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Macbook, iPhone 4 or iPad?

M

modelbehaviour

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 23, 2007
271
14
UK
So basically, I'm trying to decide which of them would be more useful to me. I already have a white macbook (nearly 3 years old) and a 16GB iPhone 3G.

The iPad would be good for travelling with - the only thing I really use my macbook for is internet and uni work which I think the iPad could do equally well and my macbook is too heavy for me to carry very far. However, I'm thinking is it too early to adopt the iPad? Will the one next year be significantly better.....? I know it's always the case but I can't get it off my mind.

Then the iPhone - my 3G is getting quite slow now so I can't help thinking the newer faster iPhone would be better and I like some of the new features (display, iBooks, better camera). But then I think I already have one which works pretty well (if a bit slowly) and the iPad has a lot of the features that I like about the iPhone. Aside from texting, I use my iPhone for gaming and web browsing which I reckon the iPad would do better?

And the macbook....I had decided on getting one before the iPad and iPhone options became available. I like the look of the new ones and the bigger hard drive but other than that my current one works perfectly fine. It was cracks round the edges but apparently I can get these repaired for free?

So yeah, if anyone can give me their perspective and help me decide I'd be very grateful! I'm indecisive when it comes to buying almost everything, so things worth this much money send me into overdrive!! :)
 
I'd say iPad..... Once you get an iPad you would only be really usingnthe iPhone for calls. I jail broke my iPhone and used it as a router to get the net to my wifi iPad.
 
modelbehaviour said:
So basically, I'm trying to decide which of them would be more useful to me. I already have a white macbook (nearly 3 years old) and a 16GB iPhone 3G.

The iPad would be good for travelling with - the only thing I really use my macbook for is internet and uni work which I think the iPad could do equally well and my macbook is too heavy for me to carry very far. However, I'm thinking is it too early to adopt the iPad? Will the one next year be significantly better.....? I know it's always the case but I can't get it off my mind.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use the iPad for school work. A macbook is too heavy? Try a macbook air.
 
The iPad is apparently very heavy when used in the normal position. I say get the iphone 4 cause your 3G is probably the most frustrating device you own because of it's lag.
 
keep in mind an ipad does not replace a macbook

yea i like ipad if i had extra money yea its good surfing on the web with ipad while you sitting on a comfy sofa or on your bed yea its awesome
 
ADVANTAGES OF iPHONE 4 over iPHONE 3GS
Many of you (like me) currently own an iPhone 3GS. So is the iPhone 4 worth the cost of updating? Since the 3GS can run iOS 4, why should I upgrade? Let me summarize the features that cause me to say, "Duh!"

* The Retina 24 bit 326 ppi 960x640 touch screen beats the 16 bit 163 ppi 480x320 touch screen
* 800:1 contrast ratio beats 200:1 contrast ratio
* 1000MHz Custom A4 processor beats 600MHz ARM Cortex processor
* 7 hr 3G talk time beats 5 hr 3G talk time
* Theoretical upload speed of 5.8Mbps beats 384Kbps
* 802.11n WiFi beats 802.11g
* 5mp back facing camera with backside-illuminated sensor capable of capturing pictures in low-light conditions with LED flash capable of staying lit for video recording beats the 3.2mp back facing camera with no flash
* front facing camera with support for video conferencing (FaceTime) beats no front facing camera
* Video recording in 720p beats 640x480 at 1.5Mbps
* The placement of antennas around the perimeter likely means stronger signal reception
* The iPhone 4 is narrower and thinner
 
Really good question, and hard to answer.
The macbook should be allright for at least a year to come. Not the fastest any longer and the battery might not last very long, but if you buy the iPad, the macbook could stay home pretty much all the time.
I have the iPhone 3G myself since a week (my wife had a good reason to need my 3GS) and it annoyes the heck out of me because it is so slow. So an upgrade to the 4G is really nice. And you can add a bluetooth keyboard to the 4G, so you can make notes in a classroom if you would want to. using internet on the 3GS is much less handy than on the iPad, but with the Retina display of the 4G it might get better?!
So, to be sure? buy both! That is at least my solution.
But if you have only money for one, you could also think about buying the 4G and getting a bluetooth keyboard with it. I'm not sure it's a good solution for you, but it is a possibility you might not have tought about.
 
I'd say the iPhone since I have the 3G right now and it is on its deathbed, and I can't wait for iPhone 4. The speed gains seems like it will be amazing. The Macbook should last you another year, and in the end isn't that heavy, but you can always use your shiny new iphone for the web if you really have to. And the iPad isn't worth it yet.
 
I was just talking with my wife regarding this issue last evening...

I was all hot on an iPad, but at this point am glad that I haven't gotten one [yet]. There's a lot that I can do with $800-1000, which is what an iPad with decent specs and extended warranty comes out to. The iPhone 4.0 is $200 for new subscribers; that's a pretty sweet deal, especially if the new, high-res screen gets me 80% of what I was looking for in an iPad. My iPod Touch is on it's last legs and I have been totally underwhelmed with Verizon since we switched. A move back to AT&T and an iPhone 4.0 might be in my future... At this point I can't justify an iPad because of a) the cost and b) the fairly limited feature set compared to a real notebook of even a netbook.

Time will tell. If Apple comes out with an iPad 2.0 that is slightly smaller than the current one with better specs and utility, that might push me over the edge.

Tony
 
If you are planning to be taking notes or writing documents, the iPhone is not a good buy. No matter how good the display is, it is still just a phone.
I would say that the real choice is between the macbook or the ipad. As you've already said that the macbook is too heavy, and you already have one, that really says that the logical choice is the ipad.
Although I don't really think that you need a new gadget at all, and you're just trying to justify buying one. That's ok, but if that is the case just buy what you want.
 
Thanks everyone, you've all been really helpful! I think I'm leaning towards the iPad. I'm going to try and get my macbook repaired then hold on to it another 6-12 months. I'd only be wanting the iPad wifi version, either 16GB or 32Gb so it works out about the same cost as the iPhone. I'm going to wait until they're both in store so I can compare anyway though. I'm not really too bothered about my iPhone being a bit slow as the things that're slow on it I'd replace with my iPad anyway; so I might get the iPad now and wait until Christmas to get an iPhone. Thanks again! :)
 
iPhone 4
signature_BlueFaceGlasses-98213.jpg
i know how annoyingly slow the 3G is, and i have both a macbook and an iPad and the iPhone is the thing that annoys me, yet it is the most used one!
 
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