Ask HN: What do you do with your iPad? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What do you do with your iPad?

9 pointshyung10 comments

I got my iPad a few days ago and I've found that all I really do with it is surf the web while watching TV.

I was hoping to be able to take notes with it during meetings but I haven't found an app that lets me do that easily.

What interesting things do you use your iPad for? Any killer apps so far?

I'm using it to take notes in class and it's awesome. It fits really nicely on our desks (much more so than my 15" MacBook Pro). I haven't found a very good notetaking app either though. Currently, I'm just using Pages with headings and bulleted lists. It would be nice if Apple brought over Pages for Mac's outline functionality with gestures for changing the indention level.

Which keyboard do you use for taking notes?

Landscape, because I find using the portrait keyboard difficult for long periods of typing. Unfortunately, this means that the formatting controls are not visible unless I turn the device. Hopefully Apple addresses this in a future update.

Main uses so far... book reader, and watching video courses while being able to code/take notes on the laptop.

I think we'll need to wait a few months for the real killer apps to show up. The really great ones take time to code, and it takes time for people to come up with brilliant new ideas. When the iPhone first came out it was not very interesting either - it became an indispensable device only 3-6 months down the road, as amazing apps started coming out.

Sight Glass Coffee is using it as a POS.*

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mager/4487454328/

*I don't have one

I preordered mine. Despite the first couple of days of unadulterated enthusiasm, I'm thinking about sending mine back this week. No killer app. Not a meaningful proxy or replacement for my iPhone or laptop. And, I get bad eyestrain if I use it to read for longer than 20-30 minutes. It certainly hasn't lived up to the marketing mantra of 'magical'.

Up your font size? I've read 6 books on mine already (in iBooks and Kindle app both), no eye strain problems. [And strangely enough, I like the Kindle app better. Just wish there was a way to put my non-kindle ebooks into it].

I've been reading a lot more on it than I thought I would.

I thought that having a multi-purpose device would create distractions, but instead it gives me more opportunity to read since I bring my iPad with me more than I did the Kindle.

Reader (iBooks, Kindle, Stanza, Marvel, ComixOlogy, IDW)

Browser (Safari)

News (Bloomberg, NPR, NYTimes Editors Choice, Paris Match, BBC News)

Doodle (Adobe Ideas)

Video podcasts (TED talks, GOLD, Lawrence Lessig, White House Music & the Arts)

Education (MIT Open Courseware)

Big frost so far: Numbers

You mean the iWipe? I wipe my ass with it, just like Steve Jobs had intended.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com