I want to spoil my grandson... Pad or Air?

iPad without a doubt.

Much better interface for a young child to use and you and his parents will have the App store to choose from when selecting appropriate applications for him to use.

The MBA is a full on computer. If he is 4, most certainly iPad. Unless he knows how to use a computer and you want to spend 1k+...

HEY GRANDPA.

BTW an iPad or an iPod touch

Canuckistan said:

Hello,

I have a 3 year-old grandson, and in a year or so, I'm going to treat him, but I don't know whether to buy him the new Air or the ext iPad.

Which would you recommend for a young lad. (Yeah, I know that we don't know the virtues of the iPad-to-be, but it'll probably be a grander version of the present iPad.)

Please don't "rain on my my parade" by preaching austerity and telling me the lad should socialize, play or read. Yes, he'll do these things and more, but I do want him to become familiar with, and enjoy, these wonderful machines (tools).

Thanks Apple.

Click to expand...

I'm thinking iPad. Needs a machine for fun, but also some educational tools as well. 5ish is a great age for the iPad, with the proper protective case.

Also, don't worry about the socialize thing. Make him smart, teach him all that good stuff that you've learned over the years, and he will socialize with people well above his age and be light years ahead of the rest of the kids his age.

And, what will you get the 3 year old when he turns 4?

does Tonka make a laptop? ... kidding ... get him an acer netbook first to see how fast he breaks it or spills his juice box on it. At 3 he does not need an expensive Mac

wait until he is 6 or 7 and has learned a rope or two.

sound advice ... never met a 4 year old that did not destroy a computer or 2.

However you are one Cool Grandpa

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Another vote for the iPad. Kids love the touch screen games.

Canuckistan said:

Hello,

I have a 3 year-old grandson, and in a year or so, I'm going to treat him, but I don't know whether to buy him the new Air or the ext iPad.

Which would you recommend for a young lad. (Yeah, I know that we don't know the virtues of the iPad-to-be, but it'll probably be a grander version of the present iPad.)

Please don't "rain on my my parade" by preaching austerity and telling me the lad should socialize, play or read. Yes, he'll do these things and more, but I do want him to become familiar with, and enjoy, these wonderful machines (tools).

Thanks Apple.

Click to expand...

These machines aren't made by fisher price and I don't think either is a great choice for a child that young. However, if you're bent on getting something I'd go with the iPad. It's shape will be more suitable to be used as a shovel in the sandbox.

stevensteven123 said:

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Another vote for the iPad. Kids love the touch screen games.

Click to expand...

I agree I gave my 6 year old nephew my old 8GB Ipod touch because I didnt need my Iphone and the Ipod. But my nephew worked his way around that much better than I did. So I would go with the Ipad and not the MBA!!

Apple OC said:

get him an acer netbook first to see how fast he breaks it or spills his juice box on it. At 3 he does not need an expensive Mac

Click to expand...

I don't agree with these kind of posts. PCs can be the same price of Macs. Your argument should be "he does not need a laptop at his age" (which I agree)

Macs are computers, people!

dont hate the post - just move on to one you like

get a $200 netbook and see how it goes

Definitely get him the iPad. He will be able to download thousands and thousands of games instantly off the app store, many of them free. I think kids really like touch screens a lot more compared to the keyboard/mouse interface of a laptop.

I vote for the iPad, but I have to say this is kinda ridiculous. He is pretty likely to spill some crap on it, and having a $500+ iPad at age 3 is nuts. Will you get him a Bugatti when he's 16...?

iPad. Less parts to break and they have cases that will protect it from drops.

My 3yr old niece loves my iPad. She plays very educational games. The big plus is she can "touch" it to use it, she loves it. Her counting and numbers are very very strong now

I'll vote for the iPad too.

Apple OC said:

dont hate the post - just move on to one you like

get a $200 netbook and see how it goes

Click to expand...

Hmm,

You're right, sorry.

I didn't mean to say I hate them, I meant to say I didn't agree with them.

Otter Box = Necessary accessory from day one

Canuckistan said:

Hello,

I have a 3 year-old grandson, and in a year or so, I'm going to treat him, but I don't know whether to buy him the new Air or the ext iPad.

Which would you recommend for a young lad. (Yeah, I know that we don't know the virtues of the iPad-to-be, but it'll probably be a grander version of the present iPad.)

Please don't "rain on my my parade" by preaching austerity and telling me the lad should socialize, play or read. Yes, he'll do these things and more, but I do want him to become familiar with, and enjoy, these wonderful machines (tools).

Thanks Apple.

Click to expand...

iPad all the way.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention this wonderful case: http://www.otterbox.com/iPad-Defender-Series-Case/APL2-IPAD1,default,pd.html?dwvar_APL2-IPAD1_color=20&start=1&cgid=apple-ipad-cases
It may seem expensive, but when he drops it and spills stuff on it (and he will. A LOT. Trust me.), you will thank me.
I use mine in my school as a laptop replacement, works fine. Don't get me off on a tangent though..

Good luck with your purchase.

cheers wordoflife ... one of the good guys you are ...

I change my answer too after the reply below ... Go for the iPad Grandpa ... that is what being GrandParents are about ... you will enjoy watching him learn

My 3yr old niece loves my iPad. She plays very educational games. The big plus is she can "touch" it to use it, she loves it. Her counting and numbers are very very strong now

Click to expand...

lol a 1000$+ Laptop for a 3 year old, this is amazing.

i would generally say that the ipad would be a better bet. however, it depends on what he likes to to. my daughter is 4.5 and has been using the computer for almost 2 years now. she enjoys the ipad and her ipod touch, but she still loves to use the macbook or imac to go online. most of the kids' sites are built on flash, so she can only play those games if she's on a "real" computer.

Apple OC said:

does Tonka make a laptop? ... kidding ... get him an acer netbook first to see how fast he breaks it or spills his juice box on it. At 3 he does not need an expensive Mac

wait until he is 6 or 7 and has learned a rope or two.

sound advice ... never met a 4 year old that did not destroy a computer or 2.

However you are one Cool Grandpa

Click to expand...

I had a Thinkpad from between 5-7 same one too (ah the IBM Thinkpad a laptop made lovingly)

If you definitely want a laptop get him an old IBM Thinkpad or a Toughbook. The Toughbook could probably be used to club someone to death and still work, survive a freezer trip, probably the oven and also a bullet.

I however highly recommend the iPad

Canuckistan said:

Hello,

I have a 3 year-old grandson, and in a year or so, I'm going to treat him, but I don't know whether to buy him the new Air or the ext iPad.

Which would you recommend for a young lad. (Yeah, I know that we don't know the virtues of the iPad-to-be, but it'll probably be a grander version of the present iPad.)

Please don't "rain on my my parade" by preaching austerity and telling me the lad should socialize, play or read. Yes, he'll do these things and more, but I do want him to become familiar with, and enjoy, these wonderful machines (tools).

Thanks Apple.

Click to expand...

You are a good grand dad. All the best. Get him the ipad for all the reasons people here posted, and do put some nice apps in there for him via which he can explore science, geography, photographs, fun childrens games, animals etc. etc..

I am trying to put myself in his shoes, how strange it would be to have had such a thing at three. I used to live so intensely in my fantasies back then with a mere sight of girl or a cartoon on tv. The ipad sometimes blows my mind now, I can't begin to think what it would do had I been three years old.

And when he gets to five or six he can have the air too.

Heh I used MS DOS and Windows 3.1 on a Pentium 1 processor when I was 3 years old. I'm pretty sure a 4 year old kid could figure out both OS X and iOS pretty easily.

My main concern though is that young kids aren't really very careful with things and there's a high chance he might drop either one.

But anyway I'd go with the iPad.