OT- iPad Pro 12.9 Pros/Cons | The Boneyard

OT- iPad Pro 12.9 Pros/Cons

Drew

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I'm entering my second year of my MBA program and am contemplating getting an iPad Pro for classes. Has anyone used the device for educational/note taking/work related items? If so how was your experience? Do I need cellular if I purchase? I do get it at a discount through the school which is nice. Thanks in advance for any help.

Edit-- yes I know there are other tablets and options. I'm only considering the iPad Pro at this time. Save your time/keystrokes if you're suggesting another product.
 

8893

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I’m replying on one right now. I bought it for work and note taking. For me, a 52 year old guy who still prefers hard copies for reading and editing, it has been a great way to marry that preference with technology that frees me from having to lug multiple briefcases and boxes full of documents and files, and allows me to store and organize it all in one place. The Apple Pencil has been a revelation for me, allowing me to annotate PDFs and save and share my comments on them instantly. I love that the size is close to a regular piece of paper. I am still debating among a few note taking apps (Notability, Good Note, Evernote, Notepad HD), but in the meantime I’ve been making great use of the beta version of Pages that features smart annotation of PDFs. It feels very much like normal writing to me.

Cons so far are the lack of a perfect case/cover. The Apple keyboard case is very good for the keyboard part, but not comfortable for using it as a tablet or notepad. The regular Apple case only allows you to angle it sideways rather than lengthwise, which is the way I like to use it, like I’m holding a document or a pad. I like the Otter Box design but it isn’t yet available in black.
 

Drew

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I’m replying on one right now. I bought it for work and note taking. For me, a 52 year old guy who still prefers hard copies for reading and editing, it has been a great way to marry that preference with technology that frees me from having to lug multiple briefcases and boxes full of documents and files, and allows me to store and organize it all in one place. The Apple Pencil has been a revelation for me, allowing me to annotate PDFs and save and share my comments on them instantly. I love that the size is close to a regular piece of paper. I am still debating among a few note taking apps (Notability, Good Note, Evernote, Notepad HD), but in the meantime I’ve been making great use of the beta version of Pages that features smart annotation of PDFs. It feels very much like normal writing to me.

Cons so far are the lack of a perfect case/cover. The Apple keyboard case is very good for the keyboard part, but not comfortable for using it as a tablet or notepad. The regular Apple case only allows you to angle it sideways rather than lengthwise, which is the way I like to use it, like I’m holding a document or a pad. I like the Otter Box design but it isn’t yet available in black.
this is extremely helpful thank you. The pencil is really what is making me consider it. To your point, being able to annotate PDF's and other documents is huge. Think I am going to pull the trigger.
 

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Forgot to add that I got the one that has cellular. I know others who only use wi-fi, but they have mobile hotspots, which is another way you can go. I’m told it can work out cheaper, but I don’t want to have to worry about having yet another device with me.
 
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I have the smaller version of the new pro. I love it. With cellular. I don’t use the stylus but I bought a keyboard case for it.
 

whaler11

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Forgot to add that I got the one that has cellular. I know others who only use wi-fi, but they have mobile hotspots, which is another way you can go. I’m told it can work out cheaper, but I don’t want to have to worry about having yet another device with me.

Can’t you just tether it to your iphone hotspot?
 

8893

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Can’t you just tether it to your iphone hotspot?
Yes, I believe you can do that, too. I probably should have thought about that option more. I suppose I should check that now in any event and see if it makes sense to stop to the $10 monthly charge for the cellular.
 

whaler11

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Yes, I believe you can do that, too. I probably should have thought about that option more. I suppose I should check that now in any event and see if it makes sense to stop to the $10 monthly charge for the cellular.

I would have thought the cellular cost more than $10. Not sure I’d go through the annoyance of the tethering for $10.
 

intlzncster

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I would have thought the cellular cost more than $10. Not sure I’d go through the annoyance of the tethering for $10.

For 10 bucks, it's own signal is well worth it.

Some plans make you pay for tethering to o
 
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I have the smaller pro from 2018. I like it a lot is a supplement to my laptop. Depending on my trip, I will leave the laptop at home and just bring the ipad. The pencil is awesome. A bit annoying that it's another $100, but well worth it if you are using for productivity reasons and not just looking for a simple stylus.

I did not go with the cellular version. 90% of the time I have wifi access. For the other times I didn't think it was worth another $10 per month. I just tether to my phone (which I don't pay extra for). I did this with my previous ipad Air as well. If, however, your classrooms don't have wifi, the tethering isn't perfect and I'd go with cellular.
 

HuskyHawk

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I'm entering my second year of my MBA program and am contemplating getting an iPad Pro for classes. Has anyone used the device for educational/note taking/work related items? If so how was your experience? Do I need cellular if I purchase? I do get it at a discount through the school which is nice. Thanks in advance for any help.

Edit-- yes I know there are other tablets and options. I'm only considering the iPad Pro at this time. Save your time/keystrokes if you're suggesting another product.

I got the smaller Pro for my daughter for school use (mandatory to have an ipad). She does everything on it, including note taking. The pencil is great. The keyboard is just ok, same as in any similar device like a Surface. The keyboard wore out and had to be replaced in 1.5 years of heavy use. The ipad pro is going strong.

I like the smaller Pro that is slightly bigger in screen real estate than a normal ipad, but which has the same form factor overall. I think I've prefer a Surface or Dell XPS surface clone at the larger size. Price is probably half and functionality is as good or better.
 

August_West

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Have you considered the Surface Pro?

Just kidding. Barrow my wife's on occasion - agree the pencil is awesome.


Surface Pro is a fine Device. As is the IPad.

Both will get you into the productivity space efficiently.
 

August_West

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I would have thought the cellular cost more than $10. Not sure I’d go through the annoyance of the tethering for $10.


That is if added to an already existing mobile share group
 
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My iPad cellular runs $20/month unlimited on Verizon. Totally worth it.
 

Drew

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My iPad cellular runs $20/month unlimited on Verizon. Totally worth it.
do you ever make/take phone calls from it? I'll have wifi 98% of the time so thats really the only reason i'd need it for
 
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do you ever make/take phone calls from it? I'll have wifi 98% of the time so thats really the only reason i'd need it for
You can't really make/take "phone calls" from the device. You won't have a phone number for it. But I'm thinking you know this. If on wifi, you can get the usual myriad of internet-based calls (facetime, facebook messanger, whatever google calls theirs today, skype, etc.). If you're not on wifi, but tethered, you'd just use your phone anyway.

So I think it would only be an advantage for you to go cellular if you didn't have your phone on you for the 2% of the time that you don't have wifi. One other reason would be if the wifi network you'd be using limits you in some way (web filter, poor speeds, etc.). That being said, if you aren't sure, go with the cellular version. It'll cost you a bit more, but you can decide to turn the data on or off whenever you want. I didn't go with the cellular version because I didn't turn data on for my ipad Air for the 4 years I had it. For my first iPad I did use data because wifi was less prevalent and tethering wasn't as strong/cost effective.
 
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do you ever make/take phone calls from it? I'll have wifi 98% of the time so thats really the only reason i'd need it for

I don't. But I commute to NYC and I fly nearly every week. So the amount of time I would have to tether makes the $20/month worth it. Most of the time I'm using it I'm not stationary with wifi.
 
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is it compatible with a virtual desktop that runs on a cloud server e.g. citrix? (a huge pain in the arse even on a traditional computer)
 

8893

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is it compatible with a virtual desktop that runs on a cloud server e.g. citrix? (a huge pain in the arse even on a normal computer)
I don't know what that means, but I use mine to remote in to my work computer and server through a remote desktop app.
 

August_West

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is it compatible with a virtual desktop that runs on a cloud server e.g. citrix? (a huge pain in the arse even on a traditional computer)
Citrix works wonderfully . It’s not a pain. I manage a Citrix environment . But we run the citrix/ xenapp severs in house not on cloud.It’s a pain to administrate but the end user experience is flawless on a PC or Mac. Tablets are a little different but the iPad Pro with a keyboard would probably navigate it well. And yes there is an app.
 

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