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All iPads macbook air 11 inch rendering ipad obsolete?

L

LorPGDL

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 23, 2011
139
0
hey guys, so it seems everyone is getting a tablet (mostly ipad) these days- now i have the 11 inch macbook air (2011) and i couldnt be happier (well maybe with a higher resolution screen and brightness).

now i was asking myself the question- what would i need an ipad or an ipad mini for? i can surf the web, write emails etc on the go, watch movies and listen to music. i even have internet access with tethering from my mobile phone.

i dont play games other than the occasional ps3 game.

i got my air hooked up to a 21 inch external monitor when im at home.

i guess for me the air is just perfect, its ultraportable (is an ipad really that much more portable?), i can get stuff done and am not constrained by the ipads inherent deficiencies)

to the point- would there be any advantage to having an ipad for me considering my usage habits?

thanks.
 
LorPGDL said:
hey guys, so it seems everyone is getting a tablet (mostly ipad) these days- now i have the 11 inch macbook air (2011) and i couldnt be happier (well maybe with a higher resolution screen and brightness).

now i was asking myself the question- what would i need an ipad or an ipad mini for? i can surf the web, write emails etc on the go, watch movies and listen to music. i even have internet access with tethering from my mobile phone.

i dont play games other than the occasional ps3 game.

i got my air hooked up to a 21 inch external monitor when im at home.

i guess for me the air is just perfect, its ultraportable (is an ipad really that much more portable?), i can get stuff done and am not constrained by the ipads inherent deficiencies)

to the point- would there be any advantage to having an ipad for me considering my usage habits?

thanks.
Click to expand...

I also have the MBA and if it folded back on itself I'd agree with you, but my uses are mainly during my daily train commute and on flights and the standard notebook isn't ideal for those uses.
 
poloponies said:
I also have the MBA and if it folded back on itself I'd agree with you, but my uses are mainly during my daily train commute and on flights and the standard notebook isn't ideal for those uses.
Click to expand...

yeah that i understand, but im still a student so i am not commuting all that often- and if i am its mostly by bike :)
 
I had purchased a 11" MBA refurb a week ago but cancelled because of the Apple Event held last week. I wanted to see if they were making any updated to the MBA.

I was torn between a MBA and a iPad with a keyboard for school. I decided to get the MBA, but still wanted a tablet to use on the go and not have to take out a laptop all the time. Then when the iPad mini was announced I found the perfect medium. I got the iPad mini (coming friday) and I am going to be ordering the MBA within the week. I feel that combo, is probably the best for portable productivity. I can use the MBA for any heavy word processing or multitasking work. And the iPad mini for anything else.

All in a package that weighs less then the MBA 13". I don't have to worry about battery life because work flow is going to be split between the 2 devices. So the 5 hours I would get on the MBA doesn't matter, and with early reviews of the iPad mini pointing to over 12 hours of battery life. I can go all day plus and still have plenty of juice to spare.
 
title should be:

is the macbook air 11 inch rendering ipad obsolete for me?

because OP implies that his idea represents a view everyone should have
 
I probably would not have an iPad if I had an 11" air. But I have an iMac, and I find the ipad makes a better - and cheaper - supplemental device. Better for reading, better for using at the gym, even more portable, longer battery life, even easier to keep in sync (though iCloud makes it pretty easy regardless).
 
Yr Blues said:
...because OP implies that his idea represents a view everyone should have
Click to expand...


LorPGDL said:
now i have the...

now i was asking myself the question...

i dont play games...

i got my air...

i guess for me...

having an ipad for me considering my usage habits?
Click to expand...

Why are you fixated on the title? The OP is pretty clear that he's asking about himself.
 
Last edited:
They are very different., although both excellent devices.

The ipad has instant on, and a greatly simplified user experience/interface.
You don't rummage around anywhere for files, and stuff, so you never get lost. Then there's the touch.

Very different.
 
LorPGDL said:
yeah that i understand, but im still a student so i am not commuting all that often- and if i am its mostly by bike :)
Click to expand...

then what are you asking? You tell us you are happy with your MBA yet ask about the iPad and then discredit what people say to show you don't need an iPad.

You obviously don't NEED one. You probably WANT one and are trying to find a rational for getting one. If you are a student and have a lightweight, compact, laptop that does everything you need it to, don't waste valuable money on a iPad.

Just because people are buying the iPad or all giddy over it, doesn't mean they are for everyone. Thats why apple sells the touch, iPhone, iPad, MBA, MBP. Different products for different needs.
 
Yr Blues said:
because the title is trolling for a person to click on the thread and read his post
Click to expand...

yeah, thats exactly what i had in mind- to troll people into my thread- because the higher the thread views get the better i feel about myself :rolleyes:

on a more serious note- of course id love to have an ipad or even a mini, but i think from what i gathered from your input (thanks!) i am really not missing out on anything- i could afford one, but i dont want to spend money thats not a 100 % justified, especially on a student budget :)
 
jonfarr said:
then what are you asking? You tell us you are happy with your MBA yet ask about the iPad and then discredit what people say to show you don't need an iPad.

You obviously don't NEED one. You probably WANT one and are trying to find a rational for getting one. If you are a student and have a lightweight, compact, laptop that does everything you need it to, don't waste valuable money on a iPad.

Just because people are buying the iPad or all giddy over it, doesn't mean they are for everyone. Thats why apple sells the touch, iPhone, iPad, MBA, MBP. Different products for different needs.
Click to expand...


seriously, who was i discrediting? and in which part of my answer would that have been?

i asked if people could chip in on whether the ipad would, bearing my usage in mind, be any improvement to my current situation with the 11 air. i am not trying to justify purchasing an ipad- in fact, from what i gathered in this thread i am confident in saying i would not gain any productivity or ease of use worth 329 euros or more if i go for the new ipad 499 euros here.

why all the hate?
 
LorPGDL said:
seriously, who was i discrediting? and in which part of my answer would that have been?

i asked if people could chip in on whether the ipad would, bearing my usage in mind, be any improvement to my current situation with the 11 air. i am not trying to justify purchasing an ipad- in fact, from what i gathered in this thread i am confident in saying i would not gain any productivity or ease of use worth 329 euros or more if i go for the new ipad 499 euros here.

why all the hate?
Click to expand...

Maybe discredit was the wrong word, but one person told you why they use their iPad (for travel and quick ease of use), then you said that isn't necessary for you since you are a student and don't commute, except on a bike.

You are answering your own question. What you have works. You don't need the iPad unless you plan to dump your laptop, which as a college grad, I would never go through college w/o an actual laptop.
 
Not at all, I've had a 11" MBA alongside an iPad for the past 2 years with no regrets. Both used extensively
 
I just got a new 11" MBA for school, and I'm going to get a mini which I think is the perfect complement. The main reason I want the mini is for reading, mainly PDFs for my programme. I've got a Kindle, which is a wonderful device, but sucks at displaying PDFs. The MBA is great for many things, but not for reading on, and not for every task. The normal sized iPad I felt was too big, not only for holding and reading, but also I feel would defeat the whole purpose and benefit of having such a wonderfully portable laptop in the MBA. Others say, the MBA complements perfectly the normal sized iPad, but I think you lose some of the wonderful portability benefits if you then throw in another big device, so the mini is it for me, a perfect complement to an 11" MBA.
 
J400uk said:
Not at all, I've had a 11" MBA alongside an iPad for the past 2 years with no regrets. Both used extensively
Click to expand...

could you elaborate a bit? would you miss the ipad or the air if you didnt have either? what do you use it for? cheers mate :)

----------
jonfarr said:
Maybe discredit was the wrong word, but one person told you why they use their iPad (for travel and quick ease of use), then you said that isn't necessary for you since you are a student and don't commute, except on a bike.

You are answering your own question. What you have works. You don't need the iPad unless you plan to dump your laptop, which as a college grad, I would never go through college w/o an actual laptop.
Click to expand...

indeed, i was briefly considerung just using an ipad with a keyboard, but as im writing my thesis atm and no real word processing apps on the ipad to speak of i gladly chose the air and never once regretted my decision.

the reason why i opened this thread is i was wondering if i was missing out on anything really, because as i read the other day every 4th person has a table now in the us or something and if there were any fellow air 11 users with an ipad and an opinion ;)
 
It's been a long while since I was in school, but I would have loved to have a MBA + iPad combo when I was in school. I would use the MBA for all my computing needs, but the iPad would have been great for reading in bed/sofa/cafe. I also imagine it would have been great for taking notes in the library. I tried lagging a notebook along with me, but that was heavy, and I didn't always have enough space to open it up in the stacks. So I ended up carrying a pen and notepad, writing down all my notes, then typing them back into my computer when I got back to the dorms. Or I'd just check out all the relevant books, and carry a ton of books back to the dorm, then carry them back to the library when I was done. With an iPad, I could have typed up a lot of notes in the library, which I'd transfer to my computer with Dropbox or Evernote or some such cloud service.

But then, if this hasn't already occured to you, maybe your school work requires less library research than I had to do, so perhaps this usage scenario doesn't apply to you.
 
I used to think the same thing, but then I bought an iPad for my wife a few months ago. Now I have an iPad Mini on order. I have a Macbook Air 13" and love the thing. I carry it with me a lot. I figured with an Air and an iPhone, I've got all my use cases covered. But after playing with her iPad for a while, I want one, and the Mini I think is just the ticket. I like it for casual browsing, reading, etc. Its just more convenient for that kind of thing... I think.
 
LorPGDL said:
could you elaborate a bit? would you miss the ipad or the air if you didnt have either? what do you use it for? cheers mate :)
Click to expand...


The two complement each other quite well, I tend to use the iPad mostly for content consumption (reading, web, music/ video and the odd game) and the MBA is more for production/ office work stuff. I use them both nearly every day and would miss the other if I only had one.

Planning on getting an iPad mini tomorrow as for what I use the iPad for I think the smaller size would be beneficial but will see how I get on.
 
I have an Air 11" and after I got it I sold my iPad and bought a Nexus 7. Found the iPad to bulky for carrying around and I used it for Kindle and the size made it a bit unwieldy. The Nexus 7 is great for the money but looking forward to my Mini.
 
Sold my iPad 3 for a 11" MBA a few months ago. Now have a mini coming. Now since selling my iPad, I see there is a use for both. Can't wait to get my hands on the mini.
 
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