Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

vmflapem

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 27, 2013
432
68
I already have a macbook pro and im thinking of buying a smaller device just to carry easily to school.
I'm only gonna be using it for taking simple notes and watching movies.

Which one of the two would you recommend?
 

BrickbookPro

macrumors regular
Jul 26, 2011
175
99
I already have a macbook pro and im thinking of buying a smaller device just to carry easily to school.
I'm only gonna be using it for taking simple notes and watching movies.

Which one of the two would you recommend?

Have you tried writing on the iPad? If you are okay with it then go for it. Otherwise you'll obviously need the air (if you're limited to those two choices). You could also buy a keyboard for the iPad.
 

vmflapem

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 27, 2013
432
68
Have you tried writing on the iPad? If you are okay with it then go for it. Otherwise you'll obviously need the air (if you're limited to those two choices). You could also buy a keyboard for the iPad.

Not sure how reliable those keyboards are.
Are they lag-free and comfortable?
I havent tried writing on it.. so thats another problem :(
 

BrickbookPro

macrumors regular
Jul 26, 2011
175
99
Not sure how reliable those keyboards are.
Are they lag-free and comfortable?
I havent tried writing on it.. so thats another problem :(

I have the apple bluetooth keyboard that works with the laptops and ipads. It works perfectly with a laptop. I have not bought an iPad but I'd be surprised if the keyboard worked poorly with it. That's not very apple like. Go to a store and try one out. Don't decide before then!
 

s2mikey

Suspended
Sep 23, 2013
2,490
4,255
Upstate, NY
It boils down to portability and lightness versus a full feature set that you'd get with a laptop. You already have a good laptop so maybe the iPad makes sense here? You can easily swap files between the two devices and keep them synced.

iPad is the choice. IMO. :)
 

kelon111

macrumors 6502
Mar 16, 2013
303
4
I already have a macbook pro and im thinking of buying a smaller device just to carry easily to school.
I'm only gonna be using it for taking simple notes and watching movies.

Which one of the two would you recommend?

I wouldn't use an iPad for notetaking. I would get a tablet with an active Wacom or N-Trig digitizer instead.
 

vmflapem

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 27, 2013
432
68
Thanks for sharing your valuable opinions on this.
I still can't pull the trigger...
 

kathyricks

macrumors 6502
Nov 26, 2012
292
20
Get an iPad from the apple store and you have two weeks to decide if it will work for you. If you decide it won't then take it back to the store and get an 11 inch Air.
 

AppleFanatic10

macrumors 68030
Nov 2, 2010
2,802
295
Hawthorne, CA
I already have a macbook pro and im thinking of buying a smaller device just to carry easily to school.
I'm only gonna be using it for taking simple notes and watching movies.

Which one of the two would you recommend?

I have a iPad (1st gen & mini), and I can tell you that it's hard to take notes (if you're using a stylus) with the iPad. Unfortunately I can't tell you how it works with a keyboard since I haven't invested in one yet.

So in that case, I'd advise you to get the air. It's portable, lightweight, has pretty awesome battery life, and you don't have to buy an external keyboard :)
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,470
43,392
For content creation, I personally prefer a keyboard and to that point, an MBA would be better. I've typed on iPads and continue to do so, but I much rather use a physical keyboard then a virtual one.
 

Meister

Suspended
Oct 10, 2013
5,456
4,310
I would strongly recommend the retina mini.
The portability is amazing!

Provided you dont mind the touch keyboard.
It takes getting used to but u can do it.
I know professional writers who only use the touchscreen. They told me they consider laptops obsolete.
I personally feel equally comfortable on both.
 

BenTrovato

macrumors 68040
Jun 29, 2012
3,035
2,198
Canada
Get the iPad, you already have a laptop. You won't be happy with 2 laptops :p. It'll be fun to have the pad. It's a lot easier to take notes on a laptop and you would be able to download movies whenever/wherever you like but it's time to try something different. Pull the trigger!
 

petvas

macrumors 603
Jul 20, 2006
5,479
1,807
Munich, Germany
Thanks for sharing your valuable opinions on this.
I still can't pull the trigger...

I have gone this path many times and it's always difficult to answer, but actually I would tell you to hear what Apple's management has told Macworld this week during a small interview...
"When I walked into Apple’s offices for my conversation with the three executives, they noticed that I had brought a phone, a tablet, and a laptop, and had ultimately selected my MacBook Air as my tool of choice for the interview. (To write about the 30th anniversary of the Mac on an iPad would have felt like a betrayal.)

“You had a bunch of tools,” Federighi said, pointing at my bag. “And you pulled out the one that felt right for the job that you were doing. It wasn’t because it had more computing power…. You pulled it out because it was the most natural device to accomplish a task.” Sometimes you want a large display, with many different windows open, and sometimes you just want to lay back on the couch or are standing at the bus stop. “There’s a natural form factor that drives the optimal experience for each of those things. And I think what we are focused on is delivering the tailored, optimal experience for those kinds of ways that you work, without trying to take a one-size-fits-all solution to it.”"
http://www.macworld.com/article/209...he-mac-at-30-the-mac-keeps-going-forever.html

What I am trying to say is that the best advice I can give you is, use each device for what it was created for, and don't try to make it to something else, just because it is possible. Use what it feels natural to use, and don't think about it!
Having said that, I would say that for notes taking a Macbook Air is definitely better. Especially if you do a lot of copy paste you would hate an iPad...

I have a lot of devices (just look at my signature) and I use an iPad only for small tasks, nothing else. The iPad was created for specific usage scenarios and use cases, and note taking, while it is certainly possible to use it for note taking, a laptop is a much better choice. (unless you want to use handwritten notes)
 

Meister

Suspended
Oct 10, 2013
5,456
4,310
Get the iPad, you already have a laptop. You won't be happy with 2 laptops :p. It'll be fun to have the pad. It's a lot easier to take notes on a laptop and you would be able to download movies whenever/wherever you like but it's time to try something different. Pull the trigger!

For me its a lot easier to take notes on an ipad.
You can also download movies with an ipad.
 

Meister

Suspended
Oct 10, 2013
5,456
4,310
From my experience with an iPad , it's a pain to take notes on it even with a stylus.

I am only speaking for myself and some other people i know, too.
We all use the touch keyboard and have been practicing for the last three years.
 
Last edited:

ZombiePete

macrumors 68020
Aug 6, 2008
2,319
1,064
San Antonio, TX
I went back to school a few years ago, all online, and for a few weeks I tried doing my schoolwork exclusively on an iPad (4th gen), and I can tell you that it's a very claustrophobic experience. Especially when trying to do research for bigger papers, I constantly wished I had a better multitasking option (i.e. windows instead of having to jump back and forth between apps). It worked great with my Apple bluetooth keyboard, but I also began to really miss having a touchpad for text selection and cursor placement.

It can be done, but I wouldn't want to do it. If I had the option of buying a MacBook Air or iPad Air for school, I would definitely go with the MBA. Especially now that iBooks is available in OSX.
 

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
If I was on your shoes I would go iPad with a cover-keyboard for no other reason that 2 OSX devices seem superfluous and I would love to play with those cool IOS Apps.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.