double post.

Jim Roseberry

Want to move an audio file with your iPhone or iPad?  You've got to fire up iTunes.
Is it a "Voice Memo" or "song"?  
Slow and tedious... because Apple wants complete control.
 

Didn't realize that one... I can see that triggering me pretty readily. Sounds akin to the old days when every email provider scraped off mp3 files since they "must be" pirated music. What a royal PITA those days were.

Funny thing is if I remember history Atari and Apple used drag and drop long before PC.
You can drag and drop the Photo's from the Camera folder but you can't delete them.  
There's no access to the Music or text file folders so if you want to load your MP'3 backing tracks or lyrics into an iPad or phone you are forced to use iTunes. 
The other huge PITA is they have no SD card slots so your forced to pay $100 for a lousy extra few GB's. 
 

Cactus Music
I have not purchased it yet but I want to try using "on Song" for displaying my lyrics at gigs. I don't see an app like that for Android. 
 

On Song works very well.
If you use a monitor to display lyrics, don't get the IK Blueboard to turn pages.
I used the Blueboard many many times... and it's disconnected mid tune on many occasions.
 

I got an iPad last year because I had an iPhone and can run most apps on either, simple as that. If I had an Android phone, I would go that route instead. I'm a believer in not going out of my way to have to learn a new interface paradigm unless there are significant benefits.
 
There are many excellent and relatively inexpensive ios music apps from DAW remote controls, touch controllers, tuners, spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, and SPL level meters to synth and FX apps and even mini DAWs. Unfortunately it is indeed difficult to move files around under ios and really it's generally unnecessarily difficult to do anything with Apple products in a way Apple doesn't want you to do it.
 
There are lots of sites for music apps such as this one:
http://musicappblog.com/
 
With Apple, if you want to use ios compatible devices like audio/midi interfaces, you need to buy an overpriced "camera connection kit" and powered USB hub to provide power to the interface. Sadly, many places say only buy the overpriced Apple connector or it might not work reliably. And you cannot just plug in a USB adapter - you need the connection kit.
 
 
Whatever you get, don't skimp too much on memory/storage.
 
I also highly recommend a gooseneck tablet mounting thingy that clamps on to things. It's just awesome having a controller right there - mine is positioned inches above the pitch wheel on my main controller.

Never been an Apple fan - I dislike the fact that you pay hundreds of pounds (or dollars) for a piece of kit and they treat it as if you're only renting it - I like to be able to control my own configs thanks. You also have to pay the 'Apple tax' and you can't expand the storage! I've never owned a tablet but family has a few - both iPad and Android (Samsung) - and I have to say the iPad wins on just about every front. The apps tend to be built to a better and more consistent standard (ask app developers and they will tell you they have fewer variables to cater for) and for general build quality, screen response and sound quality the iPads seem to win. I've tried music apps on both - a few decent but many are in the ToysRUs category (by which I mean they are more novelty than serious) but once again the iPad apps seem better, more stable. I also find that integration with some hardware (my Roland controller being one example and the TaylorSense ES2 system being another) leans more towards IOS (there isn't any Android equivalent for these).
 
So loathe as I am to say it - the iPad would get my vote and if I was buying that's what I would buy. That said I would never consider for one second a Mac for my main computer - I've been on every version of DOS and Windows going so I'll stick with what I know and spend what I save on VSTs.
 
Andy
 

AndyB01 The apps tend to be built to a better and more consistent standard (ask app developers and they will tell you they have fewer variables to cater for) and for general build quality, screen response and sound quality the iPads seem to win. I've tried music apps on both - a few decent but many are in the ToysRUs category (by which I mean they are more novelty than serious) but once again the iPad apps seem better, more stable. I also find that integration with some hardware (my Roland controller being one example and the TaylorSense ES2 system being another) leans more towards IOS (there isn't any Android equivalent for these).

One thing we should probably point out (and I have no idea if this is true about Android), but Apple OS upgrades sometimes render certain apps completely useless unless the developer is actively maintaining updates for that particular app. Part of the "Apple way" is to move forward and backward compatibility is the developer's and user's problem. This fall a lot of older, no longer maintained apps will just die with a big OS upgrade that Apple basically forces you to do*.
 
*last time I looked, the only way to get out of an ios update was to turn on site blocking and add Apple's update servers to the blacklist, as if they were serving up naughty pictures or something. Amusing, but not a workable solution for me. 

I agree with most and more specifically Roseberry re: plug-n-play, drag-n-drop which is why I switched to an Android phone.  iTunes caused me to use language I despise!
 
That being said, I would love to get an iPad pro for displaying music and playing stems/backing tracks. ForScore is an excellent app that allows you to attach an audio file and record page turns (even half page movements on the regular sized iPad) including repeats back and forth.  Simply touch play, the track starts and pages turn as you've instructed/recorded.
 
I have not yet seen a comparable Windows or Android app with this capability.  Yes, I know I can use my Air Turn Bluetooth device but ForScore really makes for an efficient no-hands performance.
 

Cactus Music
Aslo both old iPAds batteries are toast and cannot be easily replaced so it makes them useless for a lot of things. 

Apple stores can usually replace the battery, and they also do a "send it in and we'll fix it" service. A battery in the UK currently costs around £100 I believe.

drewfx1
One thing we should probably point out (and I have no idea if this is true about Android), but Apple OS upgrades sometimes render certain apps completely useless unless the developer is actively maintaining updates for that particular app. Part of the "Apple way" is to move forward and backward compatibility is the developer's and user's problem. This fall a lot of older, no longer maintained apps will just die with a big OS upgrade that Apple basically forces you to do*.
 
*last time I looked, the only way to get out of an ios update was to turn on site blocking and add Apple's update servers to the blacklist, as if they were serving up naughty pictures or something. Amusing, but not a workable solution for me. 

Apple does not force upgrades. My wife has an iphone supplied by her employer (UK civil service) which has government level security. Which in turn requires a specially built version of iOS because attempting to install "normal"iOS from the App Store makes the security package on the phone go into "under attack - block it, scramble the data, open the secret hollow tooth and bite hard on the cyanide pill" mode

Automatic upload downloads are blocked by going to Settings/iTunes & App Store and switching the slide for automatic update downloads to "off". Updates aren't forced via iTunes either. You can block automatic updates of any app in the same way.

I agree it's annoying that Apple are dropping support for 32 bit apps from the next iOS update, I'm considering getting my old Air fixed and just using it for the very few 32 bit apps I have that the developers are incapable of or unwilling to recompile for 64 bit, especially the two (not cheap) apps that were released after Apple had notified developers, but not the public, that 32 bit's days were numbered. And if anyone can tell me how to install some old 32 bit Windows stuff, mostly games, on a modern 64 bit PC that can't run their 16 bit installers I'd genuinely be grateful.

Apple's habit of eventually dropping stuff off their list of things the latest OS can run on isn't one of their better habits, but I'm not sure I'd want to try running modern Windows on an older PC either.

Anyway, Mac vs PC is one of those things like "Fender vs Gibson", there's no right answer that fits everyone. In the mobile market Apple have a hefty chunk and the stuff works well, though it has an Apple price tag attached and someone using entirely Windows might well do better for their needs with a Windows tablet. Or Chrome or Android, a lot depends on what you want to do with the thing and what you want it to function alongside.