iPad vs MacBook Air

[anfield11]

I'm the OP.

And thanks to everyone for their input. I'm leaning towards the iPad2 [and will sell my original MBA, which has been great by the way] I mainly need it for casual stuff and to make minimal changes to spreadsheets already created on my iMac. I'm really looking for lightweight and the ability to get the apps was a big factor.

Things I've picked up here

- Battery Life, which can be a big deal when traveling.

Things I picked up on my own, or missed that somebody posted And I think are pretty big.

- 3G
- GPS

 

[sarends]

If I had to have only one I would have MBA 11". As it is I have both. The MBA shines when lots and lots of data needs to be entered. I use a large shared Google sheet and it works great while I am mobile using the Air whereas this is quite painful on iPad 2. I have both and wouldn't give up either one!

As many MBA owners here have said, the IPad really shines for it's powerfully convenient form factor combined with touch screen. I am in my pickup and/or mobile 80% of my workweek traveling to various job sites. I have a Nexus 1 android that I use for hotspot with MBA and the iPad. However, Android is T- Mobile so the iPad is 3G Verizon so I can get to the Internet 99.9 % of the time whereas T Mobile is 3G only about 60% of the time.

This is a great discussion. I can see the iPad and MBA evolving towards each other over time.

I have the 11" MBA and an iPad 2. I only need one of them for mobile computing, and that is the MBA. I use the iPad generally for everything besides school and work. For the money, the MBA is the better buy due to the flexibility of having a laptop. I tried to travel with just the iPad before. It didn't really work out.

 

[ovrlrd]

Use my MBA for work, and my iPad for play. I wouldn't want to give either of them up. The MBA really works great when I need do work away from home, and the iPad is great for when I want to relax, read some news, play with garageband, play games (huge for me as a gamer).

So many things I can do on my iPad that I can't do on my MBA, and vice versa. People who don't understand that simply don't understand the point of the iPad and the MBA.

 

[DiamondMac]

As others have said, I am not sure why someone would substitute one for the other UNLESS your computer needs are strictly light and recreational

Outside of that, the MBA and iPad2 are different animals

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

As others have said, I am not sure why someone would substitute one for the other UNLESS your computer needs are strictly light and recreational

Outside of that, the MBA and iPad2 are different animals

The main reason I still have the MBA is that as a photographer it has the power to do what I need it to do... but most anything else so far can be done on the iPad with Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and other Apps....

 

[Smoothness]

The main reason I still have the MBA is that as a photographer it has the power to do what I need it to do... but most anything else so far can be done on the iPad with Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and other Apps....

+1....I need photoshop, Aperture, Lightroom, Capture One. Even if it was on ipad, i cant see myself using a tablet to do photo editing.

 

[yourmother]

I bought a mb air and then returned it and got an iPad. While the Air is a great machine and super fast with its ssds i have absolutely no regrets. I have a 3 year old mbp and the only time I use it now is just to edit photos from lightroom. I use my iPad 95% of the time. I saved about 1300 bucks going from an ultimate mb air to a 16 gb refurbed iPad 1 right when the iPad 2 was released.

I think I'll get an air in a year and a half when it gets ivy bridge. The iPad is all I need for now.

 

[gonnabuyamacbsh]

ipad ftw

 

[ntrigue]

11" MBA connects to 27" Cinema Display at home and iPad 2 stays home for couch surfing and it's my Kindle.