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iPad 3 or MacBook Air?

anirudh said:
Gasp!! Ever seen a madam correcting herself??? Sir, definitely ;)

BTW, you are a sir, right? Coz otherwise, I have just put myself in a very awkward situation :eek:
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LOL.

Yes. Barring any future accidents occurring whilst cutting onions (it's just so damn hard to see with all those tears running down my cheeks!), that is.

-->iDv.
 
ecib said:
Don't even CONSIDER 2GB RAM. Seriously. You can never upgrade it. RAM is the best bang for your buck on any setup, and for 100 bucks more, just max it out. And it WILL come into play for future OS upgrades.

Also, the moment you walk out of the door with new consumer tech, the value begins dropping. The computer is a tool. Consider the reason you need this tool. Is it school? Then make the purchase as one of the last things you do. If you can wait until after they refresh the MBA (not sure when you start), you are going to pay the same price for improved specs. I know how tempting it is to get it now, but that's just a practical thought.
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funnily enough, thats what i've decided to do. its not urgent, (as such) as i can use the mac most of the time, which makes up for having a crappy laptop..
 
homeboy said:
...I managed to take it with me on holiday abroad and get a 3,000 word assignment done. Is that feasable on an iPad? Absolutely no.
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Absolute rubbish.

It's easy to write very long documents very comfortably on an iPad, even without an external keyboard.

Nevertheless, my advice would be to go with an MBA if that's your only device. Not much bigger than an iPad and far more capable.
 
treynolds said:
Absolute rubbish.

It's easy to write very long documents very comfortably on an iPad, even without an external keyboard.

Nevertheless, my advice would be to go with an MBA if that's your only device. Not much bigger than an iPad and far more capable.
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No, it's not. How many 3000 word documents have you created on an ipad? I tried to use it for work and it's unusable.
 
treynolds said:
For YOU. It's EASY for me. YMMV, but saying something won't work based on only your experience is specious.
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Well, for me, I say it won't work because it CAN'T work. There are features that I need for my job that the ipad (rather, ipad software) simply cannot do. Where is my MS Office!

You're about the only person I've heard of who can "easily" write long docs on an ipad without an external keyboard. Sure, it's possible, but it's not as easy as on a MBA. But that's not a real knock against the ipad; it just wasn't made to do that, except in a pinch. Obviously things get a lot easier when you use a separate keyboard, although the lack of functionality in some respects still limits the word processing function of the machine.
 
Document creation on the iPad is actually my preferred way of writing now. It's more portable than a laptop or even an ultrabook. The lack of physical keyboard is a learned thing. You have to be a touch typist to use the Apple keyboard efficiently. It's less straining than a physical keyboard and it also makes you ignore typos because it auto-corrects your style of touch typing. While I do have a mechanical keyboard I can connect to the iPad, I don't normally connect with it due to the added weight. Again, let me reiterate that if you type like a normal human being touch typist, the iPad keyboard is more than sufficient. It's a matter of learning and trusting your typing.

Regarding RAM for the MBA, I would suggest maxing out RAM and storage if you can afford. While the 11 inch base model is still very usable, upgrading the RAM and storage allow you to boost performance to above a Macbook Pro 13 base model. Why is this significant? You can run most of the major large applications such as Adobe CS5 and AutoCAD with the upgraded specs without being too hard on your machine. If you have no need for more RAM and storage intensive applications, I would highly recommend base model MBAs since they suffice for about 95% of a normal person's usage.
 
tstarks33 said:
Well, for me, I say it won't work because it CAN'T work. There are features that I need for my job that the ipad (rather, ipad software) simply cannot do. Where is my MS Office!

You're about the only person I've heard of who can "easily" write long docs on an ipad without an external keyboard. Sure, it's possible, but it's not as easy as on a MBA. But that's not a real knock against the ipad; it just wasn't made to do that, except in a pinch. Obviously things get a lot easier when you use a separate keyboard, although the lack of functionality in some respects still limits the word processing function of the machine.
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iWrite is a very good app for pure writing, and I find that much of MS Office just gets in the way. Again, YMMV...

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whtrbt7 said:
Regarding RAM for the MBA, I would suggest maxing out RAM and storage if you can afford. While the 11 inch base model is still very usable, upgrading the RAM and storage allow you to boost performance to above a Macbook Pro 13 base model. Why is this significant? You can run most of the major large applications such as Adobe CS5 and AutoCAD with the upgraded specs without being too hard on your machine. If you have no need for more RAM and storage intensive applications, I would highly recommend base model MBAs since they suffice for about 95% of a normal person's usage.
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I run all of those high-powered apps, hence the reason behind buying a 13.3" MBA Ultimate. Nevertheless, you're right, for 90-95% of what most people work on, MBA base model is sufficient.

I'm NOT a touch-typist. I never learned how to type and do quite well with one thumb and two index fingers. As you say, the auto-correct on the iPad (and iPhone) is wonderful.
 
For the sake of argument, if you have a netbook already, there's an interesting arrangement that works for me.

I support a web-app that only runs on IE (don't get me started, I've already fought that battle and lost). This is the only thing keeping me from doing my work entirely on my iPad. Until I set up LogMeIn on the laptop at work, and use the LogMeIn app for the iPad. Now I can access that app that few times I need to.

Everything else I need to do, I can do on the iPad. I can use the iWork apps to write MSOffice compatible documents, I can use iCloud to share all of that between my devices (iPhone and Mac mini). If I plan on doing a lot of typing, I can use the Apple Wireless Keyboard I have for my Mac mini. (My wife uses our keyboard with her iPad to take meeting minutes at work, recording the meeting with Voice Recorder on her iPhone.) I get my email on my iPad, voicemails from work are emailed, I can call out with Skype (and a USB headset connected with the Camera Connection Kit) ... I have yet to find something I can't do when I've needed to.

That said, in an academic setting, if they have some specialized software that you need (for example, Mathmatica or the like), then I can understand needing a full laptop. But I've found the iPad to be very capable out in the world. Your mileage may vary, of course. The SAFE bet is to get the Macbook Air, since you shouldn't have a problem running anything you need. If cost is a concern, you might be surprised exactly how much you can get done with an iPad. If you find you need to get the Air, get the most expensive on you can afford. You can't upgrade anything in the Air after the fact, save for adding an SDXC card for additional storage.
 
SuperRob said:
If cost is a concern, you might be surprised exactly how much you can get done with an iPad. If you find you need to get the Air, get the most expensive on you can afford. You can't upgrade anything in the Air after the fact, save for adding an SDXC card for additional storage.
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Yes, one *could* get three generations of iPad for what it cost me for ONE MBA (13.3" Ultimate). That said, I can't run CS5 or ACAD in a pinch on the iPad...
 
treynolds said:
Yes, one *could* get three generations of iPad for what it cost me for ONE MBA (13.3" Ultimate). That said, I can't run CS5 or ACAD in a pinch on the iPad...
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You're right, of course. Assuming you NEED to run any of those apps. I was just surprised at how much my iPad CAN do. Enough so that I'm having a hard time justifying my desire for a Macbook Air as well. ;)
 
College students need a laptop (period)

The iPad is great for many reasons, especially the apps you can use but it is no replacement for a laptop at college.
 
glittersparkles said:
hmm.. thanks for the help. i'm still stuck though, haha. as i do have a windows 7 netbook, but it doesn't do as much as i'd like, and the family have an iMac, which i much prefer.. which is why i am tempted by the macbook air - my friend said an ipad is basically a large iPod touch, is this true?
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It depends what your needs are. I was in the same boat. I had a 2011 iMac and a 1st gen iPad. I have since started grad school and realized the iPad was to far behind to handle word processing (I use it as a note taking machine with Pages) but it still faired well for web browsing, movies, netflix, games etc.

I picked up a Macbook Air for my school needs but over the semester I realized an iPad with more RAM and the A5 would be better (only because the iMac was still my main machine at home and the iPad 1st gen was still being using on a regular basis). So I sold the Macbook air for $900, my iPad for $300 and my iPad 3 will be here friday.

For me it worked really well because I have the iMac at home for the heavy lifting and the new iPad will work perfectly for my note taking and leisure at home.
 
MBA for sure...

probably be an easier decision if apple and these other slim notebook makers would like allow the screen to swivel and close screen out. I mean you get portability, power, etc with an MBA - the only thing an ipad has is a touch screen and maybe better battery life? MBA probably as thin as an ipad and 50x more powerful in many aspects.

productivity is achievable with an ipad, but you need to understand the constraints (as previously mentioned by others) and balance that with your educational needs.
 
I have a MacBook air and a iPad and both have advantages and disadvantages over each other. It's all really what you want and need in the end.

They are both wonderful pieces of tech to own.
 
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