iPad or MBP?

Hi people, new to this forum.

I'm looking to almost entirely replace my laptop as i recently had an issue where half of the laptop's memory had to be removed! I would still use for certain things and storage. I am wondering about buying either an iPad or an MacBookPro, I'm not entirely sure which one to go for as i would need just the 16GB iPad and wi-fi only it would be considerably cheaper than a MBP. iCloud would allow me to get the files from my laptop storage and access them on an iPad to edit with maybe a wireless keyboard? What do you guys think and would you say i need a MBP over an iPad? I would be using mostly for social networking and to write university work.

Thanks for any help in advance

If you're not doing any photo editing, video editing, or processor intense work then you probably don't need a MBP.
Social networking and typing school papers can easily be accomplished with an iPad and bluetooth keyboard.

Thank you. What size would you recommend and also isit worth getting the 3? It seems that the Apple Store are only selling the 16GB of the iPad2.

An iPad is nowhere near a laptop replacement, and should not be looked at as such. The day will come when you need to do something that can not be done with your iPad, and you'll kick yourself.

Were I you, I'd get an 11" MacBook Air. This way you have great portability as well as a full OS and no downsides such as being able to network external hard drives. iCloud is pretty cool, but IMO it's not quite there yet in terms of being able to replace things like external drives. Especially where speed and convenience is concerned.

I like my iPad a lot, for what it does. But I don't think that using it for very long term use such as heavy word processing etc would be its best use.

Doug

Doug b said:

An iPad is nowhere near a laptop replacement, and should not be looked at as such. The day will come when you need to do something that can not be done with your iPad, and you'll kick yourself.

Were I you, I'd get an 11" MacBook Air. This way you have great portability as well as a full OS and no downsides such as being able to network external hard drives. iCloud is pretty cool, but IMO it's not quite there yet in terms of being able to replace things like external drives. Especially where speed and convenience is concerned.

I like my iPad a lot, for what it does. But I don't think that using it for very long term use such as heavy word processing etc would be its best use.

Doug

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Do you not think simply using a wireless keyboard would allow me to do enough with the iPad as you mentioned iCloud i will be able to use my laptop as the storage and still open the files on my iPad, is that an option? I realise that I may need something more out of my device in the future but i'd also hope that i'd have more money by then! haha

Well, I suppose that you could use iCloud.com or Dropbox for accessing files and such, but how convenient will that be to have to take those intermediary steps every single time? And yes, you'll be able to use the blutooth keyboard for typing, I was merely pointing out how it can also be inconvenient depending upon where you're sitting or where you WANT to sit or lay down.

Trust me, I've got an iPad and a keyboard for it, and it's not really the most elegant or comfortable solution for long term use. I think it's great in an office or classroom because you've got a desk, but at home it's nice to not have to sit at a desk all the time. It's also nice to go mobile and be able to type. Try that in different situations with the BT keyboard and iPad... good luck!

I suggest you go to an Apple Store and check both out.

Doug

Thankyou Doug.

Guess that's my only option. Little bit of trek but never mind.

Any other input will be greatly welcomed.

Toby

I have to agree with Doug. I have an iMac in my home office and a third generation 32 GB iPad with 4G. There is absolutely no way that I would recommend doing an entire school paper or any other project that requires a good bit of typing on an iPad.

I use Drop Box to exchange files between my iMac and iPad but only when it's necessary. Trying to edit a complex document on an iPad is a task. There are several nice programs for the iPad that open, save, and edit Office documents but none even come close to their Mac counterparts.

Buy a MacBook Air as Doug recommended or a 13" MacBook Pro. You'll be glad you did.

I have the first gen. IPAD and 2012 AIR.

Choosing only one, I'd go with the AIR.

IPAD is a great reading device. Much less suited to input (typing).

Macbook hit the ball out of the ballpark with the AIR. CNET did a review this week, and basically chose it over the Pro. Not an AIR vs PRO comparison, but hopefully some assistance.

Review: Apple MacBook Air 2012 (Core i5 1.8GHz, 4GB, 128GB, 13.3-inch LCD) - Notebooks - CNET Asia

If I were you I would go with a new laptop. It will last longer, and maintain a respectable amount of speed.
Ipad is a toy. Don't get me wrong I would love to have one, and It's can do some Great things. It's a toy! In two to three year it will be out dated, and slow. Just a fact. I have a G3 ibook that works great I still use the thing and it work great. I've seen Mac book Air's for as low as $850. and MBP's for $1,100. I also have a MBP and I love the thing. By time you get all the extra's for the Ipad Wireless keyboard, Mouse you will spend about the same amount of cash MacMall.com - MacBook Air Check this out.

I disagree strongly that the iPad is "a toy" and might direct you here as just one of MANY examples I could pull out:

About Writing Enough | Enough

With a bluetooth keyboard, and from a professional writer's perspective, I would say that an iPad is MORE than sufficient and yes I've written long-form work on one.

Is a notebook like the Air or the MBP a better choice? For quite a few, I'm sure it is. But I've had no trouble writing, creating presentations, making reports, editing photos and video on my iPad that was of pro quality. I think you are being more than a little cavalier in your assessment, presumably out of a lack of actual experience in trying to be productive with an iPad.

I agree with the general consensus that a notebook and an iPad + keyboard are not really comparable, but I am arguing with the idea that it's a passive consumerist toy. I think the engineers who worked so hard on getting it so "right the first time" would find that sentiment really quite offensive.

chas_m said:

I disagree strongly that the iPad is "a toy" and might direct you here as just one of MANY examples I could pull out:

About Writing Enough | Enough

With a bluetooth keyboard, and from a professional writer's perspective, I would say that an iPad is MORE than sufficient and yes I've written long-form work on one.

Is a notebook like the Air or the MBP a better choice? For quite a few, I'm sure it is. But I've had no trouble writing, creating presentations, making reports, editing photos and video on my iPad that was of pro quality. I think you are being more than a little cavalier in your assessment, presumably out of a lack of actual experience in trying to be productive with an iPad.

I agree with the general consensus that a notebook and an iPad + keyboard are not really comparable, but I am arguing with the idea that it's a passive consumerist toy. I think the engineers who worked so hard on getting it so "right the first time" would find that sentiment really quite offensive.

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"I especially wanted to challenge myself to use only the onscreen keyboard. Could I have worked faster using a physical keyboard? Perhaps. That said, I am likely more comfortable than most using the iPad software keyboard. I theorize that this is because I never learned how to touch type. I’m a fairly fast two-finger typist or, as I frequently say, hunt-and-pecker. This being said, I certainly cannot type as quickly on the onscreen keyboard as I can on a real keyboard. In this instance, I found this to be of benefit as the further effort spurred longer thought and greater attention to detail about what I was trying to say and thus, I hope, a better book."

I was not trying to down the product. As you can see from the article you directed me to it would be a "challenge" to use the Ipad as your "Main" computer for writing paper and so on."without a keyboard." The point I was making is the Ipad is not a Desktop or Laptop replacement. As fare as it being a "passive consumerist toy" Not yet but Apple is working on it. 1. Stop iSO updates for your two year old first gen. 2. A data Monster of a screen in your 3rd Gen. " I am not sure, can your change the pixel rate like a computer so you don't use up all your 4g data reading web pages?" Don't get me wrong I love Apple products, but with things like proprietary ram, and glued in battery. " New Retina MBP" Things have really changed! Start with a Laptop, and buy the Ipad when you get some extra cash.

Hey, you can even do full Flash on an iPad! A friend signed me up for a full cloud service called OnLive. You get a full windows desktop on your iPad and can run any Flash game or site full screen fast as can be as all the heavy lifting is being done on the server in the cloud. They have full Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point available there also. I am quite impressed how smooth and fast it all runs on my iPad 1 and 6Mbps internet.

I have a slightly different opinion as someone that does a lot of word processing. Keyboards are very personal. My personal opinion is that the apple wireless keyboard is very hard to work with. I was not able to adjust and I returned it. I was experiencing a bit of delay when I typed using the bluetooth connection. Fine for causal things, but I really did not like it for major typing projects. I use a MBA with the new logitech solar charging wireless usb connection and I love it. To my way of thinking it is vastly superior and cheaper to boot. It uses usb so you can't use it with an iPad I don't believe.

My personal opinion is that the apple wireless keyboard is very hard to work with.

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this. I'm a speed typist (I loved the old IBM clik clak keyboards) and just could not get used to the wireless Apple KB. I'm back to using the wired version.