By
Irene Rosini
Photo: assistedliving.com
My dad was given an iPad by my sister when he visited her in Chicago last month. Since then he has not touched his desktop or his new laptop at home. He totes the iPad wherever he goes and has been using it at work. When you ask him why he prefers the iPad he would tell you it's the greatest gadget he has ever had. Below are some reasons why my father loves his iPad:
If you are like my Dad who reads the news all the time, you can subscribe to your favorite newspapers and read what's in the news on your iPad. Getting newspapers from the App Store is easy for anyone, my dad was able to do it! All it takes is to go to the App Store by clicking the App Store icon on your Home screen. There are two things you can do once you are inside the App Store:
I also noticed that dad has some games on his iPad when I borrowed it the other week and I know he downloaded them himself because he used to always ask me to do it for him. I think my Dad especially loves his iPad now because he does not have to bring crossword puzzles cut out from newspapers and magazines and a pencil while waiting for my Mom to finish shopping at the mall or while waiting at the doctor's office. If he gets tired doing the crossword, he can easily switch to being a contestant in "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" his favorite game show on TV. He even volunteers to babysit my daughters now because he can entertain them with kiddie games such as "Cars: Numbers and Counting," "Make Up Salon," and "Toddler's Seek and Find."
If you are also into crossword puzzles like my Dad, you can download crossword puzzle apps like the "NYTimes Crosswords" for free on your iPad. All you need to do is go to the App Store. Once in the App Store, type the word "crossword" on the search field and you will be taken to a page with crossword app suggestions. Tap the icon of the crossword you want to download and then tap the "Free" for free apps or the button that displays the price of the app for paid apps. When the button turns green, tap the button again and wait for the app to load completely. You can also look for games from the "All Categories" button and the dropdown menu that comes out when you tap on it.
Just like when you uploaded the news apps, some games can be played for free while others can only be played after you pay a certain amount. For instance, the "NYTimes Crosswords" gives you a week of free crosswords only. After the one-week, free trial period you can only play with their classic crossword puzzles. If you are a crossword puzzle pro like my Dad, you might not be content with the classic puzzle. If you want to play the puzzle printed on today's paper, then you will have to subscribe to get access. The fees are: $16.99 for a yearly subscription, $9.99 for a six-month subscription or $2.99 for a monthly subscription. Of course these fees may change at any time.
So, can seniors find the iPad useful? Oh yes, it definitely is for seniors and my Dad is a living testament that iPads can be used by people of all ages.
Photo: assistedliving.com
My dad was given an iPad by my sister when he visited her in Chicago last month. Since then he has not touched his desktop or his new laptop at home. He totes the iPad wherever he goes and has been using it at work. When you ask him why he prefers the iPad he would tell you it's the greatest gadget he has ever had. Below are some reasons why my father loves his iPad:
- It's a good device for reading the newspaper
- It's a good device to play his favorite games
- It's a good device to surf the internet
- It's a good device because it is very portable
If you are like my Dad who reads the news all the time, you can subscribe to your favorite newspapers and read what's in the news on your iPad. Getting newspapers from the App Store is easy for anyone, my dad was able to do it! All it takes is to go to the App Store by clicking the App Store icon on your Home screen. There are two things you can do once you are inside the App Store:
1) You can type the name of the newspaper you are looking for in the search field and it will be pulled up automatically.Be mindful that aside from the fee you pay in downloading the app on your iPad, access to the content of the newspaper you choose is not free of charge. You still need to pay the subscription fee for the newspapers that you want delivered on your iPad. For instance, even if you already paid $1.99 for the "New York Daily News" app, you still need to pay $13.99 for a 6-month auto renewing subscription or $23.99 for an annual auto renewing subscription. For the "NY Times," you only have limited access to its content unless you get a digital subscription which could cost around $5.00 to $8.75 a week depending on the access option you want. Most of the news programs that you can download on your iPad however, such as CBS' "60 Minutes" and CNN can be accessed for free once you download the app from the App Store.
2) You can tap on the "All Categories" button on top of the screen and choose "News" in the drop down menu where you will be taken to a page that has two columns. The first column features icons of paid news apps and the second column features the icons of free news apps. The paid apps include such newspapers as the New York Daily News that costs $1.99 to download as well as news programs like the popular show on CBS, "60 Minutes" that costs $4.99 to download. On the other hand, the free apps include an app for CNN, the NY Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
I also noticed that dad has some games on his iPad when I borrowed it the other week and I know he downloaded them himself because he used to always ask me to do it for him. I think my Dad especially loves his iPad now because he does not have to bring crossword puzzles cut out from newspapers and magazines and a pencil while waiting for my Mom to finish shopping at the mall or while waiting at the doctor's office. If he gets tired doing the crossword, he can easily switch to being a contestant in "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" his favorite game show on TV. He even volunteers to babysit my daughters now because he can entertain them with kiddie games such as "Cars: Numbers and Counting," "Make Up Salon," and "Toddler's Seek and Find."
If you are also into crossword puzzles like my Dad, you can download crossword puzzle apps like the "NYTimes Crosswords" for free on your iPad. All you need to do is go to the App Store. Once in the App Store, type the word "crossword" on the search field and you will be taken to a page with crossword app suggestions. Tap the icon of the crossword you want to download and then tap the "Free" for free apps or the button that displays the price of the app for paid apps. When the button turns green, tap the button again and wait for the app to load completely. You can also look for games from the "All Categories" button and the dropdown menu that comes out when you tap on it.
Just like when you uploaded the news apps, some games can be played for free while others can only be played after you pay a certain amount. For instance, the "NYTimes Crosswords" gives you a week of free crosswords only. After the one-week, free trial period you can only play with their classic crossword puzzles. If you are a crossword puzzle pro like my Dad, you might not be content with the classic puzzle. If you want to play the puzzle printed on today's paper, then you will have to subscribe to get access. The fees are: $16.99 for a yearly subscription, $9.99 for a six-month subscription or $2.99 for a monthly subscription. Of course these fees may change at any time.
So, can seniors find the iPad useful? Oh yes, it definitely is for seniors and my Dad is a living testament that iPads can be used by people of all ages.
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