iOS 7 - Should you download iOS 7 the upgraded operating system for your iPad or iPhone?  We have done our research and have safely and quickly downloaded it to an iPad 4 with absolutely no problem whatsoever.  There are a few cosmetic changes which some people will take a few minutes to get used to, but the core functionality is the same, with some extra useful things added in.   On balance we think this is a useful upgrade.

Key differences are the appearance of the icons and colour schemes on the home screens, the quick access settings that pops up from the bottom of the screen if you swipe upwards (very helpful) and extra options on some apps for example the camera settings and options have been improved.  Safari has been improved so that it is now the same as iMac Safari with unlimited tabs and the ability to search from the address bar.  We will add in extra comments over the next few days.

Have a look at this page on the internet for unbiased advice:http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/tablets/3265118/12-best-android-tablets/

There is now a new kid on the block - Tesco have produced their own tablet which is being marketed at £119.00.  It has been given good reviews and is available in 4 different colours. Available from 30th September onwards.  This represents amazing value for money and we think it will sell very well.

Apple were the first to the market with their iPad tablet which has now gone through 4 upgrades.  The current model is the iPad 4 and it is a considerable improvement over iPad 1 which did not have a camera built in.  Recently the tablet market has grown very quickly and other companies put their designers to work so they did not miss the boat.  Samsung, Microsoft, Sony and others have brought out some excellent products that are close to Apple on price.  Others are now coming on the market at a much lower price - around the £120 mark, (Tesco's own tablet, the HUDL) rather than £300 - £400.  

The difference is mainly the operating system - iPad have their own - iOS, whereas all the Android tablets use the same system, designed with Google applications in mind and widely used on smartphones.  So if you are used to a Samsung or similar android phone, a Samsung tablet will be easy for you to get to grips with.  Other specification differences will be the quality of the onboard camera, amount of storage, and amount of external connection possibilities, e.g. usb, hdmi or card slots. iPads do not come with these - you have to buy an extra connector to provide this capability.  We can demonstrate both systems to you on both budget and more expensive tablets.

All tablets now offer wireless internet connectivity, ebook readers, cameras front and rear of variable quality, applications galore and a touch screen, with minimal buttons.  This should make them comparatively much easier to use for those not used to dealing with computers, mice and fiddly keys, especially those with motor skill impairment.  Newly designed tablets have very clear screens and you can alter the text size to suit your eyesight and volume depending on your hearing.

If you now have an Apple laptop - you will have either a Macbook (standard size laptop) or a Macbook Air (very slim lightweight laptop), rather than the options of a Windows laptop, tablet or an iPad. The MacBook Air has been the market leader in the lightweight laptop sector. There are many laptops on the market, but this market is rapidly changing. There are now many new tablets on the market including those from Samsung and the new Microsoft Surface, but the iPad is still the market leader.  For people on the move who only need email, internet, the occasional bit of word processing and document reading, a tablet will cover all those requirements and many more.

Some elements of these laptops are very similar, some are different.  Most laptops do not have touch screens yet, they use a mouse or trackpad (built in mouse), and fuller versions of some applications are built in.  For example, if you have transferred from using a Windows laptop with Windows Explorer, using Finder, the file management program and keeping your laptop tidy inside is different to what you are used to.  However, the settings are very similar on all the Apple products.  We are there to help and can sort your document organisation and hard drive if you are finding it a bit of mess.

The items that can fill up your iPad quickly are the content.

• iTunes movies can be 1-3GB in size for SD depending on the length. If you prefer watching HD, they can be 3-5GB. If you want to take advantage of the Retina display to watch 1080p movies... you will need to watch out.
  
• iTunes TV shows can be a quarter to half the size of movies, but more than make up for it by the number of episodes typically available.
  
• If you get your movies and TV shows from somewhere other than iTunes, you're still looking at about 400MB an hour for SD and over 1GB  (sometimes way over) an hour for HD (high definition.)
  
• Music files are generally quite small but can add up as well, especially if you have lots and lots of albums you want to keep with you everywhere.
• Games can be big, and with the new iPad's 2048x1536 Retina display and Apple A5X processor, we might see even bigger ones with more textures and richer environments. Some games were already getting close to 1GB, will Retina iPad games be bigger?
  
  

Who should purchase 16GB? If you are just using email, surfing the net and reading iBooks and magazines, if you don't use a lot of apps, if you don't want to have a lot of movies and TV shows, or a huge amount of music, if you don't intend to keep very many 5 megapixel photos or 1080p video on your iPad, you'll probably be okay with 16GB.

Some people like to keep their iPads light and either stream or surf the web for content, and some people manage their photos and videos very well, transferring them to their computers regularly and reliably, or use iCloud or Dropbox.

If you keep your iPad lean, you can probably save yourself some cash and get by on 16GB.

Who should move up to 32GB? If the iPad is your primary device, if you play games on it and watch movies and TV shows on it, if you have a decent sized music collection you want to keep with you, and if you shoot an average amount of photos and videos, 32GB is probably your sweet spot.

Some people like to have one device that, while it doesn't do everything all the time, is capable enough to do most things most of the time. As long as there's some extra space to give extra time to managing apps and content, it's a great compromise.

If you store a fair but not overwhelming amount of data on your iPad, you are probably better off going for 32GB.  (The editor has a 32GB model.)

Who should go for the 64GB? If you're a power user who wants to keep as much as possible for as long as possible, if you have a large amount of apps and games, TV and movies, and a huge music collection you simply have to have with you all the time, or you shoot photos and video almost non stop and don't want to have to bother transferring it all the time... we'll, you've probably already ordered a 64GB iPad and cursed Apple for not giving you a 128GB option!

Some people really do want their iPad to do everything, all of the time, and never (or rarely) have to worry about running out of space. If you really feel like you need it, you probably didn't need me to tell you so, and you've already decided you're getting 64GB. 

What if you choose the wrong size?  Remember, in most places you have time to try out your new iPad and return it if you don't like it. Make sure, as soon as possible, you put your new iPad to realistic use. Load up all the apps and games you want with you, load up your movies and TV shows, go out and take some photos and shoot some video. Give it a complete and thorough workout and see.

If it feels like you got too much storage, say 64GB and you haven't even gone past 2GB, or if you got too little, say you're already at 15GB of 16GB, then take your iPad back and exchange it for one that better suits your needs.

If you come to this realisation too late, after the exchange period is over, remember you can buy additional iCloud storage, or look at other options like Dropbox which will let you keep your stuff available online and potentially free up some much needed space on your iPad.

Stroud Computer Training is looking forward to welcoming you to a workshop covering the particular piece of computer technology that you want to master.  You will find it much more fun than you thought, and a lot less scary when you are among other people who feel exactly the same as you about technology.

If you have a technical query, please submit it via our contact page.  If you would like to attend a workshop we will be delighted to hear from you by phone, email or via the website.  See our contact page.