2018-02-23 17:58:46

I have been debating for a while to get an ipad. the reason why I haven't yet is because I currently have an iphone, and I don't really see what the point is of having both ipad and an iphone since I assume they pretty much do the same thing. maybe some of you all can enlighten me on the different things an ipad has to offer, and why I should get one even though I own an iphone. or if there is a tablet out there better than a ipad, I will be open to that as well. and yes I am a totally blind voice over user

can i get a peace double harmony burger? no chaos

2018-02-23 18:48:16

As far as I've understood matters, the main advantages of an Ipad are that it A has a larger screen, and B, can do mostly all of the things that an Iphone can do in terms of running games etc without the actual phone bits and so is significantly cheaper.

So no, if your a blind user and already have an Iphone there isn't a lot of point in the Ipad imho.

As to tablets generally, personally if I need a computer to do computer things, e.g serious writing, web browsing, composing  email etc I'll  use my desktop when I'm at home, and my laptop when I'm not, so for me a tablet would be a little pointless.

of course I could carry a bluetooth keyboard and even use my Iphone, but if I'm going to carry a keyboard I might as well carry a laptop, and  Ios with all it's file restrictions is not an  environment I like for serious computer work due to it'se transfer restrictions etc.

There are windows tablets of course, but last I checked Windows mobile didn't have the processing power or accessibility of full scale windows, and you were still better with a laptop than a tablet  if you want a proper computer on the go, though  this might well change in the future and is likely something I'll reconsider  five or six  years down the line if my laptop goes bye bye.

About android I don't know, but though I'd be interested to spend an hour or two playing with an Android device I don't know if I have the money or motivation  purchice and learn one, especially with the number of android specific things it can do being low and the fact I don't exactly know how well it works for general computer stuff.

So for me at the moment the major devices I have are my Iphoen 8, my windows 10 desktop and laptop, and my echo dot, and I don't have any immediate plans for anymore big_smile.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)

2018-02-23 18:53:01

I believe the IPhone also has more sensors for games.

2018-02-23 20:39:08

I got an iPad primarily for game playing because I don't play games on my iPhone. If I'm going to burn up battery life playing a game or games, I'd rather do it on something non essential like an iPad than on my iPhone which is my primary means of communication.

2018-02-23 22:55:46

If you want an IOS device just for gaming an iPod touch might be cheaper.

Kingdom of Loathing name JB77

2018-02-23 23:34:41

That's true, and it's probably closer to an iPhone as far as available built in sensors for gaming go than an iPad is, however, I had one and didn't like it, plus for gaming, I wanted something with a bigger screen, so I got an iPad Mini.

2018-02-24 04:17:50 (edited by Chris 2018-02-24 04:31:00)

It all depends on what you want to do with your tablet. If you want to use iOS or Android, get a tablet running either operating system. If you want to use Windows tablets, that will work as well and might benefit you more than an iOS or Android device.
Remember that these Windows tablets are going to be running full Windows, which gives you far more possibilities than an iOS device. I'm hesitant to say whether it would be better than Android, considering how open the platform is. If the tablet has USB ports, the sky is the limit as to what you can do. I know some of them are powered by Atom processors, but I've been using the GPD Win and for what I do, Atom is just fine.

Microsoft is building ARM support into Windows. This means we could have really power efficient ARM tablets and possibly smart phones that are capable of running traditional Windows software. That's going to give iPads and Android devices a run for their money. I wonder why they didn't port full Windows to ARM from the start? Instead, they wasted time with that pile of garbage called Windows Phone/Mobile.

Grab my Adventure at C: stages Right here.

2018-02-24 14:08:49

Who knows? Maybe Microsoft didn't want to be another sheep following the herd by jumping on the arm bandwagon. Unfortunately for them, such tactics often backfire.

2018-02-25 04:04:05

@Dark in post 2, Android TalkBack now gets better and better, TalkBack 6.1 got some better improvements, a lot faster than it was on Android 4.1, at least on my Galaxy J2 Prime. And no, I say this it doesn't mean I don't have an iOS device, I do have an iPhone 5 lying around, though. smile But like I said, TalkBack is also getting a lot faster than before.

2018-02-25 06:54:17

Can you put NVDA on any Windows tablets?  Or any tablet for that matter.  I've always wondered if you could do that on windows tablets, otherwise I don't see the point of getting one.  Have debated getting an ipad mini but also just never saw the point of getting one because I do everything on my laptop, but I do like the idea of having a portable device I can just throw in my purse and use - but at the same time I like the processing power of my laptop haha.  The eternal conundrum!

2018-02-25 07:08:19

I thought about the iPad for a long time before I bought it because my primary computer is a laptop. What finally convinced me to get the iPad was battery life. Most laptops, especially older ones, like mine, only last about four hours on a single charge, where most tablets will get at least twice that. So a tablet would give me more time between charging to play games or do whatever else I want with it. That will be a big plus in about two months when I have an eight hour flight to look forward to, and the return flight.

2018-02-25 09:19:54

Windows tablets can run NVDA, as well as any legacy Windows program as long as said program works with modern versions of Windows. This is why Windows on ARM is such a big deal. Microsoft is adding an emulation layer to support legacy applications. When we start seeing ARM laptops, tablets, and hopefully smart phones, it's going to be a game changer. Imagine being able to walk around with a smart phone that can run NVDA, the full version of the Office suite, or any other Windows program you want to use.

Grab my Adventure at C: stages Right here.

2018-02-25 13:03:46

I got my lady an iPad mini for Christmas. She uses it for streaming TV shows and such without draining her phone. The only other real advantage I can see is if you are a coder and want to play with Swift Playgrounds.

You could argue that it's better if you want to use it as a mobile computer, lighter and more battery than a laptop, but for us, it'd be cheaper just to get an external battery for the phone.

I do have an android tablet, a Pixel-C, and I actually like it quite a bit. It has a very cool magnetically attachable keyboard, and is nice and tablet like without being as large as a full iPad. Sadly, they are no longer being sold. If you want to get into the Android and chrome world then a pixel Book might work for you as something that is still lighter and with longer battery life than most cheaper laptops.

Then of course, if you are willing to spend a lot more money, there are laptops, such as thinkpads which have long battery life and are fairly light, or devices that are both tablet and laptop, convertible between the two states. Again, though, mostly in the much more expensive range.

If your just looking to reduce drain on your phone while streaming media and so on, I would say the external battery is probably your cheapest option.

2018-02-25 13:47:12

I have a microsoft surface, but I use it more like a laptop than a tablet.

I mainly got it because it's windows, lite, and portable.

Plus I'm not stuck in apple's walled garden, I have my iPhone for that.

2018-02-25 15:06:54

@k_jones

Ditto, in a way, my iPhone and iPad are my only footprints in Apple's walled garden, and that is enough, for everything else, I have my Dell Latitude laptop, it's old, but it still looks, according to sighted family members, and works great, so I see no need to replace it.

2018-02-26 07:08:03

@Orko, I confess I'm a trifle confused as to why you'd just use an Iphone for communication and require a separate device for games and aps and Ios things, indeed when I was buying an Iphone back in 2012 i did consider an Ipad instead, but went with the phone for the converse reason namely that if I was going to wander around with a portable device it might as well! do phone and have contacts and such on it. Unless, like my brother your specifically looking to have the Ipad for the larger screen I'm a little confused why  wouldn't use an Iphone for Ios things if you already have one and would want a separate device instead.

I do gather that talkback has improved a lot on Android and I would be interested to have at least a play with an Android device to see how it works, (especially given that I've heard a lot of contrary ideas about how good/bad talkback is and would like to make up my own mind), but at the moment my issue is it doesn't seem Android can do a lot that is specifically Android related and not possible on other platforms.

As I said, I use windows for usual computery things like email, file management  and writing and browsing the net, while I use Ios for Ios things like running Ios games, satnav, phone contacts etc.

Even if we leave  possible setup shenanigans with an android device, I don't really see what more it would give me access too at the moment or  what specifically I could do with one that I can't do at the moment with Ios/windows without the inconvenience of learning another screen reading system, os and possibly going through irritating setup problems into the bargain.

I admit the idea of a Windows tablet with full windows capabilities and a longer battery life than my laptop's current four hours would be good, assuming I could find a keyboard which was both portable and which I was happy typing on, then  I grew up in the nineties so my definitions of what is "portable" in terms of computer hardware are probably different from other people's, even before the craze on tablets I used to wander around with my laptop, and was not above sitting with it on station platforms, in front of cafes, or on a boat going down the nile big_smile.

Actually on the  five hour flight out to egypt in 2010 I just stuck my laptop on my knee and alternated playing audiogames and reading.

Still as my laptop is absolutely fine and likely will remain so for the next four or five years at least it's a defered decision, and who knows where the Ios windows dynamic, ---- or possibly even Android will be at that point.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)

2018-02-26 11:43:51

I know what you mean Dark!  I'm so attached to my keyboard that I haven't upgraded to any new tech since like...2013 big_smile  I love the feel of typing on a keyboard and hate touch controls but I'll have to get used to them eventually, but until then -clings to laptop for dear life-

Really happy to hear NVDA can work on Windows tablets, will have to look into that.  Only reason I ever wanted an IOS device was for mixing audio, and now that I've learned Reaper on the PC end...really don't need that anymore, even though the fear that Osara will be outdated  one day will always linger in the back of my mind, but won't worry about it until it actually happens lol.

2018-02-26 19:54:33

I actually really like the touch screen on Ios for ios specific things and mostly navigating is okay, actually Ios 11 and the Iphone 8 have removed my one  annoyence with Ios touch navigation by allowing you to use menues for drag and drop rather than forcing you to wander around the screen with your finger as in previous releases, the amount of trouble I've had trying to put aps in folders or move to different pages try to get things in specific order the like is unbelievable. I've been wanting this since Ios 6, and it's about time, but welcome now it's finally here.

Where use of a touch screen falls down for me is any sort of typing at all. On screen keyboards are okay as far as they go for putting things into a search box or entering your name, but there is no way in hell I'd want to write an  or a document with them. Also, despite the fact I do like the rotor and use it a lot, I do rather miss one letter navigation, after all it's much quicker to just press h than to have to twist around several times to headings and then flick down.

This is also why i often find menus in Ios applications a bit more trouble to handle,  often your forced to do a heck of a lot of flicking to get through combo boxes or to specific buttons or the like, where with a keybaord you could just use one letter.

In fairness it also doesn't help that I find safari and vo a bit wonky to use, so I don't really do much web browsing on my Iphone so have never really got used to any specific shortcuts or how to handle layout on websites with it (I tried to google something the other day and it wouldn't cope with me putting the address in the address bar at all).  though of course given Ios rather dire file handling again I've not had too much insentive to explore it's  browsing capabilities anyway.

of course I do actually own an Ios bluetooth keyboard, however  it's relative size I rarely have it with me, especially if i'm using my Iphone on the go, so it is a littel pointless as compared to a laptop that has a built in keyboard.

this is likely one thing I'd have to fix if I  get a windows tablet to do computery things on, since even though I know Nvda has touch screen  there are still many things i'd just be happier to do typing.

Still as I said, that is a ways down the road for me at the second anyway.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)

2018-02-27 01:01:33

They introduced menu based icon management in iOS 10, and I agree, it is far superior to that crappy drag and drop method that was the only option before.

When I first got an iPhone, I used it for everything, playing media files, especially music, playing games, phone calls, and access to information. Then one day I found myself stranded, my scheduled ride didn't show up as planned, and because my iPhone battery was real low from game playing, it wouldn't stay on long enough to make a call to a cab company, so I had to find someone willing to let me use their phone to call for a ride home. Ever since then, I restrict my phone usage to information and phone calls so I'll always have enough battery power to make a call when needed.

So if I want to play mobile games, that means another device. Plus when I played games on the phone I found the screen a bit small, so I wanted something larger to play games on. But I didn't want something as big as the original iPad. For a while I considered an Amazon Fire tablet, but ultimately decided on the iPad Mini because I was unsure of Android's and Amazon's accessibility versus Voice Over on iOS.

2018-02-28 01:32:43

Hmmm Orko that is odd.
Back when I used my phone for media playback it could keep going for a good ten hours, and most games didn't take that much from it so long as you only opened one at a time. The only major issue I noticed with battery life and games are those with an ongoing timer such as crafting kingdom or land of livia which is strange.

Usually for me most places (I go including trains), have power points so if I'm on a long journey I'm usually okay, and if I'm out and away from a power point I'm usually too busy to be playing games on my phone, this is why it was such a surprise when my Iphone 5 battery went bye bye and barely kept ten minutes charge.

Actually I have my Iphone resting on the arm of my setee beside me playing land  livia while I'm writing this.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)

2018-02-28 04:15:59

Tablets are just toys, so the one and only question is, do you wanna drop that amount of cash on a toy, if yes, buy it, if not, don't. Not saying you can't get anything done on them if you need to, but I'm just saying, most of what people do is games, netflix, stuff like that.

Facts with Tom MacDonald, Adam Calhoun, and Dax
End racism
End division
Become united

2018-02-28 08:08:38

Actually Ironcross my brother often uses his Ipad  and documents to go for major writing tasks along with a bluetooth keyboard.
This is because since his laptop has his legal notes on, he really can't! use it for anything else or take it anywhere that isn't related to his clients since you can imagine how strict legal confidentiality is.

This even goes for things  like attending law society lectures and training courses, so  needed something he could take notes on and then transfer them later, this is one reason he's got an Iphone and an Ipad (though he also values the large print on the Ipad screen, so I  necessarily automatically call all tablets toys just because that's what people tend to use them for.

As I said, I could see myself getting a windows tablet instead of a laptop in a few years, ---- though manifestly time will tell on that one.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)