Is I Pad a must have?

Bev, The answer depends on your intended uses for the iPad? Could you provide more details.

Must have? Some of us made it back and forth to europe before I-anythings, calculators, cell phones, atms, credit cards, white sneakers......and jet engines on civilian airplanes. And we managed very well, thank you. It don't keep you warm and you can't eat it. It might be handy to hock for beer money.

I'm going to be device agnostic and say that you will benefit from having an iPad or net book with you. For me it serves multiple purposes: - Flight entertainment system - Maps and apps - Trip journal - Budget tracker - Itinerary keeper, back up of printed travel docs - Communications (Skype, email, etc....)
- Hotel entertainment system

Must haves..... Passport money (of some form -- cash, atm card etc)
teddy bear Everything else is optional.

Must have? No. There are certainly many benefits to having an iPad, netbook, or laptop with you, but if you're packing very light and just want to listen to music/watch videos, have an alarm, and access the web when you're in Wi-Fi range, then your iPod Touch should be all you need. Depends on your needs, really. And I agree that you can still have the best trip of your life with no technology whatsoever.

NOTHING is a "must have", just as nothing is a "must see".
Everything depends on what you want. Your desires tell you whether something is necessary--even if it isn't!!!

As others have said, it isn't a "must have" and your iPod Touch does 80% of the same things the iPad does, just with a much smaller screen. The iPad does offer a few distinct advantages; 1) A MUCH nicer viewing experience with the larger screen 2) A MUCH better net surfing experience with a readable full page without "pinching" your fingers to re-size things 3) A MUCH better typing experience for emailing and especially for blogging, as long as you don't balk at looking at your fingers as you type 4) A few apps, such as iMovie, Garage Band, and the iWork trio of office software that are only possible or practical on the iPad vs the Touch 5) The ability to store photos via SD card reader adapter ($29) The iPad also has one distinct disadvantage vs the Touch in that it is not as portable. Yes, it can fit easily in almost any bag/purse, but it is not as handy to pull out and glance at as you walk down the street like people do with their smart phones and the Touch. One final point; IMO, it is silly to buy a device that is only useful for travel. So a critical question to ask yourself is how useful might it be when you are home. By that standard, you might fall in love with using an iPad at home whether or not you judge it the best travel device.

Well, I see we are on for another round of discussions about iPads, netbooks, iTouch, etc. I'll say what I've always said: I love my netbook and would not be without it on a trip. I also own an iPod Touch but am rather disenchanted with it, to be honest. Just my opinion. And I also agree that you can have a wonderful trip without being connected up the wazoo.

Somehow, I manage to enjoy living in Europe and exploring every weekend without an iPad, iPhone, iPod, GPS, or any of the other pieces of high-tech gear that Madison Street wants me to believe I am a lesser human being without. I thought the point of going to Europe was to see cool stuff that you can't see at home, not lug around a bunch of electronics to keep yourself entertained. Sorry, the terms "must see", "must have", "must do", "must eat" etc. always strike a nerve in me...

I'm going to weigh in with Michael 1 on this one. My wife always tells me I bring too much electronics on the trip so our Netbook is about it now, except of course the two Ipods (see even old technology), GPS, backup GPS, and travel speakers. as far as his list for my netbook: multiple purposes: - Flight entertainment system - - Yup, on train not plane - Maps and apps - - well I call them maps and programs - yup - Trip journal - - yup, and access to this board - Budget tracker - - nope - - but I keep a separate Euro account - Itinerary keeper, back up of printed travel docs - - yup - Communications (Skype, email, etc....) - - yup
- Hotel entertainment system - - yup Mine is a Samsung NC10 Plus, although its earlier version NC10 was better. Both have a most excellent keyboard perfect for touch or not touch typing. Any of that stuff a "must have"? Nope.

"3) A MUCH better typing experience for emailing and especially for blogging, as long as you don't balk at looking at your fingers as you type" Well, a better typing experience than an iPod Touch, I'm sure, but not better than a netbook. I debated iPad vs netbook for my last trip (six+ months) and took a netbook (ASUS 1008HA). By the time I added a case, a camera adapter and a wireless keyboard to the iPad it weighed as much as my netbook and cost twice as much. I'm sure the iPad is great for reading, but I have a blog and typing was important.

On a recent trip to London I decided to substitute the iPad2 for the Lenovo X201 laptop. Never missed the laptop. And thanks to the Kindle App I was able to leave the e-reader at home, too. Not that it was the perfect device for any of these functions, it was just "good enough" at all of them (book reader, web browser, email, etc.), or at least good enough for me and an opportunity to "pack lighter" with electronics, too. If you already have it, bring it. I'd think twice about investing in one only for a trip. Either way, I highly recommend the Apple MB974ZM/A World Travel Adapter Kit for the iPad/iPod.

FWIW, we've used (and will use next trip) an iTouch for email, music, maps, "ETBD" episodes, walking tours, etc., and it was just fine for us. We probably used it every other day or so; no heavy use. We had some matters at home to keep up with, so we had to watch for a few emails. This year I will have "RS' Italy 2011" on it. (AND I'm taking my Kindle with "Italy 2011" on it, but I like the screen and the two together are still 1/2 the weight of an iPad.) The smaller size is really hard to argue against, IMO. Even after I get an iPad (and I hear one is in my future when my iTouch konks out - nice husband!), I'd really struggle with lugging something larger and heavier. Of course, I weigh my eyeglass cases...;-) If someday I eat crow, I'll give you an in-depth explanation and review with the pros and cons ;-)

I buy almost everything apple ever made, every version of ipod, iphone, ipad and multiple Macs and MacBook Airs and Pros but I have to say the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit is a big waste of money at $39.00, just buy a $2.00 plug adapter. On the other hand the iPad is a great device to travel with. You can even get a local SIM card if you have the AT&T version and have 3G access in europe. I just spent 3 weeks in Italy and was able to buy a micro SIM card from TIM for my iPad with 5GB of data for 35 euros. I was able to get email, web, upload photos, watch movies, watch my TV at home through Slingbox, keep copies of important travel documents, find restaurants, use it as a white noise machine and much more all quite easily. Yes, the iPad is a great travel accessory.

Thanks all for your thoughtful replies. Didn't mean to touch anyone's sore spots but apparently I did. ;-) I very much appreciated your insights. Bev

Eileen's comment got me interested in weighing the iPad. iPad plus camera connector and charger+cord = 1# 12 oz. Add keyboard (Zaggmate) now totals 2# 8 oz. Our Acer netbook with charger and cord, 3# 1oz. Closer than I would have thought. I am very interested in other's experience traveling with the iPad as I plan to take one on our upcoming RS trip to Scotland. I have downloaded Skype, offline maps, and travel guides, and have practiced sending group e-mails with photos.

Nancy, Weighing all the accessories seems a little anal to me since 90% of the time you are (or could be) carrying the iPad around, you don't need any accessories. The battery lasts 10 hours. That's almost 90 minutes a day for a week. As for using a bluetooth keyboard, most people under 40 never learned to touch type and frankly, are a little flummoxed at the resistance many people have to the fairly generous sized touch screen keyboard on the iPad. If having a tactile keyboard is really that important to anyone, they should NOT travel with an iPad. It just seems silly to me. It's like trying to make a car float because you're annoyed that it's not a boat. Netbooks are very utilitarian devices. The similarity to your bigger computer at home is no doubt comforting. It can't be any accident, however, that almost everyone who has spent any significant time with an iPad wants one. People who have them are generally more interested in what they CAN do (which is a list growing longer every day) than what they can't do.

I don't have an iPad, but I've used a tablet PC and a netbook (several, in fact). I preferred the tablet even though it was harder to type on it. Mine was an older technology that required me to use a stylus. A real touch screen would be far superior. Why did I prefer the tablet? It was smaller, but not too small. Unfortunately, it crashed and lost all my programs and data and I just haven't gotten around to reconfiguring it. So I'm back to the netbook. Am I taking either on my next trip? No. I am taking a smartphone. Light as they were, they are just too heavy to carry around. I am planning on going to several different places and will be carrying everything with me almost every day so the extra weight matters. Anyway, I can fully understand why once someone uses an iPad, they lose interest in other alternatives.

As posted concisely above, the only "must have" is the passport, and money in some form. A pocket calculator helps, but none of this electronic gear is necessary. You can still travel as you did 30-40 years ago.

Well, as a family, we avoid buying most expensive items (and hundrends of fairly cheap things, too) each year in the hope that it will contribute to making another major trip possible. But then again, if the item in question is truly useful at home, then most of it's value is directed there instead of as an add-on vacation tool. If it means I can spend more time planning my trips (having the 'net easily at my fingertips) then it may even pay for itself. With a family of five, I could pay for the item just by virtue of saving $100 each on plane tickets if I were lucky enough to catch a brief dip in prices.

My goal for the I-Pad is to: Keep a journal Keep track of my travel arrangements Read "books" on the plane/train/when I can't sleep Have easy access to maps
Travel light. I'm thinking this device might fill the bill and since I'm a serious reader, it might save me a LOT of weight in my luggage. I can download books from the library so it might save me some dollars too! ;-) Again.... thanks all! Bev

Good point. I'm from Des Moines...Corey Taylor is from Des Moines. I guess that already makes me cool enough.

As Randy mentions, it might make sense to buy an iPad if it adds incremental value for the other 364 days of the year (i.e. beyond your trip). But spending $500 just to have a cool toy and do the things you mentioned seems unnecessary if that's all you're going to use it for. Realistically, you can do all of the things you mentioned with your existing iPod Touch, a journal, and a cheap (used) novel. If you finish that one, recycle it and buy another used book while on your trip. Seriously, $500 is two-thirds of my next off-season airline ticket (or 356€ is a week's worth of lodging) . Don't get me wrong, iPads are sweet, but I can find better ways to spend $500 if it's just for traveling. And if I need technology, I can use existing tools that I've already paid for...I just won't be as cool.