Do I really need an iPad

I currently own a macbook I bought at the end of 2007. It still runs great, but now I am debating if I should buy a new macbook pro 13 inch later on. Or should I buy an ipad and just keep my macbook? I am currently in grad school, so I don't know if the ipad is a tool that I can utilize for class. I don't use facebook or any social network medium either. If I don't go for the ipad I would also just get a kindle since I do read many books. I really don't want both. So here are my options.

1. Buy a kindle now, and save for up a macbook pro in 6-10 months
2. Just buy an ipad 2 and use my other devices till they burn out

Any advice or opinions would be great!

sqd rox said:

I currently own a macbook I bought at the end of 2007. It still runs great, but now I am debating if I should buy a new macbook pro 13 inch later on. Or should I buy an ipad and just keep my macbook? I am currently in grad school, so I don't know if the ipad is a tool that I can utilize for class. I don't use facebook or any social network medium either. If I don't go for the ipad I would also just get a kindle since I do read many books. I really don't want both. So here are my options.

1. Buy a kindle now, and save for up a macbook pro in 6-10 months
2. Just buy an ipad 2 and use my other devices till they burn out

Any advice or opinions would be great!

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We replaced our MacBook with an iPad, and while we like it for how we use it, it can't replace a regular computer. Whether it could meet your needs is purely speculative. I wouldn't want to type on it extensively without a keyboard dock, though I actually do pretty well casually with the on-screen keyboard. We'd really need to know more how you need to use it, and if you expect to replace your laptop with it completely.

As an e-reader, a lot of people like it as one, but I don't. The Kindle just has much better text thanks to the e-ink. If the iPad ever goes with a Retina Display like the iPhone 4, I do believe I would like it then, but for now, it's not close enough to printed text for my liking. I can't recall if it was a new Kindle or Nook coming, but one or the other has a full-screen touch display coming with e-ink that should be really nice.

I would primarily use it to do research. I create powerpoints, however I know that the device is only good for viewing files not creating. But if its more like a large ipad touch then I am not sure if one is for me. I hear there can be eyestrain by using one due to the backlit screen. I do travel a lot for work, but they are day trips where I drive. So using it to watch movies on the go is no really an option. I am seeing if anyone can tell me features about the ipad that would sway me to get one for my use.

sqd rox said:

I would primarily use it to do research. I create powerpoints, however I know that the device is only good for viewing files not creating. But if its more like a large ipad touch then I am not sure if one is for me. I hear there can be eyestrain by using one due to the backlit screen. I do travel a lot for work, but they are day trips where I drive. So using it to watch movies on the go is no really an option. I am seeing if anyone can tell me features about the ipad that would sway me to get one for my use.

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It's really a tough call - and in many ways, the iPad really is just a gigantic iPod Touch.

I do agree with lifesabeach that the Kindle makes a better eReader. It really is like looking at paper, whereas the iPad is much more like a typical computer screen - and the glare can be really tough to deal with (not much of a problem with the Kindle).

I bought a new MacBook Pro in late February, just a few weeks after getting one of the Verizon iPhones. In April, my company bought me an iPad 2 to experiment with so that I could support it more effectively in our environment. I find that I use the iPad very infrequently - it's just not all that useful for content creation, or even participating in forums like this one. In terms of using it for presentations, it can be a pain to get documents onto it, and of course, Powerpoint is not made for the iPad (although you can get Keynote for the iPad, but I haven't seen the degree to which the iPad version is compatible with PP).

Ultimately, if you have a laptop and a Smartphone, I'm not sure that there is a great need for something in between. I guess if it's your first exposure to iOS and the App Store ecosystem, it might be a lot of fun. But it might make more sense to get a dedicated (cheap) eReader to compliment your existing laptop, rather than trying to replace the laptop with an iPad, which is not really a good laptop replacement (IMO).

Hope that helps.

I love my iPad but!!!!

It will not replace the MacBook or PC computer for all techno uses. The kindle is much better than the iPad for books, if just be cause, of its long long battery life and at $120 or so a good deal, maybe the color nook would give it a run for versatility.
As i said I love my iPad, and actually use it more now days because of it connivence.

righturn said:

As i said I love my iPad, and actually use it more now days because of it connivence.

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Yeah! Stupid sneaky underhanded iPad, making me love it!!

One of the funnier typos of late.

IMO Your money would be better spent on a computer rather than an ipad, people will say the iPad is a computer but it lacks multi-tasking, the inputs/outputs that a computer has and most certainly the hard drive capacity, sure 16/32 is fine for a phone or an mp3 player but i would not say its enough for a "computer" these days.

I like it for epub books. Found quite a few - a format you can't read on a Mac. Only a few thousand left to read.

Good to get away from desk

I love my iPad. While I have some ebooks on it, I hardly do any reading on it. I use it for tons of other things. There are days that go by where I don't even use my brand new MacBook Pro. However, it is definitely not a replacement for a full-blown computer.

I dont think I could ever tell someone to get an iPad over a desktop/laptop unless they have a good working desktop/laptop already. If you are looking to use the iPad more than a desktop/laptop, then just get a netbook for $300, enough for iTunes and such, and get the iPad.

You should keep your computer and buy the ipad 2 for the reasons you use it. The Ipad 2 is like a way better version of a kindle because you can do countless thing with your ipad...so yes, keep you mac pro 13 and buy the ipad 2.

I work on the go which sounds like it is what your going to be doing. If your main thing is research then yes buy one because it is great for doing business/emails/research/PowerPoints on the go. Much easier to carry around than a typical notebook. However, how others are saying it can't and shouldn't replace your computer. If you work on the road like I do then buy it for those reasons, don't buy it to replace a computer. Because it is not a computer.

I'm not sure anybody NEEDS an iPad ... but just try to get someone to give you theirs, even temporarily!!

It's an amazing device, and very very useful in a number of surprising ways as well as the expected ways. It "completes" the Apple technology experience in the same sense that dessert completes a meal.

twitchymike@mac said:

I like it for epub books... a format you can't read on a Mac...

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Here is a sampling of the readers available on a Mac.

Calibre
Stanza
Firefox plugin
Sony Reader
Adobe Digital Editions
B&N Nook
Bookworm online reader

These are just the ones I knew about, there probably are others if one wants to use google.
Whether there happens to be one with the particular DRM'd books you're getting remains to be seen. But, there are plenty of readers out there for the Mac.

I found my iPad great for writing my thesis - I read and annotated a ton of PDFs on it, whereas I very seldom read long PDF documents on my MacBook.

It's also a better way to get some reading done when you only have a few minutes to spare. However its usefulness will largely depend on how much material you can get in electronic form - luckily our library has a huge collection of literature in PDF format.

If $ and versatility are issues, you might consider going to the Apple Store online and looking at refurbished Airs. They are all in near-factory condition and would be super-light with full keyboard (good for taking to class and typing notes effortlessly) and have far more functionality than an iPad. You could possibly land a very good deal now, since new Airs are coming shortly.

sqd rox said:

I currently own a macbook I bought at the end of 2007. It still runs great, but now I am debating if I should buy a new macbook pro 13 inch later on. Or should I buy an ipad and just keep my macbook? I am currently in grad school, so I don't know if the ipad is a tool that I can utilize for class. I don't use facebook or any social network medium either. If I don't go for the ipad I would also just get a kindle since I do read many books. I really don't want both. So here are my options.

1. Buy a kindle now, and save for up a macbook pro in 6-10 months
2. Just buy an ipad 2 and use my other devices till they burn out

Any advice or opinions would be great!

Click to expand...

The iPad/iPad 2 is absolutely a device that can be used in class.

Think of it this way: you already have a 13" MacBook. You are familiar with Apple's technology and functionality in this form, and upgrading to a MacBook Pro will only provide you with a further enhanced version of this very experience. More power and better specifications, but the same great Apple experience overall. This is assuming that you currently run OS X Snow Leopard on your '07 MB. You're not going to notice aesthetic or interface changes if this is the case, which in all honesty plays a major role in the 'excitement factor' when it comes to upgrading (at least for me, that is).

The iPad, on the other hand, will provide you with a different experience. As someone else had mentioned earlier on in this thread, think of it as a large iPod Touch with more flexibility. The size of the screen is large enough to more than effectively complete tasks such as browsing the internet, shooting off e-mail, and typing on the keyboard without making major mistakes (particularly true when using in landscape mode). Are you going to have all of the functionality that one would have disposable to them while using OS X? No, of course not. iOS however does provide the user with the functionality required to do as they wish. And, if not, there is always an app for whatever may be missing. There is almost always an iOS equivalent in the App Store.

The Kindle is fantastic... but the iPad is a different beast. You are not limited in terms of what you can do.

I'm a new IPad owner. This is my first Apple product.

I got the IPad because of a special offer that was actually paying for the purchase (minus the upgrade I got for going with a 3g). I figured it was time to try something Apple and I have been wanting to replace a netbook I had that has outlived its usefulness due to an unsupported Linux version (yes I have installed another version of Linux).

I've been disappointed about the capabilities of the machine. I would advise that if you need a computer and want something small to find a netbook that you can use.

As I see it, the IPad is mostly intended as a toy that can go onto the internet, play music, and take pictures. I would not consider it as a replacement for any laptop that is used for work.

I'm not saying it is not a very neat little toy. I'm about to go on vacation and will be taking it instead of my laptop. Its main problem for me is that it has no port to plug a thumb drive or camera memory into

Like I said, I'm very new to the IPad, hopefully I will find aps that will change my mind. As of this moment I'm thinking I'd have been better off to spend $250.00 on a netbook.