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Should I get an iPad in this situation?

S

SR71

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 12, 2011
1,606
373
Boston, MA
I'm 15 years old turning 16 this summer and will be paying to get driving lessons and a car, so I am kind of tight with money, but I'm starting to get annoyed with always having to sit in my uncomfortable desk chair just to use my computer for quick things, hence why I'd like an iPad. If I were to get an iPad I would use it for web browsing, email, and playing games/watching movies. All other work would be done on my PC. My PC is a quad core, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, etc. so it has no problem handling anything I throw at it.

Also, if I wait till the summer I will have enough to get a 13" MacBook Air, so that is also an option?

So what do you guys think I should do? Save my money until the summer and get a 13" Macbook Air, or buy a wifi 32GB iPad?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Sorry for any typos... was typed all on my phone.
 
Last edited:
If you have a fully capable computer and do not need portability when doing work go with the ipad but if your going to college within 2 years and can't afford to get a laptop between this purchase and then go with the air
 
I think your PC is great to work, play games, watch movies.
Also, it sounds like you don't need mobility for work.
If I were you, I would prefer an iPad for "quick things" like quick web browsing and checking emails since I don't have to wait for it to boot up (even when a PC is just sleeping, it could take up to several minutes to wake up).

I think you have enough time to start saving some money again after buying an iPad to buy a macbook air or other laptops for your college when you will need more mobility for works and lectures.
 
It seems that most of you say I should get an MBA, so that's what I'm going to be doing I guess. ;)

To be honest, I'd prefer a MBA because it does so much more than an iPad does, and once Mac OS X Lion is available, it'll be even more like the iPad than ever, plus the fact that it already has the Facetime camera and the Mac App Store which is what I'd really be using an iPad for (except that instead of using the Mac App Store on, I'd be using the iOS App Store since there is no Mac App Store on iOS...), and of course for web browsing and e-mailing, but that's standard.

Thanks for all the replies, guys!
 
you are posting in ipad forum so you are more tempted to buy ipad ..or i guess ipad 2 .. my suggest is go in the apple store play with both for some time and see what you like more ...
 
Doesn't really sound like you need any of the above. Cars aren't cheap... there's gas, insurance, the actual car and maintenance... when I was 16 I was out with my friends...
 
SR71 said:
I'm 15 years old turning 16 this summer and will be paying to get driving lessons and a car, so I am kind of tight with money, but I'm starting to get annoyed with always having to sit in my uncomfortable desk chair just to use my computer for quick things, hence why I'd like an iPad. If I were to get an iPad I would use it for web browsing, email, and playing games/watching movies. All other work would be done on my PC. My PC is a quad core, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, etc. so it has no problem handling anything I throw at it.

Also, if I wait till the summer I will have enough to get a 13" MacBook Air, so that is also an option?

So what do you guys think I should do? Save my money until the summer and get a 13" Macbook Air, or buy a wifi 32GB iPad?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Sorry for any typos... was typed all on my phone.
Click to expand...

Get a Pad...a notepad and a pen :D.
 
stefc93 said:
Get a Pad...a notepad and a pen :D.
Click to expand...

Here ya go: http://www.smalldog.com/product/77429/lobotome-mepad-pad-shaped-paper-notepad/atfgc

15413-1.png
 
except a macbook pro is not meant to be a "lap"top so any extended use on a couch will burn you unless you use a text book or table

haha
 
Definitely get the laptop over the iPad. If you are leaving for school in a couple of years, the Air will still be everything that you'll need, and then some. The iPad is more of a consumable device than it is creational. In college, you'll need the feature set of a laptop.
 
It's your money. Spend it as you desire. Better to learn money management at your age when you don't have other required financial obligations.

An iPad vs. an MBA? I don't really see the comparison. One uses iOS, the other OS X. One is mostly used for fun and games, the other mostly for work.

Personally suggestion: get a deeply discounted 16GB WiFi refurb iPad 1.0. to tide you over. Keep using your PC. Save the rest when you go to college and buy your MBA or whatever then when you really can justify a laptop and need the lower weight. Yes, using your PC might be a PITA but it's current and paid for.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
It's your money. Spend it as you desire. Better to learn money management at your age when you don't have other required financial obligations.

An iPad vs. an MBA? I don't really see the comparison. One uses iOS, the other OS X. One is mostly used for fun and games, the other mostly for work.

Personally suggestion: get a deeply discounted 16GB WiFi refurb iPad 1.0. to tide you over. Keep using your PC. Save the rest when you go to college and buy your MBA or whatever then when you really can justify a laptop and need the lower weight. Yes, using your PC might be a PITA but it's current and paid for.
Click to expand...

IF you've got the hots for an iPad, the cheapest first generation model would actually be a decent compromise.

but as others have pointed out, a macbook air will actually double as a mobile workstation in addition to some added mobility within your home, so that should definitiely come first
 
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