(A similar but not identical post appears in the Air forum.)
Two years ago, I bought a iPad2. I was pretty sure it would be a luxury, certainly not my "work computer," but that's what happened. I've been using the iPad in place of a portable computer. I use it every day for word processing (Pages: 1-5 page documents, mostly, but some as long as 10-15 pages with some graphics), Numbers (budgets), email, schedule (I love the sync with other Apple devices, and use this constantly), showing off Keynote presentations, and other general office (and fun) use. When building Keynotes, or OmniGraffle diagrams, I start on the iPad, then move to iMac 21.5" for fancier designs, more detailed work, etc.
I visited the Apple Store today to check out the latest 11 and 13 inch Airs, and to again consider the 13 MPB Retina. My intent: choose one of these so that I could do more efficient work on a portable. I was surprised to find that I preferred my current iPad + iMac setup, and I wondered whether others had gone through similar thought processes. That is: I thought I was going to buy an Air today, and I left the store without one. This confused me, so I'm reaching out to others for their insight and experiences.
Briefly:
1. The built-in 3G connectivity in the iPad (which I use often) is a missing feature on the portable Macs. Yes, I can use the iPhone's connectivity, but this seems like a workaround.
2. I've gotten used to the iPad's touch screen, and surprise myself by typing directly onto the iPad surface most of the time (external keyboard via Bluetooth sometimes).
3. The experience of working with the 11-inch screen sets expectations that don't resolve as nicely as they do on the iPad. Specifically, because I can only open one screen/document on the iPad at a time, the experience is always easy to read and solid. When I open two docs on the Air 11, they're both a bit too small and because the Air is a computer not a tablet, I can't quite bring the screen closer to my eyes.
4. The experience of working on the 13-inch screen is better, but now I'm spending over $1,500 for something that weighs twice as much as the iPad2 (2 1/2 times if I consider the retina MBP13).
5. There are some things that I can't do on the iPad that I can do on the Air: build and modify FileMaker databases (so I do them on the iMac when I get to my desk), use Adobe Creative Suite (which requires more concentration that remote environments provide, for me, much of the time), watch Flash video (infrequent occurrence, though sometimes annoying), and... okay, now I'm struggling a bit for more.
I do like the idea of actually typing on a proper keyboard into, say, Pages, and certainly, but what began as a likely purchase of an Air today is beginning to look like a full-sized iPad upgrade later this year. I've surprised myself, and I would like to hear other people's experiences.
Thanks!
Two years ago, I bought a iPad2. I was pretty sure it would be a luxury, certainly not my "work computer," but that's what happened. I've been using the iPad in place of a portable computer. I use it every day for word processing (Pages: 1-5 page documents, mostly, but some as long as 10-15 pages with some graphics), Numbers (budgets), email, schedule (I love the sync with other Apple devices, and use this constantly), showing off Keynote presentations, and other general office (and fun) use. When building Keynotes, or OmniGraffle diagrams, I start on the iPad, then move to iMac 21.5" for fancier designs, more detailed work, etc.
I visited the Apple Store today to check out the latest 11 and 13 inch Airs, and to again consider the 13 MPB Retina. My intent: choose one of these so that I could do more efficient work on a portable. I was surprised to find that I preferred my current iPad + iMac setup, and I wondered whether others had gone through similar thought processes. That is: I thought I was going to buy an Air today, and I left the store without one. This confused me, so I'm reaching out to others for their insight and experiences.
Briefly:
1. The built-in 3G connectivity in the iPad (which I use often) is a missing feature on the portable Macs. Yes, I can use the iPhone's connectivity, but this seems like a workaround.
2. I've gotten used to the iPad's touch screen, and surprise myself by typing directly onto the iPad surface most of the time (external keyboard via Bluetooth sometimes).
3. The experience of working with the 11-inch screen sets expectations that don't resolve as nicely as they do on the iPad. Specifically, because I can only open one screen/document on the iPad at a time, the experience is always easy to read and solid. When I open two docs on the Air 11, they're both a bit too small and because the Air is a computer not a tablet, I can't quite bring the screen closer to my eyes.
4. The experience of working on the 13-inch screen is better, but now I'm spending over $1,500 for something that weighs twice as much as the iPad2 (2 1/2 times if I consider the retina MBP13).
5. There are some things that I can't do on the iPad that I can do on the Air: build and modify FileMaker databases (so I do them on the iMac when I get to my desk), use Adobe Creative Suite (which requires more concentration that remote environments provide, for me, much of the time), watch Flash video (infrequent occurrence, though sometimes annoying), and... okay, now I'm struggling a bit for more.
I do like the idea of actually typing on a proper keyboard into, say, Pages, and certainly, but what began as a likely purchase of an Air today is beginning to look like a full-sized iPad upgrade later this year. I've surprised myself, and I would like to hear other people's experiences.
Thanks!
