having the ability to tether to my iPhone im questioning whether its worth the extra few hundred dollars for the Air or the new iPad when released. Any input would be appreciated.
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Ipad vs MacBook Air
- Thread starter bisonthrow
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Figure out your needs, buy the device that best fits those needs. Macbook Air and iPad are two very different devices.
Point being, if you'd give a few examples of why you're considering one or the other, the advice would be more applicable to your situation. It'd be more useful to you and you wouldn't end up with people wasting their time listing why they chose one over the other when their needs have nothing to do with yours. For example; are you in grad school reading several case studies each week? If not, then my reasons wouldn't really apply.
Point being, if you'd give a few examples of why you're considering one or the other, the advice would be more applicable to your situation. It'd be more useful to you and you wouldn't end up with people wasting their time listing why they chose one over the other when their needs have nothing to do with yours. For example; are you in grad school reading several case studies each week? If not, then my reasons wouldn't really apply.
It would be a secondary device used along with my iMac. Mainly when traveling for combination of media as well as light document, ppt, and spreadsheet creating.
the air is quite large and i dont need all of that processing power as well as would prefer to save the extra $$$. Is it possible to read kindle books on an air? Or can only the ipad app do it?
I've used an iPad 2 travelling every week for work for the last year. My observations in comparison to the Air would be:
- perfectly adequate for email and surprisingly good for text messaging / imessage. You can do "more" with email on the Air but not more easily.
- great for video, particularly if travelling standard class on trains or planes where the smart cover actually makes it possible to stand the thing up and watch successfully, whereas even the Air does that laptop screen / angle / back of the seat in front thing
- I use it for listening to music far more than I thought I would
- dazzlingly great (and better than laptop) for looking at photos
So in other words for content consumption it nails any laptop unless your media's in lots of different formats or whatever.
However...most content creation is a pain in the backside.
- Numbers is very fiddly; I really can't be bothered and I have tried A LOT
- Pages isn't too bad; I've written cover letters and the like and it's OK. Not great for touch typing but you can easily write a couple of pages.
- Keynote is probably the best just because you're generally not putting in a ton of content
I alleviated nearly all of the Pages issue and some of the Keynote issue with an Apple bluetooth keyboard which I only take on the weeks where I know I'm going to be creating a lot, but then it takes up pretty much what the Air does. The one advantage is that (going back to the TV show / movie example), in standard class flights I can have the iPad on the table and the keyboard underneath on my laptop. Not great if you can't touch type but absolutely fine if you can.
Bluntly, I'll be buying iPad 3 the second it comes out. I love it. But if you do a lot of spreadsheets you should go with the Air; the iPad will drive you nuts. The 11" Air isn't really much bigger than the iPad anyway.
Oh, one more thing - the battery life on the iPad constantly amazes me. I knew all the stats before I got it but it's still an astounding thing to use.
- perfectly adequate for email and surprisingly good for text messaging / imessage. You can do "more" with email on the Air but not more easily.
- great for video, particularly if travelling standard class on trains or planes where the smart cover actually makes it possible to stand the thing up and watch successfully, whereas even the Air does that laptop screen / angle / back of the seat in front thing
- I use it for listening to music far more than I thought I would
- dazzlingly great (and better than laptop) for looking at photos
So in other words for content consumption it nails any laptop unless your media's in lots of different formats or whatever.
However...most content creation is a pain in the backside.
- Numbers is very fiddly; I really can't be bothered and I have tried A LOT
- Pages isn't too bad; I've written cover letters and the like and it's OK. Not great for touch typing but you can easily write a couple of pages.
- Keynote is probably the best just because you're generally not putting in a ton of content
I alleviated nearly all of the Pages issue and some of the Keynote issue with an Apple bluetooth keyboard which I only take on the weeks where I know I'm going to be creating a lot, but then it takes up pretty much what the Air does. The one advantage is that (going back to the TV show / movie example), in standard class flights I can have the iPad on the table and the keyboard underneath on my laptop. Not great if you can't touch type but absolutely fine if you can.
Bluntly, I'll be buying iPad 3 the second it comes out. I love it. But if you do a lot of spreadsheets you should go with the Air; the iPad will drive you nuts. The 11" Air isn't really much bigger than the iPad anyway.
Oh, one more thing - the battery life on the iPad constantly amazes me. I knew all the stats before I got it but it's still an astounding thing to use.
Thanks that was exactly what i was looking for... i really just wish there was a 128 gb model of the iPad... that would be truly solve all of my issues
I have both the Air (13") and iPad. Despite all of the comparisons that they draw due to their relatively close size and price point, they are indeed very different devices for different tasks.
As others have mentioned, you'll have to decide if the iPad can handle everything you want to do, or if you'll need OS X to run more robust applications.
As others have mentioned, you'll have to decide if the iPad can handle everything you want to do, or if you'll need OS X to run more robust applications.
iPad : Air
Dinner Knife : Steak Knife
Espresso Cup : Coffee Mug
Walking Shoes : Running Shoes
Don't look at either as necessarily a substitute for the other or one being better, but rather ask which "tool" do you need to accomplish your tasks -- or maybe you need both as many do.
Dinner Knife : Steak Knife
Espresso Cup : Coffee Mug
Walking Shoes : Running Shoes
Don't look at either as necessarily a substitute for the other or one being better, but rather ask which "tool" do you need to accomplish your tasks -- or maybe you need both as many do.
Exactly. I have an 11" Air, which I thought would replace the 1st Gen iPad that I sold to fund it, but as it turns out, there are many times where I really miss the iPad.
Right now is actually a perfect example. I'm in between classes, waiting, and I'm in a position where I just want to kill time and browse articles/blogs/forums. Having to pull out my Air isn't a very efficient way to do it when I'm walking around campus, or even when I just don't have a good surface to put it on. Sure I can use my iPhone, which I normally end up doing, but the bigger screen is just so much nicer.
At home the ipad is my leisure device. My Macbook air just stays in its book ark. When I leave the house or office my Macbook Air is my mobile office. Also I edit all my videos on the Air.
They are too very different devices but I have not found anything that comes close to browsing the web from the couch as pleasurable as the iPad.
They are too very different devices but I have not found anything that comes close to browsing the web from the couch as pleasurable as the iPad.
Having used an iPad and a Laptop(not as light as an Air)in about comparable uses the big physical difference I can relate is when you are trying to use it while standing. It's just less awkward to use then having to cradle even a super light laptop/ultrabook.
While the iPad can be a content creation platform it isn't nearly as efficient as a laptop for all but a few side cases. By far it's a better content consumption device. As you have a iPhone or try using it as a PDA and light content creation. If you find it slightly tolerable then an iPad may be doable for you in that regard. If you find it unpalatable then you'll likely want an Air.
For me my MacPro is my static heavy end device and my iPad is the mobile "screen" to it. Some of it actual remote desktop work, the rest are pre-loaded materials. If you listen to some of the tech bloggers who also have iPads and Laptops, you find a split. Some have had their laptops turn into basically a desktop, others not.
To re-say. Try using your iPhone almost exclusively and your current desktop as little as possible. If you can, and you find yourself saying "I wish this screen was bigger" then an iPad could be workable for you.
While the iPad can be a content creation platform it isn't nearly as efficient as a laptop for all but a few side cases. By far it's a better content consumption device. As you have a iPhone or try using it as a PDA and light content creation. If you find it slightly tolerable then an iPad may be doable for you in that regard. If you find it unpalatable then you'll likely want an Air.
For me my MacPro is my static heavy end device and my iPad is the mobile "screen" to it. Some of it actual remote desktop work, the rest are pre-loaded materials. If you listen to some of the tech bloggers who also have iPads and Laptops, you find a split. Some have had their laptops turn into basically a desktop, others not.
To re-say. Try using your iPhone almost exclusively and your current desktop as little as possible. If you can, and you find yourself saying "I wish this screen was bigger" then an iPad could be workable for you.
