With so many great uses for the iPad, it can be easy to feel the constraint of limited storage space, especially for those with the 16 GB model. But many of us use up more space than we actually need, keeping apps long after they've begun collecting digital dust and using our iPad to store all of our music as if it were a big iPod. Here are a few tips that will help keep your iPad lean and ready for more:
Delete Apps You No Longer Use
One of the best features of the App Store is the lifetime membership you gain anytime you purchase an app. Whether your a downloading it to the same device or installing it on a brand new device, you will always have the option to download any previously-purchased apps so long as you are using the same Apple ID. This means you can buy one app and download it to multiple devices (including the iPhone and iPod Touch for apps that support those devices), but more importantly, you can feel free to delete any apps knowing you can download them again.
If you are running low on space, a simple purge of apps that you no longer use can go a long way toward freeing up enough storage. Find out how to delete apps on your iPad.
Install Dropbox for Photos and Documents
One great way to have access to your photos without having them take up space on your iPad is to keep them on the cloud. Dropbox offers up to 2 GB of free storage, and not only does it make a great way to gain access to photos and other documents, it's also a great way to transfer files from your iPad to your PC. How to setup Dropbox on the iPad
For those that need even more space, you can either purchase additional storage or go with an external hard drive that supports the iPad. The Seagate Satellite is designed with mobile devices in mind, allowing you to connect and stream media over Wi-Fi. And with 500 GB of storage, you can store up to 300 HD movies on the drive, which should be plenty of space to hold most movie collections.
Enable Home Sharing for Music and Movies
If all you want to do is stream music and movies, there's really no need to use up precious storage space on your iPad or go with an expensive solution like an external harddrive. Home Sharing will allow you to share music and movies from your iTunes library to your iPad, which essentially turns your PC into external storage for your iPad. The only prerequisite is that you must have your PC turned on with iTunes running and you must stream over Wi-Fi.
And because we mostly use our iPads at home, this makes home sharing a great way to save a ton of space on the iPad. Your entire movie and music collection can be at your fingertips without taking up space on the iPad, and if you do want to watch a movie while on vacation or listen to some music while on the go, you can load a subset of your collection on your iPad. How to Set Up Home Sharing on the iPad
