Need Help! iMac + iPad or MBP/Air

[mcdonough88]

Hi! I'm new here, I'm not in very need of power but I love my iMac 2011 21.5 with SSD & 16gb Ram.
Suddenly i'm in need of portability mainly because I travel between LA, Tijuana and San Diego and my iPhone doesn't cut it because of the small screen. And sometimes I feel like I need OS X and sometimes I don't because I like to carry a lot of photos and music with me.
I like to watch films and read in bed, maybe my problem is the small screen of the iPhone wihich doesn't make it a perfect travel companion.

So I'm thinking of 3 options:

1- iMac + iPad Mini 64gb
2- iMac + Cheap 2009 MBP
3- Sell the iMac and Just get a new retina MBP 13, or Air 13 or NON-R MBP with SSD.

Any advice on pros and cons?
Much appreciated!

 

[PhiLLoW]

I had to make the same decision a few months ago.

English isn't my main lanuage but I'll try to explain the situation as good as possible

If you only want to read / browse the web I can highly recommend you an iPad.


I have an Ipad mini retina ( I prefer the "mini" formfactor ) and it's really cool device. Unfortunately It's unreliable to work with. Especially when multi tasking. Let's say you're working on a pages document. You need a PDF document & 2 or 3 websites as sources.

Copy/Paste & text editing can be really annoying. Apps/pages keep reloading or shut down immediately. A lot of work could've been done 10 times faster with a MBA.



Currently working with a nMP / Retina ipad-Mini combo and I'm really happy with it. Even though the statement above may sound negative ( it's the most annoying thing I have to deal with right now but you should beware that an ipad can't replace a PC/Mac yet... )

My suggestion:

If you're working on your desk at home and only need a device on the road for entertainment / websites:
imac + ipad

If you have to get work done on the road:
Macbook Air or Macbook Pro. Add a 27" display, keyboard & mouse to your desk to work at home.

 

[phrehdd]

For an iPad experience - go to a store and try out the iPad mini with typical ways you might use the device. See if it really fits your way of working.

As for iMac vs laptop, there are various threads and and sites you can go to that might show the difference in performance (depending on the particular models and how you customize - SSD vs laptop drive and amount of RAM).

I personally feel more comfortable with full size keyboard and a larger screen. I have friends who live and die by laptops and would never consider a more typical home system. Perhaps you should do similar to the above recommendation and try out a laptop in a store and see if you are comfortable with the screen, viewing angles and even the simplest of tasks such as copy/paste. Sadly there is no "right" answer just preference based on how you like to do things.

 

[mcdonough88]

The Only thing I've going for iMac is 16gb ram and quad core, other than that.. I'd probably be good with a 23 inch 1080p display.
Or I could get a MacBook Pro with screen and iPad mini to satisfy both worlds?

 

[glenthompson]

My wife uses the same iMac as you coupled with an iPad Air. For videos I think the full size ipad is a better choice. If you have adequate storage you can take a videos and books. An iPad is much better for reading in bed than a laptop.

 

[mcdonough88]

A friend came up with an option:
MacBook Pro + Good Screen + iPad
I got spoiled 'cause of the beautiful screen on the iMac, plus I'd 2 birds with 1 stone!
Any thoughts?