I have an ipad for work. I would like to download another account with a personal credit card just for only media. I do have an account on my mac air.

Question

I have an ipad that was issued from my company.  I would like to add a second itunes account for just media with my personal credit card.  I have another itunes account on my mac air.  Can I download it to my ipad without disturbing my work appications?  I see similiar questions, but none of the answers are simple enough for a "newbie" like myself.  Thank you for any suggestions.

Answer 1

It's complicated.
iTunes accounts use Apple ID's.
I currently use two unique Apple ID's on my wife's iPad 2.
I sync the iPad manually to two different user accounts on my MacBook.
It is possible (though not necessarily intuitive) to sign out of one Apple ID and sign in with the other one:
Open Settings, Store, Apple ID.
Touch on the current Apple ID, and a pop-up gives you the option to View Apple ID, Sign Out, or Cancel. 
Sign out, and a Sign In window pops up. 
Now you can Use Existing Apple ID, Create New Apple ID, or Cancel.
Each Apple ID shows its' own $ balance. You might just want to use your exiting iTunes Apple ID as the second ID on the iPad. That probably allows you to share your current MacBook Air music collection with the iPad. But I'm not positive about that.
For simplicity's sake, you might consider using prepaid Apple iTunes cards (they apply to everything), rather than a personal credit card. Also limits your risk in case the device is lost or stolen.
One annoyance occurs when updating Apps: you have to remember to sign out of one ID and sign in with the other in order to get all apps updated.
All of the folders, apps, music, and video purchased (regardless of which Apple ID you use) will be combined when you view the contents. I'm not an expert by any means, but I do not know of any way to create separate users on an iPad as you can with a Mac or a Windows PC. You can segregate Apps into separate folders, e.g. "Work Apps", and "Personal Apps", but you have to do that manually, and as far as the iPad is concerned, they are all co-mingled.  Example: Take a photo with the built-in camera. It will appear in Camera Roll. Is it a 'work' photo or a 'personal' photo? No way to segregate them. Any music downloaded from iTunes, or synched from a Mac or PC goes into the same music collection.
So that may not be a problem if your 'work' Apple ID never purchases music or movies, and your 'personal' Apple ID never purchases business applications.
I worked in IT for a number of years, and I have to ask, does your IT department have a problem with your 'personal' data and 'personal' apps on a 'business' device? Who is responsible for backing up 'work' apps and data?  'Personal' apps and data? You might need to ask for clarification before you invest any money.
These answers apply to iOS 4.3.4 and an iPad 2.  iOS 5 could change some of these answers.  I'm waiting for at least an iOS 5.1 update before considering whether iOS 5 offers anything we need.
Message was edited by: kostby