iPad vs MacBook Air

[PBz]

I am curious if anyone went the MacBook Air route instead of the iPad 1 or 2 or even has both. What are your thoughts? I have a friend that LOVED his iPad when he got it (last year at launch) and when I recently spoke to him he said he still takes his pornPad (his words) with him but mainly uses his MacBook Air.. at $849 for an 11" refurb it's tempting.

[petvas]

The MacBook Air is a laptop and the iPad a tablet. Depending on your needs, you should decide for one or for both devices. This has been discussed so many times...please use the search option and you will find many threads.

[ob81]

I have the 11" MBA and an iPad 2. I only need one of them for mobile computing, and that is the MBA. I use the iPad generally for everything besides school and work. For the money, the MBA is the better buy due to the flexibility of having a laptop. I tried to travel with just the iPad before. It didn't really work out.

[PBz]

Originally Posted by ob81

I have the 11" MBA and an iPad 2. I only need one of them for mobile computing, and that is the MBA. I use the iPad generally for everything besides school and work. For the money, the MBA is the better buy due to the flexibility of having a laptop. I tried to travel with just the iPad before. It didn't really work out.

I think this is what happened to my friend. He is a pharma exec and I remember him saying how he didn't need a laptop anymore thanks to the iPad.. fast forward 6 months and he has changed his view.

Thanks.

[Stealthipad]

One is a computer and the other is not.

[anfield11]

Originally Posted by Stealthipad

One is a computer and the other is not.

In what way though? Yes, I get the difference, but if I want Mail, Safari, Calendar and Pages/Numbers etc. What more will the MBA offer? It certainly doesn't offer the amount of apps.

I'm retired so no longer need a lot of business use, plus don't put Office for the Mac on any of my machines.

[Jookbox]

Originally Posted by anfield11

In what way though? Yes, I get the difference, but if I want Mail, Safari, Calendar and Pages/Numbers etc. What more will the MBA offer? It certainly doesn't offer the amount of apps.

I'm retired so no longer need a lot of business use, plus don't put Office for the Mac on any of my machines.

Personally I couldn't imagine using any of those productivity apps on an ipad, but that's just me. Typing on the ipad is horrible. I got an ipad2 and it's just a fun toy to me. Anything remotely important I do on my macbook or pc desktop.

[bmat]

I have both. I use my air for work, writing documents, etc.

I use my iPad for e-mail, calendar (my work e-mail is on my iPad, but not on my air, due to IT restrictions), web surfing, games. Some work things work ok -- PDF viewing is great. Citrix is ok -- but hard to do much on, except when in a pinch. Writing a document is ok, unless you need formatting (which I often do).

When I go to work/travel and am working on a document, I often take both. It still weighs less than a MBP, and they serve different functions.

[Carouser]

If you depend on specific software (Office suite, etc.) then the MBA is appropriate.

I was going to say that if you are doing tons of keyboard input that the MBA is the only option, but if you don't need a specific word processor then you can get the keyboard for the iPad. You're also comparing across prices - the 16GB iPad 2 is way less than the MBA.

Without understanding your needs, it's hard to say what is appropriate. It's like asking "should I get a car or a motorcycle?".

[cbronfman]

Originally Posted by anfield11

In what way though? Yes, I get the difference, but if I want Mail, Safari, Calendar and Pages/Numbers etc. What more will the MBA offer? It certainly doesn't offer the amount of apps.

I'm retired so no longer need a lot of business use, plus don't put Office for the Mac on any of my machines.

For some things (like PDF documents - hightlighting and annotating), I find the iPad2 a real productivity tool. I find emails easier to read (they load fast, the images are great) on the iPad2. I also have the MBA 11.6" and it's kind of my back-up computer. All my key files are on it (synced manually from my Mac Mini - many are also in Dropbox and MM). I have Dropbox (which I use all the time), GoodReader (great for PDF reviewing), Pages, and Quick Office on my iPad2. I haven't experimented enough with them to know. The Pages version on the MBA is the full version and the one on my iPad2 is not - so the iPad2 is more of a supplemental tool but not a production tool. I can probably write something more objective in a week when my love affair with my iPad2 cools off a bit. I find everything easier to read on the iPad2, but production is easier on the MBA. It's not designed for that.

[anfield11]

Thanks Jookbox and bmat. Sounds like the iPad 2 might work fine for me [if I can ever find one!!]. I don't use pages much, but likely would do a bit in numbers on it, but not creating new spreadsheets, I'd do that on my iMac.

I had planned on selling my MacBook Air to cover all or part of the Ipad costs, but what I may do is get the iPad and then decide from there which I want the most and/or keep both, but I think in my case that would be overkill.

[anfield11]

Thanks to to Chronfman and Carouser.

[danielveeee]

BOTH....

MBA for school work... ipad2 for pleasure(everything else).

iphone 4 for when im out and about without the ipad

works perfect.. could prolly do without the ipad but i love it

[aneftp]

Originally Posted by danielveeee

BOTH....

MBA for school work... ipad2 for pleasure(everything else).

iphone 4 for when im out and about without the ipad

works perfect.. could prolly do without the ipad but i love it

That's exactly how I treat my iPad and MacBook Air.

iPad for general couch surfing and reading. MacBook Air for portable computing. Throw in my iMac 27 inch for times where I need to get down to get business work done on the big screen.

iPhone 4 for times when I am out also. I hardly use my iPhone 4 for phone calls. Thats what I use my blackberry for.

But seriously if someone is looking for a real computer. Get the Air first and if you have spare money left over, go get the iPad.

[nStyle]

Originally Posted by anfield11

In what way though? Yes, I get the difference, but if I want Mail, Safari, Calendar and Pages/Numbers etc. What more will the MBA offer? It certainly doesn't offer the amount of apps.

I'm retired so no longer need a lot of business use, plus don't put Office for the Mac on any of my machines.

Obviously you don't get the difference.

The MBA has all of the aforementioned apps, plus flexibility to support multitudes more functions. Pages on an iPad and pages on a MBA or MBP is not the same program at all. Pages on iPad is more like TextEdit on OSX. There is also no real comfortable way to type on an iPad with the same speed and efficiency as on a real keyboard that sits in your lap.

Amount of apps? iOS's offering pales in comparison to the plethora of apps available to OSX. Obviously, you don't get the difference.

[fizzwinkus]

the macbook air also requires you to sit in a dedicated workspace and use it, with short battery life (5 hours on mine) that's not an insignificant trade of for all that flexibility. they're clearly different use cases with only some overlap.

[jake4ever]

Originally Posted by danielveeee

BOTH....

MBA for school work... ipad2 for pleasure(everything else).

iphone 4 for when im out and about without the ipad

works perfect.. could prolly do without the ipad but i love it

same here.

[Carouser]

Originally Posted by nStyle

Obviously you don't get the difference [condescension snipped] Obviously, you don't get the difference.

No kidding, he asked for some input; I missed the part where he asked some smarmy keyboard jockey to talk down to him.

[Sounds Good]

Originally Posted by ob81

I tried to travel with just the iPad before. It didn't really work out.

How so? Can you explain?

Thanks.

[yodaxl7]

It is more like macbook air vs. macbook pro not iPad. Furthermore, what are your needs and comfortable doing. We all are used to typing, but it is a learning curve to tapping. If you need to publish documents, worksheets, etc, then you could either use wireless keyboard or get used to tapping or do it on the laptop or the air. Case close.

Honestly, I don't need a laptop or a main computer. However, I do like computers and do buy them. I can do just fine with an iPad.

[Chip NoVaMac]

Originally Posted by anfield11

Thanks Jookbox and bmat. Sounds like the iPad 2 might work fine for me [if I can ever find one!!]. I don't use pages much, but likely would do a bit in numbers on it, but not creating new spreadsheets, I'd do that on my iMac.

I had planned on selling my MacBook Air to cover all or part of the Ipad costs, but what I may do is get the iPad and then decide from there which I want the most and/or keep both, but I think in my case that would be overkill.

Sounds like a good approach. I have the latest MBA 13" and love it for serious word processing and my photography stuff on it. But it is my iPad (now the iPad 2) that sees the most use day in and day out.

[nStyle]

Originally Posted by Carouser

No kidding, he asked for some input; I missed the part where he asked some smarmy keyboard jockey to talk down to him.

If he understands the difference then why would he be asking for input, or be posting all together?

[PBz]

Thank you very much for the feedback.

[queshy]

The two devices are very different.

The iPad can be used for serious work but it's more of a hassle to do so than on a laptop such as the MBA. The iPad keyboard is obviously slower to use than the full size one on the MBA. Also, the iPad doesn't have true multitasking, and not all websites render as they do on a laptop. What this means is that if you have actual serious work to get done, you're probably better off with the MBA. However, the iPad is a fun device, and offers a very different experience.

[bembol]

It rare for one to say that Apple SAVED me at least $500 by releasing the iPad because it fits my needs. My vote goes to the iPad.

I do love the Air because like I said, I don't see the need for a DVD drive when I'm out/on the go. It's dead weight to me.