Understand that the Apple App Store has something like 1 million apps. While the apps are vetted by Apple, quality can vary considerably.

Try Apple's own Pages app.

The iPad runs a somewhat different operating system than a Mac. Frankly, I haven't found anyone who has had a hard time with iOS (the operating system of iPad/iPod/iPhone). That would include a young man with Downs Syndrome.

"I haven't found anyone who has had a hard time with iOS "

You have now - me. Had trouble with OS X in a Win home "world" too, at the same time.

I chalk it up to my having too many years of Windows and more recently Android experience. I respect Apple's products and marketing, they just don't work for me. It's not a question of better or worse, just familiar and unfamiliar.

Working with all the Apple ecosystem inflexibilities/idiosyncrasies (in trying to give help to a family member) made me crazy. Too many trips to the Apple Store to talk to geniuses, too many dumb answers.

It's over now, I was able to steer the wayward family member back to stuff I was more familiar with. But not soon enough suit me, I struggled and struggled.

I think this is exactly why I have stayed away from all things Apple. Always used Windows, and now have some experience with Android, so have no desire the deal with Apple and their proprietary ways.

Do wish Web OS would get picked up by someone with $$$. My brief experience using it on the defunct HP TouchPad makes me believe it has real value. I guess it's sort of like the old BetaMax story.

I concur about Apple products

A few years ago I decided I wanted to become an "Apple" person and gain all the knowledge that people I knew had of Apple products. Bought a laptop, Apple Mac Book Pro with Windows also intalled. I studied and studied the Apple side and never went near Windows (I was determine to master Apple). After months of that, I started going into the Windows part of the Mac Book Pro - and everytime Windows was fully loaded and I started working on it - it crashed. Often wondered if that was a built-in issue.

I finally returned to nothing but Windows and will never go Apple again.

This post was edited by walnutcreek on Mon, Jan 21, 13 at 18:28

Hm as a long time Windows user I thought Apple was easier....When they (Microsoft) cease to support Windows XP, I was thinking I would migrate to Apple. Now you all are giving me second thoughts...

Southern Dean, please don't base your decision on my experience, your own experience could be very different.

When the time comes to think of buying a new PC, find someone who has a Mac and borrow it for awhile. You might find you really like it, many do. It's not a better or worse question, rather it's just two different approaches to ultimately do the same things.

Mac users often have trouble using PCs, as you'd expect. Sometimes it's real, sometimes it's to make a point (something I expect of Mac users ;-) )

Let's start with iOS, the operating system of the iPad/iPhone/iTouch, is not the same thing as OS X, the operating system that runs Apple's desktops and laptops. Two entirely different animals. The original poster expressed frustration with the application she had purchased, not iOS. Kind of like blaming Microsoft because you don't like Open Office.

With that said, OS X is different than Windows, much like Spanish is different than English. Is one language better than another, probably not. I've used Windows 3.0, 3.1, '95, '98, NT4, 2000, XP, Vista, and to a lesser degree 7. In my anti-Microsoft years I played with Linux although once I discovered NT4 I was pretty happy with Windows because most the problems of '9x went away.

A few years ago I started using a MacBook and there was a bit of learning curve in the beginning. The learning curve certainly wasn't onerous and much of the same command and functions exist but they're accessed in slightly different ways. If I had to compare the two, I would say that OS X is slightly more elegant.

I can also say that in three years the computer has never crashed. Sure, pieces of software have had problems. Rather than Ctrl-Alt-Del just right click on the application's icon and choose "force quit." Or click on the Apple icon, click force quit, then choose the application.

Boy, do I agree with you! I had a Blackberry for years and kept waiting for them to come out with a new model. When that didn't happen, I upgraded to Iphone 5. I think I am the only person in the world who hates this phone. I am so mad at myself for buying it. I'm thinking of trying to sell it on Ebay, get my money back and buy the new Blackberry which is supposed to be released this month.

Jane

jane-
It would be helpful if you could give more specifics on why you hate the iPhone. I don't have one -- have an Android -- but my three daughters love theirs and I can see some advantages. Would like to hear why you are unhappy.

I am mainly a PC person, but I also have an Android tablet and an iPad, and they each have some advantages and disadvantages, so I don't have an ax to grind.

Jane-
I too had Blackberrys for many years and loved them. In their day, they were the best, there was no competition. They went from having a virtual monopoly (in enterprises and government) to today when their market share is down to single digits and still falling. They're still selling the same dinosaurs while the technology of Iphones and Androids has passed them by.

Iphones are great devices. If you don't like the experience, try an Android phone. You can get ones with a physical keyboard if that's a feature you like.

Just like with PCs, at the root of it all Iphones and Droid phones are very similar, what differs most is the OS/user interface. Like windows PCs, Droid phones are very configurable and like Macs, Iphones by comparison aren't.

If a variety of apps is important to you, Iphone still leads because of its head start. The gap is narrowing because Android phones outsell Iphones by a large margin.

I am glad to hear that I am not the only frustrated Apple user.
I bought the Apple because the HPMini had so many trips to the store for crashing. I had the appropriate software/security, but I got so many viruses that now the geeks can't solve the problem. That is the only reason.(maybe cuz I can use it while laying on the couch/portability also).
It seems to use less 'clicks', to maneuver, but that also seems to limit the results, also.
I am afraid to purchase the Pages app, because it might be as bad as this app I am asking about, 'Documents 2'.
Gee Mike, maybe I need Down's to use it, eh?

The fix for the Mini is simple - format the drive and reinstall the operating system. Some of those netbooks make nice candidates for a Hackintosh project - PC hardware running OS X. ;-)

My reference to the young man with Downs Syndrome is only to illustrate that iPads are pretty easy to use. Your problem with Documents 2, is a complaint about that particular app, not the device or it's operating system. I have to imagine there are plenty of word processing applications for the iPad, you're just going to have to try a couple before you find one that works for you.

Here is some encouragement for those having trouble with their iPads...

Here is a link that might be useful: Apes with iPads

Have you shut down the app from the dock? Tap the home button twice and you should see a list of open apps. Tap and hold the Documents 2 icon until it wiggles and then you should see a minus sign that you can tap to close the app (sorry icon is probably Windows terminology).

If all else fails, just power off the iPad for a minute then power back on. Press and hold the power button at the top until you get the slide to power off message. Maybe the app is just hung. That happens frequently on the apps that I support on iPad and iPhone. The company that I work for was seduced by Apple's claim that it is 'so easy to use' yet we get many more calls on these devices than we ever did on the Toshiba tablets. I bet that they are regretting that decision after spending so much to outfit thousands of salespersons with iPads :-)

ilmbg... I watched a couple of these tips and tricks videos for the iPad and found them very interesting. Check the table of contents and try a few. You may find them helpful. I hope so! :)

abreeze

Here is a link that might be useful: iPad video tutorial

I found the Blackberry very straight forward. You could be reading your mail, click a link and read the web page and return to your mail without having to close the web page and return to the home screen. The I phone does not have a back button which I find so frustrating.

My son has an Android and I find it more comfortable to use. It does have a back button. I like the screen better, seems clearer/sharper than Iphone. Iphone brags about their retina display. Sons, Samsung is brighter and colors seem better.

Iphone is a data hog. You must remember to constantly close programs or they continue to run. There is no 'xing' off anything. You have to leave a page by returning to the home screen.

There are so many things I dislike about the Iphone I won't bother taking the time to list.

My guess is, if Iphone is your first smart phone, you'll love it because it's all you know. I also think it is appealing to younger people because of the Apple status symbol.

Blackberrys were more 'business' orientated. They operated more like a computer. You could work from multiple screens and pages. Can't do that with the Iphone.

Snidely, I've been following Blackberry over the past year hoping the company would come out with a new phone. I thought it was going under. I hoped Microsoft might buy them out. Now it seems they will release their new phone in the next few weeks. The tech reviews were very good. Blackberry will not have a physical keyboard but the testers report loving how well their new touch keypads work. The reports loved the ability to have multiple windows working at once without losing your place.

I know many professional people who gave up on Blackberry and upgraded to Iphones. Not one of them thinks Iphone is better than their old phones. Many state they might switch back and are waiting for the release.

If I can't get a Blackberry, I'd get an Android. I think its a better phone.

Jane

Jane, I agree with 99% of your comments. The world is full of Apple fanboys, no harm done by that. They love Iphones come hell or high water. It's good there's a choice, people can pick what works best for them.

I don't know if Blackberry has changed its system architecture, but previously all user mail and internet traffic went through its servers. As with the hardware, this too is archaic, it's a remnant of an earlier day. It serves to slow things down, and risks everyone losing connectivity when their systems have a hiccup (you may remember this has happened a number of times). No need to risk that.

Blackberry has a lot of cash from the loot it made in days gone by, so it won't disappear quickly. New models won't unseat Android or Iphone, its days are numbered.

It'll be interesting to see what Microsoft does in the phone world. They've never done well, will they continue trying to carve out a niche or will they give up?

"RIM said on Wednesday that the new device management system � BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES 10) � is now available to government agencies and corporate clients. The system lets clients support both corporate-and employee-owned devices and provides a single platform to manage BlackBerry, Google's Android, and Apple's iOS-based devices."

Heard this morning on CNBC, testers said the touch screen and keypad was the best they ever used. Weakness would be with Apps.

Rim is releasing the Blackberry 10 on Wednesday. I knew I should have waited, although it sounds more suited for business use.

Jane

Here is a link that might be useful: Blackberry

It's understandable that the weakness would be with apps. That was true with Android for a while, but time will take care of that IF enough people use Blackberry 10. If it has a successful launch, the developers won't be far behind. I wish them luck.