap tablets suck!  A cheap tablet is usually slow, and they're absolutely miserable to use.  Spend a little bit more and get something fast enough to actually use, and you don't take nearly so long to get results.  Also, a decent tablet will have voice search, which is surprisingly good for many things.

I have a tablet that I got for free from a bank promotion. I haven't used it in a long time since I find it way too slow compared to my real computer. It is like reliving my first computer experience from 1995. Click, wait, click, wait, click.

What tablet is it?  I can look up specs and compare it to something like my Nexus 7, which is a perfectly useful tablet that I don't find myself waiting on much at all.  I'm guessing it's about a $50 Chinese tablet that has a 6 year old chip or something in it.  That said, I wouldn't accept a free promotional tablet unless it were something I recognized.  Life is too short for crappy computers, and a free tablet (unless it's an iPad or something that costs a few hundred) is a crappy tablet, almost always.  Anything retailing new for under about $200 is almost certain to be junk.

The brand does not matter, I tried a Ipad, Galaxy, you name it. They are all much slower than a modern computer and typing on them is a major pain.

A first gen iPad is pretty slow at this point.  The newer ones are still pretty darn quick.  And typing is a bit of a problem, but the swype-style keyboards (which includes the stock Android keyboard at this point) is surprisingly fast for light to moderate typing.

[halftimer]

Though I think the point of the thread was more about the angst some of us feel when we own things we don't believe in spending on, thus wouldn't have spent on. That incongruency between true self and what others see, and even point to as example.

I can commiserate. I won an ipad, and anguished over the 'sell-it-or-use-it' question because I knew it was an item I would have never bought myself. In fact I had already turned down a free one earlier in the year and I had a kobo - why would I want something that can be used for reading AND games? I don't want the distraction of games and apps! I don't want to upgrade technology for no reason when I already have something that accomplishes that purpose. I don't want to be forced to upgrade! But the timing worked out for the ipad because all the textbooks I use and study were released that week using an apple app, and the functionality was just what I needed. So I switched over.

I actually ended up spending $80 in postage to gift the displaced kobo to a friend. So even though the switch did not end up completely free, I've tried to convince myself that not buying it makes a difference. I still feel a little strange using it and wanting to explain to others that I didn't choose this. But really I did - I'm using it, aren't I?

[Guses]

Snip

The tablet I have is a Galaxy 3 7.0 edition. The specs appear to be decent. I rooted it and installed a newer version of Android, but I still find it slow compared to using a computer.

I know that tablets are useful for some things, I just get frustrated when it takes time to do things. As in, at this point in technological development, I would much rather have something that looks ugly but that is lightning fast to use rather than a nice interface that "lags" a few ms every time I do anything.

I guess I just find tablets to be poor computer replacements. I like having all my icons on my desktop, why does it have to be on 5 different screens where I have to swipe in between etc.etc.

I think it boils down to input (no keyboard or mouse) and speed (instant vs hesitant).

[mak1277]

To all those people that say that the tablet makes them save time, I would REALLY like to know what they are doing with it.

From my experience, it is quicker for myself to actually go to my computer, open it, load a browser, find whatever I need and shut down the computer than it is to type what I want to search for on the tablet and wait for it to load.

I haven't experienced this at all.  I had an iPad 2 and it was substantially quicker to find something online with that than it would have been to boot up the computer and search using it.  Hell, my work laptop takes almost 2 minutes just to boot up and shut down.

[Syonyk]

The tablet I have is a Galaxy 3 7.0 edition. The specs appear to be decent. I rooted it and installed a newer version of Android, but I still find it slow compared to using a computer.

If I'm not mistaken, you have this tablet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_Tab_3_7.0

The relevant specs:
1GB memory
Dual core 1.2ghz A9 CPU

That's really quite tight for Android.  I'm not going to defend Android's resource uses, but that's somewhat less powerful than the 2012 Nexus 7 (which has 1GB RAM and a quad core 1.2ghz CPU), which is still annoyingly slow to use.  So I'm not surprised you're frustrated with it.  I suspect the storage on it is quite slow as well, which also makes Android stutter.

A 2013 nexus 7 with 2GB RAM and a quad core 1.5ghz CPU (of a newer generation) is still a very snappy tablet for not that much money.  And there are a lot of tablets that are faster than the 2013 Nexus 7.

[Syonyk]

Tablets are also great when dealing with a cranky newborn...

[Guses]

Tablets are also great when dealing with a cranky newborn...

Yeah, my wife really like hers (same model). We have a record of each poop(including description) that our kid ever made.

Thankfully, the app does not take photos!

[cerebus]

We have a record of each poop(including description) that our kid ever made.

How... ........ sweet

[esperto]

Here's the quintessential difference between the promise of a tablet as a futuristic tool vs. the content-consumption toy they've turned out to be:

The stylus!

I had a (very expensive and anti-mustachian) full-blown Tablet PC back in college, complete with a Wacom-type digitizer. The interface sucked because it was Windows XP with handwriting input bolted on, but nevertheless it was much more useful for actually creating things than an iPad (or Android tablet) is today. OneNote + handwriting recognition was brilliant, for example, and it would be an excellent tool for a digital artist. The fact that it had a real keyboard, for when you didn't need to draw diagrams along with your text, was great too.

(By the way: if you don't think the PADDs in Star Trek used styluses, watch Jake Sisko use one on DS9.)

I have a Samsung Note 8 with full blown Wacom type stylus and it rocks.  I wouldn't have gotten it if I hadn't won our book club's annual grand prize $200 toward a tablet to offset the cost of the thing but I do love it.  I've used it for over a year taking notes, making art, and being a producer of content instead of merely a consumer.

I think Steve Job's personal hatred of handwriting recognition systems threw out the baby with the bathwater when he almost single handedly killed proper styluses for handheld devices.  What boggles my mind was how the rest of the industry followed his lead without even thinking that a quality stylus (and not those crummy erasers on a stick) might actually still be a good and natural input method.  Heck, it's done humanity well for the last few thousand years, why stop writing with sticks now?

Okay, rant over.

[PencilThinStash]

If you really don't want it, and husband isn't willing to sell it... Can you convince him that some poor person that you met on the internet really needs it? Appeal to his sense of philanthropy? Convince him he's making the world a better place by giving it away? I'm sure this "underprivileged" person would be willing to do all the dirty work of selling it and split the profits with you.

Out of my own sense of generosity, and a deep, genuine concern for your situation, I'd like to volunteer.

[Syonyk]

We have a record of each poop(including description) that our kid ever made.

How... ........ sweet

It's actually really useful to log sleep/diapers/feedings/etc.

Memory goes quickly when you're sleep deprived.

[Jack]

Here's the quintessential difference between the promise of a tablet as a futuristic tool vs. the content-consumption toy they've turned out to be:

The stylus!

I had a (very expensive and anti-mustachian) full-blown Tablet PC back in college, complete with a Wacom-type digitizer. The interface sucked because it was Windows XP with handwriting input bolted on, but nevertheless it was much more useful for actually creating things than an iPad (or Android tablet) is today. OneNote + handwriting recognition was brilliant, for example, and it would be an excellent tool for a digital artist. The fact that it had a real keyboard, for when you didn't need to draw diagrams along with your text, was great too.

(By the way: if you don't think the PADDs in Star Trek used styluses, watch Jake Sisko use one on DS9.)

I have a Samsung Note 8 with full blown Wacom type stylus and it rocks.  I wouldn't have gotten it if I hadn't won our book club's annual grand prize $200 toward a tablet to offset the cost of the thing but I do love it.  I've used it for over a year taking notes, making art, and being a producer of content instead of merely a consumer.

I think Steve Job's personal hatred of handwriting recognition systems threw out the baby with the bathwater when he almost single handedly killed proper styluses for handheld devices.  What boggles my mind was how the rest of the industry followed his lead without even thinking that a quality stylus (and not those crummy erasers on a stick) might actually still be a good and natural input method.  Heck, it's done humanity well for the last few thousand years, why stop writing with sticks now?

Okay, rant over.

And the worst part is that, while Windows (and Palm, for that matter) was headed in the direction of making handwriting a standard API that all software would be eventually be expected to support, the influence of the iPad has caused it to remain a niche, with one-off apps using proprietary APIs.

How much software is available (especially from entities other than Samsung) for your Note that actually uses the stylus? I'll bet not much!

[frugalman]

I am proud to be a Mustachian and living at about a 5 on the Mustache scale of 1 to 10.
That doesn't mean I can't enjoy nice things.
We had two ipad 2s. They were in our lap every evening, dear wife and I play Words with Friends and Wordfeud (Scrabble equivalents) on them against each other. Also check twitter, facebook email, my investments etc.
I still have my ipad 2. I bought dear wife an iPad Air 2 for Christmas this year. It's wonderful, much lighter and faster than my iPad 2. I'll get the next generation for me when they come out.

No regrets. I'll never be Mr. Money Mustache, but that's OK. My financial life has improved radically since I started reading MMM 4 years ago. But I have ipads. They are a requirement for us.

[NorCal]

I had a similar emotional reaction when we ended up with a "luxury" vehicle from an inheritance right around the time we were looking at buying a car anyways.

I found the best possible solution.  Make my wife drive it.  I don't have to think about it.

You can do the same with the iPad.