Would an iPad 2 work in this situation?

A

AppleGirl(:

macrumors newbie
I'm a high school student. I was considering getting a Macbook Pro but with my budget that's a pretty good amount of saving. When the iPad 2 was announced, I got to thinking. iWork can be used on the iPad so I could type up school documents. I could use the Apple wireless keyboard. I would have mainly used the MBP for Safari, documents, e-mail, nothing too complex. What do you think? Would an iPad 2 work in my case?

Thank you!

~AppleGirl:)
 
It may well work for you, but I wouldn't want to use an iPad for all my document writing, its just not that great at that stuff. iPad is much more a consumption tool, not a creation tool.

Have you considered getting a normal MacBook, or buying a used MacBook Pro to save money. if all your doing is internet, mailing, documents a used MacBook would more than meet your needs. Plus be good to your wallet.
 
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It should work just fine, and give you better battery life. Just make sure all the docs you Plan to work with are compatable.
 
I know plenty of people using the iPad to type documents and email using either the dock or a wireless keyboard. You should be ok. You can always try it for a week and see how it goes... and then return it if you do not like it.
 
The iPad 2 would work but I dont think you should just have it as the main thing to type up documents. I would suggest getting a regular macbook and having and iPad 2 as an extra thing to have.
 
I do have a desktop (not an iMac, unfortunately), so I would be able to type documents on there, too. I'd use the iPad to type documents when I don't feel like sitting in the same room typing for hours, not at home, e.t.c.

Thank you for the input! :)

~AppleGirl:)
 
Ipad is a poor choice for school work. I tried it summer semester last year and it didn't work out at all.
 
AppleGirl(: said:
I'm a high school student. I was considering getting a Macbook Pro but with my budget that's a pretty good amount of saving. When the iPad 2 was announced, I got to thinking. iWork can be used on the iPad so I could type up school documents. I could use the Apple wireless keyboard. I would have mainly used the MBP for Safari, documents, e-mail, nothing too complex. What do you think? Would an iPad 2 work in my case?

Thank you!

~AppleGirl:)
Click to expand...

JMO, but it would be HUGE mistake to TRY to use an ipad for school work.

The best device (for a student on a budget) would be a late 2010 11" AIR. These can be had for under $900 in the refurb store:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC505LL/A?mco=MjEwNTg3NDQ

....... see sig........ I have em all and the AIR is the best for a student!

cheers and good luck with whatever you get.
JohnG
 
Dont listen to the bs these guys are feeding you op, the iPad can be used for literally everything. Im a college student and I use it in replace of all notebooks, folders (scan the documents), and some textbooks. It's mad easy to take notes. All my work is now organized, easy to find, and in result my grades have improved.

I used to use a laptop in college, and boy it was annoying. Its large, theres really very limited ways to organize your notes, and forget about trying to replicate diagrams and stuff that really require precise drawings. The iPad can easily do that. I just take out my stylus and bam, perfect diagrams, even more neat than using pen and paper.

All you need is an iPad, it's that simple. I type all my reports, homework, class notes, emails, EVERYTHING, on my iPad, without an external keyboard too, just my ipad.
 
Toiletpapers said:
Dont listen to the bs these guys are feeding you op, the iPad can be used for literally everything. Im a college student and I use it in replace of all notebooks, folders (scan the documents), and some textbooks. It's mad easy to take notes. All my work is now organized, easy to find, and in result my grades have improved.

I used to use a laptop in college, and boy it was annoying. Its large, theres really very limited ways to organize your notes, and forget about trying to replicate diagrams and stuff that really require precise drawings. The iPad can easily do that. I just take out my stylus and bam, perfect diagrams, even more neat than using pen and paper.

All you need is an iPad, it's that simple. I type all my reports, homework, class notes, emails, EVERYTHING, on my iPad, without an external keyboard too, just my ipad.
Click to expand...

It's not BS, its the truth. I tried typing large work assignments on the iPad and it was a pain in the ass. It took forever, it was tedious. For note taking, sure it was GREAT. I could type out quick notes and be done with it. But when I had a 4 page paper due...lol, I would never again try doing that on my iPad. NOW, if I had the bluetooth keyboard accessory that might have been a different story but I didnt. Using the virtual keyboard and typing out big papers isnt IDEAL.

Email is also different, that is another GREAT thing about the iPad. If youre typing out big papers on the iPad with just the virtual keyboard then you must be the most PATIENT person in the world.
 
jdminpdx said:
It's not BS, its the truth. I tried typing large work assignments on the iPad and it was a pain in the ass. It took forever, it was tedious. For note taking, sure it was GREAT. I could type out quick notes and be done with it. But when I had a 4 page paper due...lol, I would never again try doing that on my iPad. NOW, if I had the bluetooth keyboard accessory that might have been a different story but I didnt. Using the virtual keyboard and typing out big papers isnt IDEAL.

Email is also different, that is another GREAT thing about the iPad. If youre typing out big papers on the iPad with just the virtual keyboard then you must be the most PATIENT person in the world.
Click to expand...

I said reports too, which includes lengthly papers, but i guess to each his own. I type about 90-105 wpm on a physical keyboard, and about 70-80 on an iPad. So yes, it's faster, its just something about the iPad that just makes it more convenient to get things done. Whether it be that i can really be anywhere and work, or just the simplicity of taking out this small object and with the flick of a finger getting to work. Idk.
 
Toiletpapers said:
I said reports too, which includes lengthly papers, but i guess to each his own. I type about 90-105 wpm on a physical keyboard, and about 70-80 on an iPad. So yes, it's faster, its just something about the iPad that just makes it more convenient to get things done. Whether it be that i can really be anywhere and work, or just the simplicity of taking out this small object and with the flick of a finger getting to work. Idk.
Click to expand...

or you could just be trying to justify your overpriced piece of kit?
 
sonicare said:
or you could just be trying to justify your overpriced piece of kit?
Click to expand...

Well granted we were comparing the iPad to devices that contained a physical keyboard such as notebooks and desktops, all of which are priced more than an iPad, your unnecessary obnoxious comment doesn't really pertain to this conversation...
 
Toiletpapers said:
I said reports too, which includes lengthly papers, but i guess to each his own. I type about 90-105 wpm on a physical keyboard, and about 70-80 on an iPad. So yes, it's faster, its just something about the iPad that just makes it more convenient to get things done. Whether it be that i can really be anywhere and work, or just the simplicity of taking out this small object and with the flick of a finger getting to work. Idk.
Click to expand...

I have found the most annoying aspect of writing long papers on the iPad is the lack of cursor (arrow) keys. Positioning the cursor to edit with your finger gets frustrating after a while. If only they include cursor keys to the virtual keyboard it would help a lot.
 
I first thought typing on an iPad would be hard..

But then I tried it.

I can type FASTER on an ipad than I can on a real keyboard, because you dont have to put any pressure on the keys, so my finger movements were twice as fast.

The only thing with that is, until you learn to type without looking, you have to constantly look down and correct yourself.

There is hope though, I have been typing on mine for a few weeks now, and I have done almost 50 pages of typing so far (not including alot of emails / notes) and I can now type 80% accurately without looking. I only look after a few minutes of typing and quickly skim what I wrote to see if any mistakes are made (like you would with a normal keyboard). I also type with auto-correct off, because its just frustrating IMO.
 
You can always use a real keyboard with the iPad, I know the apple keyboards are awesome..
 
AppleGirl(: said:
...I could use the Apple wireless keyboard...
Click to expand...

jdminpdx said:
It's not BS, its the truth... NOW, if I had the bluetooth keyboard accessory that might have been a different story but I didnt. Using the virtual keyboard and typing out big papers isnt IDEAL...
Click to expand...

So, you chose to ignore the setup that the original poster was suggesting?

As someone who has used the iPad to write lengthy documents using only the virtual keyboard, I can say that it does a fine job... for some.

AppleGirl, as I'm sure you can see from this thread, for whatever reason people seem to get very emotional about their own position as to whether or not the iPad can be used as a content creation tool. There are a lot of people who seem emotionally committed to the idea that it can only be used as a content consumption tool. However, as you can also see, there are plenty of people who have taken to using the iPad as a content creation tool, both in school and in the workplace.

I think that you would find that the iPad would be a fine tool for you. Using a Bluetooth keyboard for those times when you have a bigger assignment, if you find the virtual keyboard uncomfortable or awkward to use, would make it even better and more versatile. Pages is a reasonably good word processor (actually quite a bit better than any word processor that I used when I was in school...). It is certainly not as good as most full word processors on full computer systems, including Pages on Mac is, which is substantially better. However, it is more than capable enough to do just about everything you should need to do in high school.

I hope this helps.
 
eagleglen said:
I have found the most annoying aspect of writing long papers on the iPad is the lack of cursor (arrow) keys. Positioning the cursor to edit with your finger gets frustrating after a while. If only they include cursor keys to the virtual keyboard it would help a lot.
Click to expand...

If you use a real keyboard with the iPad, the arrow keys work... :)
 
It will work fine as long as all your soca are compatible and you are familiar with typing on an iPad. If you are a pro with typing on an iPhone, an iPad is cake.
 
One word: NO.

iPad does not play flash and a lot of educational content is produced in flash, also typing documents sucks on the iPad and iWork isn't very good when working with Office.
 
I too use my ipad for school. Having my textbooks on it is GREAT! Also taking notes are easy. Sometimes im even able to get handouts and documents from my teacher online and can just type into them with pages instead of writing and can print them out later.

You also have a desktop to type long papers and stuff, and you can always save up again and yourself a MacBook later.
 
AppleGirl(: said:
I'm a high school student. I was considering getting a Macbook Pro but with my budget that's a pretty good amount of saving. When the iPad 2 was announced, I got to thinking. iWork can be used on the iPad so I could type up school documents. I could use the Apple wireless keyboard. I would have mainly used the MBP for Safari, documents, e-mail, nothing too complex. What do you think? Would an iPad 2 work in my case?

Thank you!

~AppleGirl:)
Click to expand...

I agree with the majority of the other people that replied already. The iPad is not a replacement for a laptop. If you want to save a few bucks, jus get the 11" air with the education discount instead of the macbook pro. It's ultra portable just like the iPad. $949 for the 64gb air is definitely sufficient enough for high school and even college work.

Just to let you know, I recently bought the 13" macbook pro and I use it everyday for school. There is no way I could use a screen as small as the iPad to do school work. It's just not possible.
 
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