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seong

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 11, 2010
1,031
28
Personally, I think the iPad 2 will be much more useful than my current Macbook Pro, except when I have to edit movies and use Motion. Most of the time, I read scans of my textbook on my Macbook Pro (the preview full screen makes it hard to read) and take notes in my notebook from it. Also, our school system is based on IB, so we have a lot of Extended Essay, Internal Assessments, and usual essays to write. That's what I've been thinking of getting the iPad 2, with the addition of bluetooth keyboard. I won't be using it for anything else besides essay writing, reading textbook PDF, note taking, and general use.
Yes, I've thought about buying a Macbook Air, but considering that I already own a laptop, additional Mac doesn't make sense to me at all.

Your opinions? Experiences so far? How many of you, if you are a student, use iPad 2 for school?
 

henry72

macrumors 68000
Jun 18, 2009
1,521
911
New Zealand
I'm a university student and I love my iPad 2 for anything including lectures and assignments (Pages and Good Reader) :D

The 10 hours of battery is one of the key thing, also the easy of use etc.
The only problem would be you really need to get use to the on screen, they're quite easy to type once you get used to it :)

Hope you enjoy your iPad as much as I do ;)
 

seong

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 11, 2010
1,031
28
thanks for the reply :)

The on screen keyboard was one thing that I was worried about. Since I need to type a lot of essays, I thought Apple's Bluetooth keyboard would do the job.
 

henry72

macrumors 68000
Jun 18, 2009
1,521
911
New Zealand
thanks for the reply :)

The on screen keyboard was one thing that I was worried about. Since I need to type a lot of essays, I thought Apple's Bluetooth keyboard would do the job.

I've got the Bluetooth keyboard as well when I'm doing my assignment. I love my iPad :)

If you think a Mac is a need for you, sell your MacBook Pro and get the Air. It's the best laptop I've ever had. :D
 

jpl6

macrumors member
Aug 1, 2011
32
0
I used an iPad 1 for taking class notes & viewing PDF readings/assignments all through most of last year. It was definitely capable enough for my needs. I used a keyboard case where the bluetooth keyboard is attached to a case (which is better than a separate keyboard in my opinion as it makes it easier to position the iPad + keyboard).

Good thing about the iPad is that it's harder to multi-task which for basic class usage means you might be less likely to stray and surf the web, browse FB, chat, etc (a positive, heh).

On the other hand, I wouldn't really recommend using the iPad, even with a separate keyboard, for typing essays.

---

Personally, this year I bought a MBA (previously had a heavy Windows laptop with poor battery life, hence the iPad) which I think personally is better suited to my needs as I want the better multi-tasking ability. However, for basic school tasks, an iPad + keyboard case would be a great option.
 

seong

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 11, 2010
1,031
28
Yea, I would like to get the MBA, but the thing is it's really hard to sell computers in Japan.
iPad 2 seems like an excellent choice for me, but the price is the main concern. I wish Apple would still sell iPad 2 at $100~ cheaper when iPad 3 comes out.
 

jmpnop

macrumors 6502a
Aug 8, 2010
821
34
Yea, I would like to get the MBA, but the thing is it's really hard to sell computers in Japan.
iPad 2 seems like an excellent choice for me, but the price is the main concern. I wish Apple would still sell iPad 2 at $100~ cheaper when iPad 3 comes out.

I feel MBA is better suited for your needs. Though your needs doesn't need a full blown desktop OS, it comes handy in many situations. MBA 11" is the best option for you, it can even handle video editing which iPad is incapable of. I'd say sell the MBP and get MBA.

Btw Apple does sell previous generation iPads for $100 less when new ones come out but stocks get over very soon...
 

seong

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 11, 2010
1,031
28
I feel MBA is better suited for your needs. Though your needs doesn't need a full blown desktop OS, it comes handy in many situations. MBA 11" is the best option for you, it can even handle video editing which iPad is incapable of. I'd say sell the MBP and get MBA.

Btw Apple does sell previous generation iPads for $100 less when new ones come out but stocks get over very soon...

If I was to get a MBA, that would be worse if I wanted to view textbooks, as the screen size would be smaller than the MPB unless I get the 13", which would certainly cost more than I can afford.

I see that iPad 1s are pretty cheap now, but I was going to use the smart cover, so I would wait until Apple releases the iPad 3, and refurbs will start for iPad 2.

I use my iPad 2 every day at school and I love it. I don't have a problem with the on-screen keyboard.

Good to hear that. I might as well try the on screen first before buying the bluetooth keyboard.
 

palpatine

macrumors 68040
May 3, 2011
3,130
45
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

i use the ipad one with a bluetooth keyboard for the vast majority of my essay writing. i leave the computer at home most days (mbp 13) and only take the ipad on campus.

the ipad with bluetooth kbd is about the same size and weight as the macbook air but costs about half as much, gets about twice as much battery life, and can be used as an ereader.

if you already have a computer to do the heavy lifting, i would definitely recommend the ipad over the air for school.
 

seong

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 11, 2010
1,031
28
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

i use the ipad one with a bluetooth keyboard for the vast majority of my essay writing. i leave the computer at home most days (mbp 13) and only take the ipad on campus.

the ipad with bluetooth kbd is about the same size and weight as the macbook air but costs about half as much, gets about twice as much battery life, and can be used as an ereader.

if you already have a computer to do the heavy lifting, i would definitely recommend the ipad over the air for school.

Thanks for your reply :)
Yes, the price is my main concern. I can do CPU&RAM intensive work at home, but simple note taking and PDF viewing, I'm sure iPad can do that for me.
 

palpatine

macrumors 68040
May 3, 2011
3,130
45

Mlrollin91

macrumors G5
Nov 20, 2008
14,119
10,106
I've got the Bluetooth keyboard as well when I'm doing my assignment. I love my iPad :)

If you think a Mac is a need for you, sell your MacBook Pro and get the Air. It's the best laptop I've ever had. :D

Exactly what I did. Got an iPad 2, sold my MBP and got a new MBA. Best decision I have made. I can take both to class incase I need a full computer and it still weighs less than my MBP!
 

Coasterfanryan

macrumors regular
Nov 28, 2010
157
11
Pittsburgh Pa
My college (Seton Hill University) gives an iPad to every student and I have used it every day since I got it! I use it in every class except for my C++ Programming, but even then I use Evernote. For anybody taking an iPad to school, I recommend this greatly. It is very useful and has saved me many times!
 

rolfbert

macrumors member
Jun 17, 2009
67
63
EU
As the books which are required at my university are not available in digital form an ipad would be useless for me. Sadly it doesn't seem like there will be a change regarding digitalization of books within the next 2 years :S
 

palpatine

macrumors 68040
May 3, 2011
3,130
45
As the books which are required at my university are not available in digital form an ipad would be useless for me. Sadly it doesn't seem like there will be a change regarding digitalization of books within the next 2 years :S

@rolfbert
please see my thread on digitizing materials. i think you'll find some interesting options if you are really interested in reading on the ipad. in my case, it has made an incredible difference and i highly recommend trying it out.
 
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