64GB iPad is not enough

I currently don’t have an iPad but I have seen the videos and played with one at the local BestBuy but IMHO, 64GB is not enough for a laptop killer.  My current desktop TAR file backup of documents, pictures and music is ~61.5GB and shows signs of cracking the 64GB barrier sometime next quarter alone.  Of course that’s compressed and doesn’t count the myriad of applications and O/S that’s needed for a desktop/laptop replacement.

I have a similar problem on my 8GB iPhone.  I occasionally tweak the photos and music iTunes sync parameters to be able to get the latest photos or genius mix I want.  But the iPhone (bless its heart) is not a laptop killer.

The iPad has both streaming video and non-streaming video available from iTunes.  A quick look at download sizes for video’s on iTunes shows that the relatively recent “Blind Side” takes up about 1.8GB.  Download a dozen movies and your over one third full without any photos, music or O/S & applications.  Start loading up your vast photo library and music collection and you’ll be running out of iPad storage quickly.

But that’s just for fun.  What about adding all the other Pages|Numbers|Keynote|PDF|Office documents you need just to work and it  just can’t hold it all.  I would say this doesn’t take up as much storage as the media stuff but maybe 10% of my backup data is office work.

Not sure how you even move data to the iPad on a project basis but I assume there is a way to download these files (iTunes Pages|Numbers|Keynote sync option page?)  I suppose worst case they could be emailed.  In any event, the iPad laptop killer needs to be able to work with data that’s created elsewhere.

If one runs out of iPad storage, what’s can one do?

Put your self on a [media&work] information diet and cut back.  Maybe only the top 100 genius playlists, the 3-4-5 stars photos, the latest half dozen movie purchases and only load data for the most current/active projects to the iPad. Whatever you do, how much iPad storage to devote to fun (media) versus office (work) could be flexible, managed in real time on a daily/trip sync basis.

Now if your only using your iPad only for fun this may not be as much of a problem.  But keep in mind, all those videos add up quickly.  Given all this, I guess I’m waiting for a 256GB iPad before I get one.