I've played with both before but can't decide which to get. I would either get the iPad 4 or Acer C720 Chromebook. iPad is a beautiful device and ties in well with my other Apple products, however the Acer has great reviews, supports flash, and has about the same battery life with the Haswell update. It's also half the cost of the iPad. Any thoughts?
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iPad iPad vs Chromebook
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Isn't the Chromebook just web-based only? You will be limited to browser-based programs. At least with the iPad you will have dedicated apps and even if they are web-based at least you don't have to be concerned about a poorly coded website that doesn't fair well with Chrome.
I would definitely get an iPad without thinking about it over a Chromebook.
Casual use on the couch, in bed before going to sleep, something for guests to use when they come over. I think both devices would be fine for this purpose. Really I'm curious to know from those that have used both if the Chromebook is worth getting over the iPad (the obvious choice for those of us invested in the Apple ecosystem).
I haven't used a Chromebook outside of checking one out in the store. However, since you are already in the Apple ecosystem, I would go with the iPad. It will integrate with what you already have. Also, while the Chromebooks are still small, the iPad seems to be a bit more portable should you decide to take it anywhere.
If you really needed a keyboard most of the time, a Chromebook might be a better fit than an iPad and keyboard separately, but it doesn't sound like that is the case.
This. An iPad is still useful when you are offline. A chromebook is just a brick unless you have an internet connection.
Thanks, do you think the iPad 4 at $399 is a good deal? I haven't found a lower price anywhere. Alternatively I can get an iPad Air for $449 or iPad Mini Retina for $349 on sale this week at BrandsMart.
Not really. Some things have an offline mode like google docs, sheets etc. If you have locally stored content you can still access it without an Internet connection.
If you prefer the full size iPad, I would spend the extra $50 for the Air. If you like the rMini, that is a good deal as well.
Unless you are hung up on ios, you could get an android tablet like the nexus 10 and a Chromebook for the same price as an ipad air.
It depends on what you want to do with either device. I have both and find them both useful.
It depends on what you want to do with either device. I have both and find them both useful.
dont get a mini, I just sold mine..tooo small
did you check Apple refurbished store?
And you have to make compromises and do workarounds for that when the iPad has hundreds of thousands of apps and plenty of them do not require an internet connection. Why spend money on a device that requires workarounds?
I have an HP 11" Chromebook and a retina mini iPad. I pick up the iPad over the Chromebook all the time. The Chromebook is nice if you are needing to create/edit documents all the time (using Google Docs of course) and need a physical keyboard.
The battery life on my HP 11" is atrocious I get maybe 3 hours on it. It becomes a paperweight if I don't have an internet connection. . Needless to say if you are just need a casual use device you can't go wrong with an iPad.
If I were still in college I would definitely use a Chromebook for writing papers/research etc but alas those days are over.
For these types of use-cases, a one-piece tablet easily beats a clamshell/laptop configuration, hands down. With an iPad you don't have to fight with balancing the device on a flat surface, and you can use it in any orientation, even lying on your back. And if you really feel the itch to type on a physical keyboard, pretty much any bluetooth keyboard will work fine with the iPad.
Considering you're also already in the apple ecosystem, the iPad clearly has the advantage. Sure, you'll be saving a little cash with the Chromebook, but then you'll be jumping through all kinds of hoops to integrate the Chromebook with the rest of your devices.
Don't get me wrong, Chromebooks are great, and I'd happily use one if I were all tied up in Google's Cloud, and trusted all my stuff there. But, I don't.
I like local storage, and I like having direct control over what goes in the cloud and what doesn't.get a iPad and a bluetooth keyboard because you can have a laptop when you want it and a tablet all the rest of the time.
I agree. DailySteals is currently selling the Logitech Ultrathin keyboard cover (originally $99.99, for $17.99) I have one and it is excellent. I also have the Apple Bluetooth keyboard with the InCase Origami keyboard case. If you don't mind 2 separate pieces, THAT is an amazing combo. Add to that the stellar battery life, quite hard to beat.
The only places where I see a Chromebook excelling is in (A) price, (B) ability to attach an external USB harddrive for video playback.
Thanks everyone for your input last week. I decided to go with the iPad Mini on sale for $269. Price was the deciding factor since I anticipate very casual usage. It integrates well with my MBA and iPhone and has much better offline functionality. I imagine it will be great for travel as well, less expensive and cumbersome than bringing a laptop.
If you plan to use iTunes then Chromebook is not for you. There are not so many apps for Chromebook right now. Last night me and my friend were talking about Chromebook for his next birthday it would be perfect for him because He has a Samsung Note 2.
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The lowest price you can go is rMini for $349.00 or check with refurnished Apple Store online for good price.
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oh you made the right decision and choose the iPad.
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The lowest price you can go is rMini for $349.00 or check with refurnished Apple Store online for good price.
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oh you made the right decision and choose the iPad.
Going to chime in as I have actually owned the C720 as well as a iPad Mini Retina and iPad 4th Gen too. The C720 is light thin and has great battery life. Chrome OS is fine for web browsing, emailing, internet video, listening to streaming music and basic productivity. My major hang ups were needed to install any software (you just can't), printing (only cloud printers work and my printers were not) and lastly screen quality. It's not horrible just not great.. It is only $199.
Overall I'm much happier with my iPad Mini Retina. It's screen is razor sharp, great battery life and has tons of apps available. You would think printing would be just as hard but my ipad has no issues printing to either my Brother or HP wireless printer. Yes the iPad is more expensive but I think it's a better device and worth the cost increase.
Just my 2 cents
Ryan
Overall I'm much happier with my iPad Mini Retina. It's screen is razor sharp, great battery life and has tons of apps available. You would think printing would be just as hard but my ipad has no issues printing to either my Brother or HP wireless printer. Yes the iPad is more expensive but I think it's a better device and worth the cost increase.
Just my 2 cents
Ryan
After using the iPad Mini for the better part of today I am quite underwhelmed by the experience. The display is horrible and the device slows to a crawl when doing more than one thing (or having multiple Safari tabs open) at a time. I thought I would be OK with it being non-retina since the MBA also lacks a retina display but everything is pixelated, smaller fonts to the point of being illegible. I'm not sure if the sluggishness is due to the A5 chip or more likely the 1/2 GB of RAM. Even at the sale price I don't think it's worth keeping, will probably go with the iPad 4 like I originally intended.
The retina display and faster processor definitely are nice. That's also why the R Mini is $100 more. Well worth it imo. For the average user most people are content with the non retina mini though.
I've never had my previous non retina or my new Mini slow to a crawl..
Yes I was quite surprised by how poor the performance was. My last phone was an iPhone 4 and I can't remember it ever feeling as sluggish as the iPad Mini. Perhaps it has to do with running the latest iOS on the outdated specs. For example, waking the device up from sleep there is a 2-3 second lag between swiping and going to the home screen. If I'm downloading a file in the background Safari tabs load so slowly it's as if I were on a dial up connection. I think this is a RAM issue but if I have a few apps open and I switch apps everything has to reload instead of starting where I left off.
2-3 seconds when swiping to unlock sounds abnormal. First, go to Settings, Accessibility, and turn all animation and motions off. If you still get that kind of lag, call Apple. I don't think it should be that slow, even if it's an original mini.
As for Safari reloading, even the Air does that. There are lots of threads about that, about how the iPad needs more RAM.