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Netbook or iPad???

stevep

stevep

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 13, 2004
877
11
UK
A friend has asked me whether he should buy a netbook, possibly an Asus eee, for the following tasks:
Checking out couch surfing addresses, updating a cycling blog, google mapping, loading photos and checking/responding to emails from clients. All this while he's away on a 4 week cycling tour of Europe, presumably with no access to a computer.

My immediate reaction was to suggest an iPad instead. Is that a realistic suggestion, considering the tasks he wants to do? And what accessories will he need (Apple camera connector? European power plug adaptor? Anything else?).

Thanks.
 
stevep said:
A friend has asked me whether he should buy a netbook, possibly an Asus eee, for the following tasks:
Checking out couch surfing addresses, updating a cycling blog, google mapping, loading photos and checking/responding to emails from clients. All this while he's away on a 4 week cycling tour of Europe, presumably with no access to a computer.

My immediate reaction was to suggest an iPad instead. Is that a realistic suggestion, considering the tasks he wants to do? And what accessories will he need (Apple camera connector? European power plug adaptor? Anything else?).

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Loading photos on iPad was awkward at best. There are also limited tools for editing. And since there's no file system, you really cannot, let's say, save edited image in App X and then upload it through Safari.

email is pretty good on it. I was surprised with onscreen keyboard.

iPad more or less requires a computer to function right. You really cannot put anything on it without one. Even to use iPad out of the box, you need to first connect it to an itunes, and computer must be on the internet, otherwise iPad won't activate.

iPad is light, great to use, but for 4 week trip, I do not think it's a good idea.
 
Meanee said:
Loading photos on iPad was awkward at best. ....
Click to expand...

Nonsense.

The iPad camera connection kit makes uploading photos incredibly simple and intuitive. Far quicker, easier, more convenient than booting up a netbook, and then waiting for the various add-ons to load, choosing where to put the photos, etc. And the iPad software quickly identifies previously uploaded photos.

I've travelled extensively with an iPad as my only computing device, and I've never had a problem uploading photos to blogs, FlickR, Facebook, etc.

As far as editing pictures? No - you can't run Photoshop on it. But then you can't really run Photoshop on a cheap netbook either. But the iPad has numerous light photo editing Apps that let you correct color or brightness, crop, add captions, etc.

Probably the biggest argument in favor of the iPad, however, is its combination of lightness and battery life. I don't know where the OP's friend will be staying, but hostels, campsites, train stations and the like are not universally supplied with a surfeit of power points. With the iPad, depending on how much it gets used each day, can probably go a week or so without recharging. There's no netbook in the world that can say that. And on a CYCLING tour, where literally every ounce has to be lugged up an Alpine pass by your legs, I'm not sure that an 8 ounce wall-wart power adapter for an laptop is the best use of limited carrying capacity.
 
I'd be scared of damaging my ipad cycling over Europe, if I was going to put it in a case tough enough to protect it from drops and falls it loose it's weight advantage and may was well carry a netbook but that's just me.

Either will work for his needs. I'd probably go with the netbook if he wanted to do any photo editing plus it would be cheaper.
 
vrDrew said:
Nonsense.

The iPad camera connection kit makes uploading photos incredibly simple and intuitive. Far quicker, easier, more convenient than booting up a netbook, and then waiting for the various add-ons to load, choosing where to put the photos, etc. And the iPad software quickly identifies previously uploaded photos.
Click to expand...

Can't preview, caption, sort in folders. Video import is highly temperamental. At least that was my experience. I took iPad to a cruise, without my netbook, just to see what will happen, and overall, it was good. But photo import was my biggest complaint.

Netbooks also have 10+ hours of battery. My 2 and a half old Samsing NC-10 is giving me 8 hours these days. And yes, I do have Photoshop installed on it. Runs like a dog, but it's there. There are also less powerful programs on it, like Picasa, which handles photos superbly.

iPad, however, is lighter. And considering you have to carry that weight with you, it's an important factor when you are cycling.
 
OK, done a bit more research in the last half-hour. Not sure what blogging software he uses, but I see Wordpress have a useful looking editing app, so that's obviously hopeful.

And I know iPhoto's editing capabilities are basic, but I'm sure they'd be good enough to deal with the photos that he takes in order to load them onto his blog. Also I would think the PS Express app is very good on the iPad, can anyone confirm this?

I have no idea what the Google mapping involves, at a guess I would say he wants to show blog followers his route on the map, along with a series of markers to link to photos - anyone know if this is possible?

Obviously email is no problem at all. He'll probably be staying in local bed/breakfast type places rather than roughing it in tents and dodgy hostels, so re-charging and wifi access should be possible every day or so. And it will live in the cycle panniers while on the road, so an anti-shock case might be sensible. Again, comments from you guys who have experience would be very helpful!

Thanks again -
Steve
 
There are lots of photo editing packages for iPad. Some good ones would be PhotoForge and Snapseed.
 
great idea. the ipad is fine. i have gone on trips without a computer before, and if i were biking / hiking with those needs i would definitely not bring a computer. the eee pc is fabulous and quite light (i have one), but in terms of portability, the ipad can't be beat.

don't just leap into it feet first, though. the first time i tried was a miserable failure. I didn't bring the charger for my wifi hotspot with me. I couldn't plug it into the iPad to power it up (no USB outlet) and I ended up having to be extremely judicious with my Internet use. this is the kind of stuff that doesn't occur to you with a computer, because it has everything you could possibly need.

in the case of your friend, he may be planning to use internet cafes. some of these only have ethernet, and the ipad has no ethernet slot, so it won't work. there are lots of little things like this to think about.

basically, with the ipad, you have to prepare ahead of time by having all of your files uploaded (dropbox, sugarsync, evernote) and everything ready in the device. unlike a computer, you can't just walk out the door.

so, test it out, work out the kinks ahead of time by spending a few days at home relying exclusively on it (if i had done this, the stupid mistake with the wifi would have been caught), and he'll be fine.
 
I would recommend an iPad 2 and if he really had to do some photo editing/processing work, Snapseed and Filterstorm can probably fill his needs. If these two apps are not enough, he probably needs a better camera, learn more about photography, or bring a quad-core 15" (at least) laptop and engage himself with serious photo processing sessions instead of enjoying his vacation!:D
 
Your input has been really useful guys - thanks a lot. I've had a look through the app store at some of the recommendations and made a list of them for him. He'll have no problem on the photography side of things (he's a graphic designer, and photography is a big part of his everyday workflow).

My mention of iPhoto in the previous post was mistaken - I had assumed that there was an iOS version for the iPad (like Garage Band and iMovie) - wrong!! Plenty of other apps though - Photo-Sort looks useful as well as the others many of you guys mention.

Also I think he'll generally get on better with iOS rather than having to use Windows (not starting a war here, but he's a Mac user, so could probably do without the Windows OS learning curve, fun though that may be).

And the preparation tips are a good point too, thanks palpatine.

I'll let you know how it all works out - he's an Aussie, coming to UK early August and heading off to mainland Europe about a week later.

Big thanks to all.
S
 
indeed it was very helpful. Im still debating whether to go with the ipad 2 or the ipad 1, i would be getting a 3g one for overseas purposes, but i really wont be going overseas untill january so my plan is ot just get the ipad 1 on sale somewhere.....
 
stevep said:
My mention of iPhoto in the previous post was mistaken - I had assumed that there was an iOS version for the iPad (like Garage Band and iMovie) - wrong!!
Click to expand...

Funnily enough you were right the first time. The Photos app is what Apple considers to be iPhoto on the iPad/iPhone. You don't see it in regular press but the Apple Design Guideline actually brings up that exact point. They consider it to be the essential tasks of iPhoto. Editing wasn't considered essential.
 
A netbook is nothing more than a cheapo laptop with a processor slow enough to make you gouge your eyes out. I think the iPad 2 is a wonderful and realistic suggestion. Not to mention that netbooks won't have the battery life of the iPad 2!

One warning though, if he's gonna type on that thing he better get a smart cover or a case that he can use as a stand. It makes typing on landscape almost bearable.
 
omicron said:
A netbook is nothing more than a cheapo laptop with a processor slow enough to make you gouge your eyes out. I think the iPad 2 is a wonderful and realistic suggestion. Not to mention that netbooks won't have the battery life of the iPad 2!

One warning though, if he's gonna type on that thing he better get a smart cover or a case that he can use as a stand. It makes typing on landscape almost bearable.
Click to expand...


is typing landscape on the ipad normally unbearable?
 
This is an easy one. If he buys the iPad he will constantly be looking for workarounds and processes to let him do even the simplest of tasks. If he wants to connect his camera he needs a dongle - that alone should be a warning sign that this is not an editing device.

Then there's the problem of actually typing the things you mentioned. As it's not a laptop, he'll need a stand or a flat surface to be able to type, and even then the experience will be far worse than even the worst of netbook keyboards because there is no feedback at all from the glass you press to type.
 
No access to a computer means that you're better off with a netbook, but don't expect too powerful a computing, I'm typing this on my iPad now and I don't have any trouble with the keyboard but the tactile feel would be best for a blogger.

My vote is the netbook
 
nwcs said:
There are lots of photo editing packages for iPad. Some good ones would be PhotoForge and Snapseed.
Click to expand...

Yes, complete mobile photo editing is definitely possible on the iPad now. Snapseed is just amazing and can absolutely replace photoshop/lightroom/aperture when on the road. Photogene is another very capable editor, and beyond that, there are a ton of various photo apps for dealing with photos.
 
I'd say the iPad 3G version, unless he needs photo editing software like Aperture.

The best thing about the iPad 3G is the iPad data plan are usually cheaper, I'm not too sure about Europe. Plus the Maps is very useful when he he get loss.

The keyboard is easy to type once you get used to it. I reckon it feels natural to type on.

I love it and I reckon is a very good gadget for travelling and I'm sure he will love it.

The thing is with the iPad is you have to use it to know how magical it is. When I look at my iPad everyday, I still cannot believe how magical it is. ;)

This is the device that I wanted to take it with me wherever I go.
 
henry72 said:
The thing is with the iPad is you have to use it to know how magical it is. When I look at my iPad everyday, I still cannot believe how magical it is. ;)
Click to expand...

So true :)

Also, to contribute, I have a netbook but it's really not powerful enough and the screen isn't where I want it to be for photo editing and mobile computing. I use it very, very rarely when I need it for a windows program, like non-speex ventrilo.

I'm actually not sure my netbook could support decent photo editing software at all.

I edit my blog using the wordpress mobile app, but there are a lot of apps out there that work with pretty much all available platforms.

An iPad would definitely be superior to a netbook. I'll throw in that the 11" macbook air would be a better choice than either though :)
 
It seems like netbooks are on the decline ever since tablets picked up in popularity. I think they (netbooks) were at their peak right before the iPad was launched in 2010. Its so interesting to see the huge effect that has occured as a result.

That said, definitely iPad. You won't want to use a netbook when you're at home and can use a desktop or full size laptop, but you will want to use something easy and fun like the iPad.
 
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