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Is it redundant to have an iPad and an iPhone?

Joesgirl97

Joesgirl97

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 28, 2010
50
26
With the announcement of the iPhone on Verizon I'm contemplating buying an iPhone.

I should say that I already have an iPad. I have a phone (not a smart phone) with Verizon. I've never considered ATT due to the lack of coverage where I am. But I was debating about adding another monthly fee, why would I do that when I have a mi-fi with my iPad and my kids iTouches on one low fee?

I don't use the phone too often, the only reason I have it is if there is an emergency at school and they need to reach me for my kids.

However I have been looking for a convenient way to take those quick snapshots of things while you are out and about or when the kids do something unexpected. That is something the iPhone has that the iPad doesn't.

This debate got me wondering of there were many with both the iPhone and the iPad. Care to weigh in on my dilemma? :eek:
 
I think its all personal preference and depends on your usage.... For me personally this is the very reason why I have not purchased an iPad... I feel like it would be redundant since I already have an iPhone.
 
I think it is that's why I sold my iPad but it depends on the person there are three people at my office that have both.
 
The iPhones camera is top notch, but the iPad 2 is coming and is suppose to have a camera also. If you are happy with your current setup, maybe think about just getting the iPad 2. The only thing that would suck is pulling that huge thing out to take a pic.
 
If you're bothering carrying around another device, why would want one that's limited (i.e., can't view Flash, can't have multiple windows open at a time, can't videochat, can't connect flashdrives to etc...)

That's just me.

Of course, the iPad is great for media consumption. Or if you're in video production/graphic design, it's a great thing to show clients your portfolio on.
 
Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. It all depends on the needs of the individual users really. While some, like me, would like to have an iPad and iPhone while some need only the iPhone or, like you, need just an iPad and have a simple phone.

Since your phone is primarily used for actual communications, there would be no need to have an iPhone as that would probably be overkill for you. Yes, it would be neat thing to have but if you're just calling and snapping the occasional pic or something, a dumb phone will work just fine without carrying the price tag of an iPhone.

For your needs, I don't think you'd need an iPhone and iPad since your current setup seems to suit you fine. While the iPhone is far MORE than just an phone, it's up to you if you need(ed) something extra or just wanted something a little more dandier than the phone you have now.
 
FSMBP said:
If you're bothering carrying around another device, why would want one that's limited (i.e., can't view Flash, can't have multiple windows open at a time, can't videochat, can't connect flashdrives to etc...)

That's just me.

Of course, the iPad is great for media consumption. Or if you're in video production/graphic design, it's a great thing to show clients your portfolio on.
Click to expand...

I've had the iPad since day one. And honestly haven't missed Flash, and honestly don't even know what a flashdrive is. :eek:

As for multiple windows, I'm able to do that in Safari, I guess it is just a personal preference.

I'm a social user, not a professional person using this as a tool.

I'm a mom who checks emails, wants to take pictures for the occasional Facebook post, I lurk in forums like these to gleen off some of your knowledge which is why I thought I'd post here for once. :)
 
h1r0ll3r said:
Since your phone is primarily used for actual communications, there would be no need to have an iPhone as that would probably be overkill for you. Yes, it would be neat thing to have but if you're just calling and snapping the occasional pic or something, a dumb phone will work just fine without carrying the price tag of an iPhone.

For your needs, I don't think you'd need an iPhone and iPad since your current setup seems to suit you fine. While the iPhone is far MORE than just an phone, it's up to you if you need(ed) something extra or just wanted something a little more dandier than the phone you have now.
Click to expand...


See now you just sound like my husband. :p

He thinks it's overkill for me, especially since we already plan on buying iPad 2 on it's release date. {heavy sigh}

Why can't I have it all??? **dragging knuckles on the ground**
 
Joesgirl97 said:
See now you just sound like my husband. :p

He thinks it's overkill for me, especially since we already plan on buying iPad 2 on it's release date. {heavy sigh}

Why can't I have it all??? **dragging knuckles on the ground**
Click to expand...

Well, you can :D

Since you're a casual user, an iPhone will probably be exactly what you need although it will be lacking in the internet surfing capacity compared to the iPad. the iPhone is far more than a phone and, based on your needs, will most likely creep into your iPad usage a bit making it somewhat redundant at that point. If you had an iPhone, you'd probably only need/use the iPad for surfing the web. The iPhone could, for the most part, replace your iPad in every capacity BUT, again, depending on your needs it would probably be redundant to have both.

BUT, if the iPad were for one of your kids and the iPhone was for YOU, then you could easily have both of them and put them to good use (wink wink)
 
Flash drives, also called thumb drives, are those USB sticks that have (now) anywhere from 1-16 GB or more of memory for storage. Many people have them on their key chains, etc.

Examples
 
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I have both and I don't find it redundant at all. They fill two separate niches. What is nice though is the fact that you can share apps between the two and many of them are optimized for both devices for one price. Navigon is a prime example of this.

Bottom line, if you like iOS and the apps on it, the iPhone makes a great adjunct to the iPad.
 
Not really, it's like asking if it's redundant to have a laptop and an iPad. sure, there's some overlap in functionality, but they are different products that fulfill different needs.
 
I don't think it's redundant at all. I have had an iphone for 2.5 years and I am itching for the iPad 2 to be released to purchase one. I decided to wait on the iPad initially to wait for the software/market to develop (more sites moving to html5, more productive applications, multitasking to be added, printing capabilities added, etc) Now that those things have occured I can honestly rationalize the purchase of the iPad 2 as a computer and not just a simple entertainment device.

Do you think it's redundant to have an iPad and a computer? Do you think it's redundant for me to have an iphone and a macbook? I consider the iPad a much closer cousin to a laptop than an iPhone. The OS may be the same but the functionality shifts dramatically from 3.5" to 9.7".

But when you ask "is it redundant to have an ipad and an iphone?" what you are really asking is "is it prudent for ME to get an iphone with xyz scenario?"

You are really the only one who can truly answer that question. From your description of
I don't use the phone too often, the only reason I have it is if there is an emergency at school and they need to reach me for my kids.
Click to expand...
an iPhone really does seem like overkill. And buying an iPhone to get a camera is the biggest overkill of all. Even you must realize that is a stretch to rationalize a $200 purchase along with a (approx) $30 monthly fee. You probably already have a camera that you can carry with you (if not you can get a decent on for like 100 bucks. Or an alternative option would be for you, yourself to get an iPod Touch. The new one has a camera and it would work with your mi-fi with no added monthly fee with having all the awesomeness of iOS. I don't think the added item (camera or ipod touch) would be too cumbersome, because I'm sure you have a purse.

BUT, with that in mind, a lot of people don't realize how much they needed an iPhone until they have one. Wether that is good or bad, it'll be hard to go back to no iphone after you have one... take that from experience ;) anyways good luck with your decision! :)
 
I use to think it was redundant until I noticed how much my fiance uses my Macbook Pro and the kids use the PC. That pretty much leaves with using my phone for the most part at home. I would rather just purchase an iPad 2 when it's released and everyone in the home is happy then. She may not agree with the purchase but I'll make it up 2 her somehow :D
 
I have owned both iPhone 4 and ipad.

Here's my take.

I sold my iPad last month. I think the ipad is great and all that but I purchased the 3g ipad in April 2010. The iPhone's official "specs" came out in June. If I had known the iPhone 4 had 512MB RAM as opposed to the iPad's 256MB RAM, I probably would have held off.

While I used the iPad a lot the first couple of months I had it, I found myself using it less and less when the iPhone 4 came out. Part of it has to do with me and having new baby. (yes it's hard to hold the iPad and Baby at the same time, whereas iphone 4 plus holding new baby is perfect....I know the women on this board are probably rolling their eyes at my comment).

But anyways, I would wait for iPad 2 PLUS iPhone 5 that comes out before committing to both models. If iPhone 5, which in all likelyhood will be a minor upgrade to iphone 4 and iPad 2 which will be major update to iPad (we all know as early adopters, Apple purposely leaves out important stuff on first gen models).

But wait for both models to come out before deciding to purchase both.

But definitely, I would recommend iPhone 4/5 to anyone. I would def recommend against iPad first gen at this stage in it's cycle. Wait for iPad 2/iPhone 5 and than make your choice at that time.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I have both. I use my iPhone much more then my iPad. I feel that on the move the iPhone is better suited. However, if just seating around I prefer the larger screen. The device that has fallen out of favor is my laptop.
 
I own both devices, and I wouldn't necessarily say they are redundant. My iPhone is always on me; whether I'm at home or out since it serves at my main communication device. My iPad, even though it will never replace my MBP, has become my tablet computer that I mainly keep at home. Although I would have no problem bringing it with me if I'm going out somwhere that has a wi-fi hotspot. Although I do some of the same things on both devices (Twitter, Facebook). I generally read, surf the web, watch Netflix, etc. on my iPad. Personally, each device has it's own specific niche in my life.
 
I agree with someone above that it really depends on one's usage patterns. But I'll weigh in with my experience owning both an iPhone 4 and an iPad.

After the novelty wore off, which took about 4 months, I realized exactly what you're suggesting ... there's too much redundancy between the two devices. If you set aside the screen size differences, they're pretty much the same device. There was no point for me to carry around both devices with so much overlapping functionality. Don't get me wrong, the iPad is great in certain scenarios: sitting on the toilet (you know you all agree), lying in bed watching movies, lounging on the couch surfing the web. That's where the big screen really shines. But, on the go, I'd rather use my iPhone since it's small and easy to take with me. For anything more, I picked up the 11.6" MBA which gives me full OS X in about the same footprint as the iPad.
 
i was recently on a trip and brought my laptop, while i didnt really mind carrying around a laptop i thought to myself that it would be a lot easier to be traveling with an iPad vs the laptop. This was purely a trip for pleasure so no business functions were necessary. That and it would be great to use on the plane during the flight. I do have an iPhone4 as well.

So, no i dont think it'll be that redundant. I use my iPhone4 for pretty much everything, but wouldnt mind using an iPad for different situations (ie traveling)
 
Thanks so much for the replies.

I think there were some great points made. Wow what a day stalking all the blogs for the latest information on the V iPhone and still no pricing plans. :rollingeyes:

I think I neglected to mention my husband and I already decided we 'need' the 2nd gen iPad. He's fallen in love with my 1st gen and I NEVER let him have it, it's mine! :D However, he can have it once the 2nd gen come out. :cool:

This doesn't take away from the fact that I still need a phone for those emergencies that might come up, and I REALLY want a camera. And I hate the idea of carrying around a phone, a camera AND yet another device like the iPad.

Currently I carry my iPad everywhere with me. I have a mi-fi from Verizon and it is with me always. I really miss having a camera to take those shots and upload to FB. Then it occurred to me, I could get the iPhone if they have a really cheap data plan and use it with the my-fi!!! I have had the device for 3 months and don't come CLOSE to using up even half of my allowance.

But really, even if the 2nd Gen has the camera, am I really going to whip that big bad boy out and hold that honkin' thing up to take a pic? I think not. But who knows?

So for now I'm convincing myself that it's really only an extra $13 per month if they come out with the $15 data plan ( I get a discount) and I'm due for an upgrade so the phone would be $99 and if I sell some stuff and come up with the cash, how can my husband say no? Rigggght? :D

Anyway, thanks for all the input, it's been great to hear how you all use your devices and it's given me insight as to when and where I'd be more apt to use the larger vs the smaller device.

A very big thank you! :)
 
It depends on what you're using it for.

I have an iPad and iPhone.
I use the iPhone just for calls. My iPad goes along with me where ever I go and that's primarily church, bible studies, and other meetings. I have 6 versions of the bible, notes, devotions, reading plans. Reading the iPhone puts too much strain on my eyes. So the iPad works wonderful. I also use it to read my books. We don't have anymore room on my dining table to store my books, so I have to convert over to ebooks. Not exactly my cup of tea, but it'll do.
 
I have both the iPhone 4 and the iPad and I find myself using them both a lot. I work out of the a car and so I constantly find myself using my iPad a lot for doing things and surf the Internet. I have now made the transition to using my iPad as my schedule and logging all that I need to do for the week onto it

I use my iPhone for calls text and quick internet stuff and should I need to be on the internet long I just pull out the iPad. I do use my phone a lot to keep udated on all my emails that I may need through out the day.

Its all in personal preference:D
 
They are two distinctly different devices despite some similarities. Therefore it's up to each individual to determine what's best.
 
Personally for me, it would be. I had an iPhone and iPod touch, and already found that redundant. Sold the jailbroken iPod touch eventually.

That's why my first internet tablet won't be an iPad. I might be choosing between a Motorola Xoom or BlackBerry Playbook. I would prefer a smaller Xoom though. Something different instead of having iOS dominating the household.
 
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