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

iPad vs. MBA

karilynn

karilynn

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 30, 2011
126
1
Saint Paul, MN
Hi everyone! Me again. (if anyone helped me in my previous conundrum, iPad vs. MBP - thank you!)

My question today is a little different. iPad won for me during my MBP vs. iPad confusion - only because I have an iMac and I didn't feel I needed 2 powerful devices. At the time, I had never even thought about getting a MBA. In fact, I didn't know anything about them. I've done research now and I am incredibly torn. I realize FULLY that they are 2 completely different devices and that they aren't easily compared. I also understand that none of you know me personally and therefore do not know what I *truly* want and I'm not trying to be annoying by asking this!

That being said, I am torn between an iPad and the MBA. Here is what I need the device for: light writing (using pages), web surfing, chatting online, email, netflix, music. All of those things can be accomplished on either device, but here are my pros and cons:

I can get a $100 app store gift card if I purchase the MBA (I'm a student, but I wont be taking this device to class, I do online classes on my iMac) and I can also save $50 dollars on the MBA for being a student. Another benefit: a new MBA was just released, so I wont be buying technology from March and in the tech world, that feels like decades ago! Nothing makes me more depressed than spending a lot of money on something that is replaced entirely in 6-12 months - iPad 3? Ah, that's life though I suppose. A con for the MBA would be spending more money, but it could very well be worth it and I just don't know!

Pro's for the iPad would be the magazine subscriptions, a lot of fun apps, 10 hour battery life, portability (not that the MBA isn't portable!) and cheaper price. A con: backlight bleeding worries me and I will want the iPad 3 when it comes out next year.

So, everybody, please tell me what device you have and why you like it. Also, based on what I wrote here, please help me make a decision! Because clearly making the decision myself isn't working out so well for me. :eek: I know I'm in the iPad forum, but I am leaning more toward the iPad since I have wanted one for about a year and a half and have only wanted a MBA for 2 weeks now! Ideally I'd like both devices, but I can only afford one or the other for the time being.

Thank you! :)
 
karilynn said:
I can get a $100 app store gift card if I purchase the MBA (I'm a student, but I wont be taking this device to class, I do online classes on my iMac) and I can also save $50 dollars on the MBA for being a student. Another benefit: a new MBA was just released, so I wont be buying technology from March and in the tech world, that feels like decades ago! Nothing makes me more depressed than spending a lot of money on something that is replaced entirely in 6-12 months - iPad 3? Ah, that's life though I suppose. A con for the MBA would be spending more money, but it could very well be worth it and I just don't know!

Pro's for the iPad would be the magazine subscriptions, a lot of fun apps, 10 hour battery life, portability (not that the MBA isn't portable!) and cheaper price. A con: backlight bleeding worries me and I will want the iPad 3 when it comes out next year.
Click to expand...

So, you'd get a discount and a gift card but will still end up spending more for a device that you don't need. Yes, that sounds like a rational decision.

Ok, I'm taking the choice out of your hands. Go get an iPad, and if there are issues with it, then exchange it for one that is issue free.

And stop playing the "waiting for the next version" game. I still have an iPad 1, and it works fine. I'll be buying a 2 soon, so I can give my 1 to my daughter, and she'll be grateful for it and won't need to take anti-depressants just because it's not a 2 (or 3).
 
Hunny, I need more help making decisions than your average woman. :confused::D

Yeah, it does come down to that. I just figure most people here know more about the devices than I do? Maybe? And can give me some information to make the decision? How does one pick between two super cool things? lol ;)
 
greytmom said:
So, you'd get a discount and a gift card but will still end up spending more for a device that you don't need. Yes, that sounds like a rational decision.

Ok, I'm taking the choice out of your hands. Go get an iPad, and if there are issues with it, then exchange it for one that is issue free.

And stop playing the "waiting for the next version" game. I still have an iPad 1, and it works fine. I'll be buying a 2 soon, so I can give my 1 to my daughter, and she'll be grateful for it and won't need to take anti-depressants just because it's not a 2 (or 3).
Click to expand...

lol thanks :) I appreciate your rationalizations. :D
 
karilynn said:
I just figure most people here know more about the devices than I do?
Click to expand...

I don't really think that lack of knowledge on the devices is the problem.

Look, in a perfect world, you could afford every shiny object that catches your eye. But we don't live in a perfect world. You can afford one pretty new toy, so go with the one that will satisfy your need for novelty, for new, for entertaining. With the MBA, it won't be long before you will simply start thinking of it as simply, your other computer. Which you don't need.
 
greytmom said:
I don't really think that lack of knowledge on the devices is the problem.

Look, in a perfect world, you could afford every shiny object that catches your eye. But we don't live in a perfect world. You can afford one pretty new toy, so go with the one that will satisfy your need for novelty, for new, for entertaining. With the MBA, it won't be long before you will simply start thinking of it as simply, your other computer. Which you don't need.
Click to expand...

Best advice I've gotten thus far. Seriously! thank you. It's so hard sometimes to differentiate between what you really could benefit from and what you don't need at all.
 
karilynn said:
Best advice I've gotten thus far. Seriously! thank you. It's so hard sometimes to differentiate between what you really could benefit from and what you don't need at all.
Click to expand...

You betcha. Enjoy your new iPad!
 
I have the iPad 1 and it is very nice for browsing the web, playing games, and checking your email. However, it is hard to type on the iPad (as I am doing right now), since a full keyboard is not displayed. It's not impossible to type on the iPad, but it's just not practical. Think about what you're going to be using your device for. Will you need it for note-taking, schoolwork, etc.? If yes, get the Air. If it's just a backup device that you'll only play around on, get the iPad.
 
kla650 said:
I have the iPad 1 and it is very nice for browsing the web, playing games, and checking your email. However, it is hard to type on the iPad (as I am doing right now), since a full keyboard is not displayed. It's not impossible to type on the iPad, but it's just not practical. Think about what you're going to be using your device for. Will you need it for note-taking, schoolwork, etc.? If yes, get the Air. If it's just a backup device that you'll only play around on, get the iPad.
Click to expand...

You can always use the Keyboard dock (if it fits the iPad 2) or a Bluetooth keyboard if you need to type a lot. The only annoying thing is having to reach up and tap when you are not typing to access certain controls/buttons. But if you are just typing down notes this should not be too much of an issue.

I've always lusted after a new Mac notebook, especially the new Air. I've found that as long as I use my iMac at home, I can easily "put up with" an iPad/iPad 2 while traveling. Sure, you can do more with an Air. But how much of that does one really do on the road? If you can answer that as a definite "I do!" then the Air is for you. Whenever I have to do occasional things an iPad cannot do, I have Citrix, Splashtop, 3G or WiFi to get it done. Don't like the offerings on Netflix? I have Air Video and my NAS at home. I also use Skype and Facetime for calls.

The only thing I can do on the iPad that I refuse to do is read books. I'd much rather read on paper.
 
rworne said:
You can always use the Keyboard dock (if it fits the iPad 2) or a Bluetooth keyboard if you need to type a lot. The only annoying thing is having to reach up and tap when you are not typing to access certain controls/buttons. But if you are just typing down notes this should not be too much of an issue.

I've always lusted after a new Mac notebook, especially the new Air. I've found that as long as I use my iMac at home, I can easily "put up with" an iPad/iPad 2 while traveling. Sure, you can do more with an Air. But how much of that does one really do on the road? If you can answer that as a definite "I do!" then the Air is for you. Whenever I have to do occasional things an iPad cannot do, I have Citrix, Splashtop, 3G or WiFi to get it done. Don't like the offerings on Netflix? I have Air Video and my NAS at home. I also use Skype and Facetime for calls.

The only thing I can do on the iPad that I refuse to do is read books. I'd much rather read on paper.
Click to expand...

Thanks :) I am quite smitten with the Air, but all in all, I just don't think I really need it. I do want it, because I had a PowerBook for years, even before I had a desktop, and I loved sitting in bed with my laptop for entire days. Probably not the healthiest thing to confess to a group of strangers... lol but oh well. Now that I have an iMac, I do a lot more sitting at my desk, but I still miss those lazy bed days. I guess I've just always HAD a laptop, so now it feels like a life necessity. Also, I have an incredibly short attention span, so I like to multitask on the computer. I'll have netflix running on the background while chatting on AIM and surfing the web. I can't really multitask on the iPad as well, so that is also another concern.
 
For me, my iPad does about 80% of what I'd want a laptop to do. Its limits, for me, are when I need a full-on version of Keynote, Pages or Word. I use these three apps a lot for work, so that's where the difficulty is. When I need them for work, the iPad won't cut it.

The rest of the time, however, the iPad does a fine job. Browses the web just as good as my MacBook Air, works with Netflix, does - I think - a better job with movies and music given is superior battery life, and despite the similar sizes between the 11" MBA and the iPad, the iPad as a whole 'nother level of portability that a conventional laptop, no matter how small, can't achieve yet.

So when it comes to make the choice - for most people - I'd ask yourself which you need: ultimate in portability and battery life, or all the features & apps a full desktop OS brings.
 
the air is an awesome computer. who wouldn't want it? but, given that the iPad + keyboard + incase origami workstation can do everything you need the air to do while costing less, weighing about the same, with twice the battery life, and the ability to double as an e-reader, i don't see the point of getting an mba!
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; 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)

Sold my iPad 2 for a new MBA. Make a choice.
 
I have an iPad 1, and don't use it as much as I'd expected - my iPhone does nearly as much, is nearly as useful for reading magazines (reader mode in Zinio), better for reading books (lighter, easier to hold) and playing music, fits in my pocket, and is therefore always with me - in fact the only downside I can think of is that it is nowhere near as good for video.

I have a rather chunky case which I use to prop up my iPad on the train and watch movies. I have also watched movies on my MacBook Pro. Neither one is perfect for the task, but I think an Air would be ideal - slimmer and lighter than a Pro, in fact barely bigger than the iPad (probably smaller than an iPad in a chunky case), it stands up by itself, it gets fewer fingerprints on the screen, it can play a full range of movie formats, and although there isn't much more storage than an iPad, it's much easier to add extra storage.

And it's generally more useful for other things, including the sort of multitasking you're talking about. The fact that it stands up by itself is also useful in bed - I'm typing this in bed on my MacBook Pro. I have tried it on my iPad, but I can't find a comfy position lying down and holding it.

It is twice the price though, which is a lot.
 
Two devices so distinctively different the decision should be based on your intended usage. Otherwise you may find as fashionable as it is to buy a gadget like the iPad, it's a bit overrated in some instances. I have both and use them accordingly. It's not an either or choice for me.
 
No direct need for school, plenty of leisure time, no need for hard computing.

iPad, cheaper and funner for what you will be using it. Unless you are really interested in spending money, get the air, then sell it to me for a discount so you can buy an iPad :D [sorry i just want an air :( ]
 
I got my iPad 2 this morning! YEEEEEE! :D:D:D:D and of course, the pink smart cover and origami stand - which is absolutely amazing.

So much excitement right now. Its like Christmas! I have NO backlight or any weird dust issues. I am having an absolute blast with this thing.

thanks everyone for the advice!

next on my list: macbook air :)
 
It's true. Once you have purchased an apple device, you absolutely will not stop ever, until you have collected them all...:eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back