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Ipad or Macbook Air???

I

iOwner

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 5, 2012
4
0
I am about to start high school and I can either get a Macbook(I like the Air) or the new iPad. I want to know what will be better.

I don't really care about the part that the Macbook is heavy, because I want an Air and that is ultra light.

I already have an iPhone 4s to take short notes and I have evernote on my iPhone. So please don't tell me that an iPad is good just because I can take short notes on it easily.

Thanks
 
It depends on your needs/uses of the devices.
The laptop is better at content creation, the iPad is good at content consumption, i.e., reading, surfing etc.

Personally, if you're needing it for school, then the MBA is a better choice
 
maflynn said:
It depends on your needs/uses of the devices.
The laptop is better at content creation, the iPad is good at content consumption, i.e., reading, surfing etc.

Personally, if you're needing it for school, then the MBA is a better choice
Click to expand...

+1, for school, the Macbook Air is the better choice. Writing a paper on an iPad would be very cumbersome.
 
It depends on what you want to use it for and bear in mind they use completely different operating systems, the iPad uses iOS, like an iPhone, the MBA Mac OS X. You can't (yet) run MS Office on iOS for example (though QuickOffice isn't bad). Also storage is much more limited on an iPad - max 64Gb versus 512Gb, though 512Gb is expensive on a MBA - 256Gb is the "sweet spot" IMHO. Also you can run Windows too on a MBA if you want/need it via Bootcamp or virtualisation (i.e Parallels, VMWare Fusion etc.), which you can't do on an iPad. No touchscreen on a MBA, though.

I think an iPhone and a MBA is a good combo, especially if your carrier lets you tether an computer to use your iPhone's 3G connection (as the mobile phone carrier "3" does for free in the UK - you just need to be aware of your monthly data allowance, which for me is 1 Gb - enough for email/casual web surfing)
 
For high school?

Get a 5-subject spiral notebook, a TI-83plus or TI-84 calculator, and a box of bic pens.
 
You need an iPad/laptop for high school? That is crazy, but very cool if your school actually has ways of implementing their use in and out of the classroom.

If I were you, I wouldn't make the comparison of AIR vs. iPad directly, it might be better to compare things that have equivalent cost. Like for instance, for the price of an AIR, you could probably buy an iPad + Mac Mini.

So while the Macbook Air is your mobile all-in-one, the combo of iPad+Mac Mini can help you do certain things better. Reading/Taking Notes/Email/Books on your iPad vs. Writing essays/Photoshop/CAD/Managing your data on your Mac Mini.

My favorite combo is iPad+iMac, but that might be out of your price range.

My 2 cents.
 
If you plan on just going on Facebook during class, get an iPad.
If you actually plan on taking notes in the class, get a Macbook Air.
Also, take a gym class if you think a Macbook Pro is heavy.
 
h4cky0u said:
If you plan on just going on Facebook during class, get an iPad.
If you actually plan on taking notes in the class, get a Macbook Air.
Also, take a gym class if you think a Macbook Pro is heavy.
Click to expand...

If you'll be shlepping it around all day, then yeah, the MBP is heavy.

Sounds like an Air would be better for you...
 
O man....can't believe how fast kids are catching up with technology these days....I remember I didn't even get a cellphone until university and that was after saving four years of spare change through high school lol....now these kids are buying thousand dollar laptops going into high school....mind boggling I tell ya :eek:
 
Sheesh what happened to the days a 5 1/4 floppy disks, cassette tape players and an etch a sketch wearing a mullet where cool.
 
the air for sure. ipad is great but its not a laptop replacement, especially when you have to take notes/do work/need specific programs etc.
 
You don't need either one. I'm going into my senior year, and even with four AP classes last year and five coming up, I don't need one. Maybe wait until you at least have a job, then put your own money towards something more practical, like a car. You're what, fifteen? Why do you even have an iPhone?!

For what it's worth, I had an 11" Air for a few months before realizing it's completely superfluous for a high school student. I sold it a while ago and put the money into my TD Ameritrade account.
 
Ok thanks for your comments. Looks like I will get the MBA.

No I don't want the iPad and Mac mini combo. Because I just don't want the mac mini(its not as portable as MBA).

You guys say that I am young for either of these two. But the reason I am getting it is because during high school I might need to make powerpoint slides. And my home PC is outdated with only 2Gb Ram and an Pentium processor. SO I need a stronger machine.


Thanks

and don't think of me as a spoiled brat. I am only getting the air for education otherwise my father would never buy me it. And the iPhone is just of emergency use. I mainly just use it to play Angry Birds
 
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iOwner said:
Ok thanks for your comments. Looks like I will get the MBA.

No I don't want the iPad and Mac mini combo. Because I just don't want the mac mini(its not as portable as MBA).

You guys say that I am young for either of these two. But the reason I am getting it is because during high school I might need to make powerpoint slides. And my home PC is outdated with only 2Gb Ram and an Pentium processor. SO I need a stronger machine.


Thanks

and don't think of me as a spoiled brat. I am only getting the air for education otherwise my father would never buy me it. And the iPhone is just of emergency use. I mainly just use it to play Angry Birds
Click to expand...


I think you kind of just reinforced your image of a "spoiled brat" :D.
"I need to make powerpoint slides so I need an Ivy-Bridge CPU powered laptop with at least 4 GB of RAM!"
And the whole "I only have an iPhone because I want Angry Birds"
 
iPad or Air is a connectivity decision

iOwner said:
I am about to start high school and I can either get a Macbook(I like the Air) or the new iPad. I want to know what will be better.

I don't really care about the part that the Macbook is heavy, because I want an Air and that is ultra light.

I already have an iPhone 4s to take short notes and I have evernote on my iPhone. So please don't tell me that an iPad is good just because I can take short notes on it easily.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I use a MBP in my office and an iPad as my travel device for business. I store all my documents on Dropbox so I can access them from my computer, iPad and iPhone. I use Quickoffice HD Pro on my iPad which syncs with my Dropbox account. It provides all you need from an iPad as far as word or excel if you use those. If you use Pages and numbers then it is even easier to use the iPad.

I think your decision depends on the type of connectivity you want and if the MacBook Air boots up fast enough for you. The Air will only connect to the internet with wifi but the iPad can use wifi or the 3G/4G phone type connection.

I think either will do what you need as a student and either will be a good choice.
 
MBA to make power points? I seriously think you should save your dad some money and buy a $500~ windows until you're in college. Then you can think of buying a Mac. Just my opinion. Hope you give the Air more use than just power points.
 
iOwner said:
Ok thanks for your comments. Looks like I will get the MBA.

No I don't want the iPad and Mac mini combo. Because I just don't want the mac mini(its not as portable as MBA).

You guys say that I am young for either of these two. But the reason I am getting it is because during high school I might need to make powerpoint slides. And my home PC is outdated with only 2Gb Ram and an Pentium processor. SO I need a stronger machine.


Thanks

and don't think of me as a spoiled brat. I am only getting the air for education otherwise my father would never buy me it. And the iPhone is just of emergency use. I mainly just use it to play Angry Birds
Click to expand...

o man...I remember the laptop I used to do those things through high school, was a laptop my dad found in a dumpster.....he fixed it up for me (thank god he was good with computers)....but then again we were poor so....but ya you know what if your parents are rich and they can easily afford it, I say go for it because if my parents were relatively wealthy when I was a kid, I probably would've begged for one too... :rolleyes:
 
Back in my day... and still today... school libraries had computers with PowerPoint for the once or twice a year you needed it in High School; and honestly, MS Word will run on anything.

You're about to enter HS dude: You should be saving up for a car, so you can chase girls around, stay up late, get older kids to buy you beer (later), and smoke pot in your friend's house (the one who has the divorced parents who don't care (again, later)).

To convince yourself that you "need" it for "education" is delusional.

My non-sarcastic advice: spend the $2k on a nice '90s Jeep Wrangler. You'll get more enjoyment out of it.

Unless daddy is already planning to buy you a VW Jetta... 'cause it's safe... and 'cause you need it for education. Ok I lied about it being non-sarcastic. Seriously though... get a cool car. Nobody cares about your laptop in high school.
 
Wow I would seriously worry about someone trying to steal my laptop in high school. And to think one actually needs a laptop for high school use, my have times really changed.
 
MacBird said:
Interesting, is this what they used last century? :D
Click to expand...

No, it's what they used last century last century. :p

I'm long out of school (so long that we actually weren't ALLOWED calculators!) but a MacBook Air is much, much better for taking notes, writing papers, putting together presentations (if they do things like that in school), homework, can play far more kinds of content easily. It's slightly less portable, of course, and won't last as long on a charge.
 
NewbieCanada said:
No, it's what they used last century last century. :p

I'm long out of school (so long that we actually weren't ALLOWED calculators!) but a MacBook Air is much, much better for taking notes, writing papers, putting together presentations (if they do things like that in school), homework, can play far more kinds of content easily. It's slightly less portable, of course, and won't last as long on a charge.
Click to expand...

Actually I came outta hs 4 years ago and I had a TI-83plus too for a few math courses that needed a graphing calculator lol....and I had the same notebook like you too :D
 
iOwner said:
and don't think of me as a spoiled brat. I am only getting the air for education otherwise my father would never buy me it. And the iPhone is just of emergency use. I mainly just use it to play Angry Birds
Click to expand...

If your family can afford it without having to take in other people's laundry or work overtime, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't have a MacBook Air.

You deserve one, in my opinion, just for being able to write coherent sentences with proper spelling. A pretty rare skill these days.
 
Ok Guys once again thanks and I appreciate it.

Some of you say I should buy a car. Well I am just 14 and I don't have a driving license.

Some of you say that I should just buy a $500 laptop, well that wouldn't be very long lasting it would at the most last for 2-3 years. But I want my Mac to last for at least all of my high school and maybe even my first 1-2 years in college.


And for those of you thinking that my parents a really rich. Well they are not that rich. I mean they are not poor but have a decent salary(and both of them work). Plus for my education they will invest any amount of money

And I just don't need my Mac for PPP I also will use iPhotos and most importantly iMovies that is why I don't want Windows
 
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