iPad All-in-One For Dummies, 7th Edition (2015)

Introduction

Apple turned the computing world on its ear when it introduced the iPad. This small wonder, which weighed less than a pound and a half, sold many tens of millions of units in its first few years for good reason: It’s well designed and feature rich, and it opens a world of apps and media viewing in a highly portable format.

About This Book

iPad All-in-One For Dummies, 7th Edition, has one aim: to be the ultimate reference on the coolest digital device of the day. If you’re reasonably computer savvy, you can use this book to get up to speed quickly the day you buy your iPad, and then you can pick up the book again anytime you feel like taking your knowledge of the iPad to the next level. Even if you’ve been puttering with your iPad for a while, you’ll still find things between these covers that you didn’t know about.

Though the iPad is relatively simple to use, a lot is packed in there, and you can get even more from it by downloading apps to do seemingly everything under the sun. This book approaches the iPad from every angle: from the basics to powerful road-warrior tools.

You can read step-by-step instructions for basic tasks, hot tips for getting the most out of iPad, and tips about apps that can take your iPad experience further.

Foolish Assumptions

To offer you a book that gives you insight into the powerful ways you can use iPad, I have to assume that you’re computer and mobile-phone literate. You don’t have to be an iPhone user to use this book (though iPhone has a great many similarities to iPad and shares many apps with it). You don’t even have to be a Mac-oriented person — PC people do just fine with the iPad.

I also assume that you want to take your use of the iPad to the next level by getting helpful tips and advice as well as discovering several apps that are useful in expanding your iPad experience. You may use the iPad for personal pleasure or to get your work done — or both. If you travel a great deal or use the iPad to work, you’ll find extra benefits in the material covered in Books III and IV.

Icons Used in This Book

Little pictures often found in the margin of technical books help you quickly find certain types of information, such as tips or warnings. Here are the icons you should look for in iPad All-in-One For Dummies, 7th Edition:

tip.eps The Tip icon points to a tiny bit of advice about the current topic or other useful strategies for advancing your iPad experience to the next level.

remember.eps The Remember icon signals either a pertinent fact that relates to the topic you’re reading about (but which could also be mentioned elsewhere in the book) or a reiteration of a particularly important piece of information that’s, well, worth repeating.

warning.eps The Warning icon alerts you to potential pitfalls, so don’t ignore it. Ignoring the Warning icon might leave you with lost data, a broken iPad, or a lost connection.

new_ipad.eps For the latest and greatest features of iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 , hunt for the New icon. If you own an earlier generation of iPad or iPad mini, this information can help you understand where your model might differ in its functionality. Note: Most features on your iPad will match this book no matter what version of iPad you have if you upgrade to the current operating system, iOS 8. However, the original iPad doesn’t support iOS 8 at all, so none of the coverage in this book is relevant to that model.

technicalstuff.eps The Technical Stuff icon marks iPad information that ventures beyond the basics.

Beyond the Book

This section describes where you can find the book’s companion content at www.dummies.com. Here’s what you can find there:

· Cheat Sheet: Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/ipadaio to find ways to personalize various iPad and Safari browser settings and a list of free apps.

· Dummies.com online articles: Head to this book’s Extras page located at www.dummies.com/extras/ipadaio to read about cool apps for your iPad. You’ll find information about entertainment apps, apps for business power users, apps to use with iWork, and informative apps such as dictionaries and news sources.

· Updates: I provide information on changes to the iOS or iPad hardware that occur after this book’s publication on my website at www.ipadmadeclear.com, so you can continue to use this book even if changes are introduced after you buy it. Please check this website periodically as Apple makes software and hardware updates to iPad now and then. You can also check for updates and corrections at www.dummies.com/extras/ipadaio.

Where to Go from Here

After you read this book’s introduction, it’s time to jump into all things iPad. I hope that when you turn to any chapter in this book, you’ll find something you didn’t know about iPad that will increase your enjoyment of your new device.

Start by checking out the basic concepts and instructions in Book I (you might be surprised at what you discover, even if you’ve been tinkering with your iPad for a bit) and then jump to any minibook that addresses topics you want explore next — to have fun or get work done, for example.

Wherever you dive in, you’re likely to find some advice or information that will make your iPad experience even more rewarding.

The first step you should take (and this is covered in Book I, Chapter 2) is to update to the latest operating system for iPad — iOS 8, at the time this book went to press. (All steps in this book are based on iOS 8.)