What to Buy????

Hey - I was looking to get some opinions on my current situation. I am in the middle of my senior year at college and am without a computer. The hard drive of my Macbook I bought when I came to college crashed and I am looking to upgrade and sell the old one.

I was thinking either buy: Imac and Ipad or just a Macbook Pro. It seems to me that having a Macbook and Ipad is a little redundant, but I need some kind of computer so I Was thinking 27" Imac (huge!) and Ipad. That way I have the portablility of an Ipad as well as the power,size, and word processing capabilities of an Imac. Or does the mix of portability/power of a Macbook suffice?

Another thing - I plan on buying an Iphone when the Iphone 5 comes out soon (hopefully) - so I also worry that having that and an Ipad is a bit redundant.

What are everybody's thoughts?

What are you planning to use the PC for? There is nothing wrong with any of the equipment you have mentioned, it just depends on what you will be using it for. Think 3 to 4 years out as well, not just what you will use it for now.

I have a 17" 2011 MBP with all the bells and an iPad. While I still take the MBP with me to a lot of places, the iPad goes EVERYWHERE. Having an iPhone and iPad will not be redundant. There are things on both that are not on the other.

If I were to have to get a personal cellphone, it would be an iPhone - mostly because of all the apps I have for my iPad. While Android is nice, I do not want to have to buy apps again that I have already bought.

And another note to the laptop verses desktop. I hate being tied down to a desk at home. I love being able to pick up the laptop, crash on the couch and do some gaming or photos or videos rather that being stuck at the desk. You could get a larger monitor with the MBP for when you need the larger screen resolution, but I will always be recommending a laptop based on my own experience over a desktop.

Having never owned a MBP myself, I decided to opt for the iMac and iPad setup (I'll be a senior in the Fall). For class I find the iPad much more useful because of the ability to take handwritten notes. I used to have a 15in ibm thinkpad that was really quite pain to carry around so opted for a netbook for the whole class thing but that didn't work out that well.
Two questions;
1) Which 27in iMac model do you plan on getting?
2) What do you plan to use the Mac for?

1) There's a refurb one for cheap ($1049) that pops up every once in a while that I would most likely get in that case. I think it said it was released in late 2009.
2) Id use the Mac for word/powerpt stuff that Id need for the rest of college and possibly grad school - as welll as other things having just an Ipad won't do.

I've had my hard drive fail twice as well as a kernal panic on my Macbook - so Ive become a bit concerned with carrying around a laptop as often as I would

And yes, I've also thought down the line - the iMac is something I can have in my house as a desktop for many years down the line - for when I settle down and have kids, etc.

What's your budget?

nothing set in stone, really. I have the money for either option - just want to make the best choice

If you want the portability, you can opt for the SSD (Solid State Drive) over the standard HDD option. More expensive, but no moving parts - could solve the hard drive issues.

Nothing wrong with the desktop/ipad option. the ipad travels well. I would recommend a good case, though.

o ok. i was just curious. I bought the new 27in imac 1999$ model and the thing flies. That will definitely last me quite a number of years. The problem with the current gen mbp's is that the low-end model has no discrete graphics card, which won't really hold up well if you do any sort of actual video/photo editing.
If you get this:
Refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.8GHz Intel Quad-Core i5 processor - Apple Store (U.S.)

and an iPad you'll pretty much be out the door for about 2k and be good to go for a few years. It's really more of your own personal preference.

I game a lot so a more powerful desktop option was a better choice for me. Keep in mind the iMac is relatively bulky and the 27in model is really quite heavy. The display itself is beautiful though and really great for watching movies even though its a glossy screen.

Oh and one last thing: I'm not sure the back to school deal/student discount applies to refurbished products, just something to consider. In that case a new 27in iMac for 1699 less the 100 dollar student discount should suffice.