Background: I'm a Mac user for 6 years.. 4 versions of OS X. Love my MBP to death. crazy as it sounds, i really like Mountain Lion too! 5 days ago bought an iPad mini and have used it exclusively, even as I write this post, no matter how difficult the task was. I had to purchase many apps to carry out day to day needs. I wondered, with all the iPad can do, can it really replace a laptop?
Short answer: No Way! Despite its coolness, it's convenience, it's numerous great apps (some free), its ubiquitous presence at the workplace, it just can't do what a good old laptop or desktop unit can. Some reasons:
-You absolutely need a keyboard to work effectively. Some folks are quite adept at using a virtual/ onscreen keyboard, but its just not as productive as the actual peripheral. I work in finance and a real keyboard is a must. For some work, an actual keypad is essential.
- Both the iPad and mini have screens that are too small to really work effectively. They are beautiful, hi Rez screens with nice pixel density, but need to be larger to actually work with.... Endless scrolling is a time waster.
- File management is a pain. Yes I bought the main FM apps, but they aren't as convenient as Finder or Explorer in windows. Steve jobs may have hated a visible file manager, but you need it in the workplace.
- To use those few windows apps that you still need, like MS Access and other propriety stuff you cannot effectively virtualize a Windows machine.
- Lastly, many corporate environments require the use of PowerPoint to give presentations at board meetings and other events. Often folks collaborate on slide presentations. The iPad version of Keynote or other tools like QuickOffice don't round trip a PowerPoint slide effectively. Where collaboration is not needed and you BYOC ("C" for computer) and just plug into the projector, then keynote is ok... It really needs an update ...current version is 2009. Also Visio is pervasive... Omnigraffle for ipad works best out of what's available but it's not perfect.
On the positive side, the iPad is hyper cool, it looks great and works great when taking notes at meetings. It does a super job at email and web work.. iAnnotate is amazing at working with .pdfs. Cloud services work perfectly. Also, battery life is insanely good! Truly an amazing device for media consumption and info sharing.
But to replace your trusty MBA or MBP, well, it's not there yet.
What's your experience?
Short answer: No Way! Despite its coolness, it's convenience, it's numerous great apps (some free), its ubiquitous presence at the workplace, it just can't do what a good old laptop or desktop unit can. Some reasons:
-You absolutely need a keyboard to work effectively. Some folks are quite adept at using a virtual/ onscreen keyboard, but its just not as productive as the actual peripheral. I work in finance and a real keyboard is a must. For some work, an actual keypad is essential.
- Both the iPad and mini have screens that are too small to really work effectively. They are beautiful, hi Rez screens with nice pixel density, but need to be larger to actually work with.... Endless scrolling is a time waster.
- File management is a pain. Yes I bought the main FM apps, but they aren't as convenient as Finder or Explorer in windows. Steve jobs may have hated a visible file manager, but you need it in the workplace.
- To use those few windows apps that you still need, like MS Access and other propriety stuff you cannot effectively virtualize a Windows machine.
- Lastly, many corporate environments require the use of PowerPoint to give presentations at board meetings and other events. Often folks collaborate on slide presentations. The iPad version of Keynote or other tools like QuickOffice don't round trip a PowerPoint slide effectively. Where collaboration is not needed and you BYOC ("C" for computer) and just plug into the projector, then keynote is ok... It really needs an update ...current version is 2009. Also Visio is pervasive... Omnigraffle for ipad works best out of what's available but it's not perfect.
On the positive side, the iPad is hyper cool, it looks great and works great when taking notes at meetings. It does a super job at email and web work.. iAnnotate is amazing at working with .pdfs. Cloud services work perfectly. Also, battery life is insanely good! Truly an amazing device for media consumption and info sharing.
But to replace your trusty MBA or MBP, well, it's not there yet.
What's your experience?
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