Is an ipad a replacement for a laptop?
Discussion
Randomthoughts said:
Like comparing the Fiat 500 Tributo Ferrari thing to a real one.
Genuine LOL. I see... Just cannot make my mind up. An extra £200-300 in my pocket would be real nice. I don't use a laptop for anything else but heavy internet usage.
But... Faffing about with a wireless keyboard is a bit rubbish... Cannot make my mind up!!!
te you install on it. £300 from any of the respectable web outlets should see you a good bit of kit.I was given an iPad last year as a gift. It had never been something I wanted but I found I was using it a lot for web browsing, email, ebooks and games.
I just started a business and thought I would use the iPad instead of getting a laptop or desktop. The iPad drives me insane. Using it for word processing and spreadsheets I find slow and difficult. Downloading and storing documents is not intuitive. It doesn't have a USB port so information supplied on a stick I have to download on another computer and email across to the iPad.
However, this may be because I am not proficient in using all the iPad functionality or haven't downloaded all the apps to make these things easier.
Anyway, I just bought a MacBook Air and it does everything well. And incredibly light to carry around or use on your lap. They also have a decent residual value if you decide to change it for something else.
Get into an Apple Store or Reseller and take a look at both and work out what you are going to use it for and what works best for you.
I just started a business and thought I would use the iPad instead of getting a laptop or desktop. The iPad drives me insane. Using it for word processing and spreadsheets I find slow and difficult. Downloading and storing documents is not intuitive. It doesn't have a USB port so information supplied on a stick I have to download on another computer and email across to the iPad.
However, this may be because I am not proficient in using all the iPad functionality or haven't downloaded all the apps to make these things easier.
Anyway, I just bought a MacBook Air and it does everything well. And incredibly light to carry around or use on your lap. They also have a decent residual value if you decide to change it for something else.
Get into an Apple Store or Reseller and take a look at both and work out what you are going to use it for and what works best for you.
I think iPads are a great idea just to pick up around the house etc and have a browse on the web, social media. If you were doing work on word/pages or excel/numbers then I think a MacBook is 100% better and quicker. As mentioned above, it is really dependant on what you are planning on using you iPad for?
I went for the MacBook Air but i'm also thinking of getting an iPad only because I use my MacBook generally for work whereas the iPad will be more of an everyday carry.
I went for the MacBook Air but i'm also thinking of getting an iPad only because I use my MacBook generally for work whereas the iPad will be more of an everyday carry.
As mentioned, it depends on useage. I use my iPad 2 daily. My PC hardly ever gets turned on but now and then I use it for music, storing photo's, typing up letters when not at work, making MP3 CD's, etc.
I'm off to the States in a couple of weeks and I'm thinking of upgrading to the iPad Air. I don't need to but at over £100 saving, it gets used often enough to justify. I could also recover some of that by selling the 2. I'm not thinking of upgrading my desktop despite it being about 6 years old! For the use it gets, I can put up with it being old and slow.
I'm off to the States in a couple of weeks and I'm thinking of upgrading to the iPad Air. I don't need to but at over £100 saving, it gets used often enough to justify. I could also recover some of that by selling the 2. I'm not thinking of upgrading my desktop despite it being about 6 years old! For the use it gets, I can put up with it being old and slow.
If its for surfing and only typing for 10% of the time.
Consider an anker keyboard for iPad.
I have one and its a nice piece of kit.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=...
Although I do want an ultrabook/pad too as I want a mini laptop for day to day use in my job as even now I find the macbook pro 13" a bit too big, plus thats my personal laptop, I want a mini work one I can throw around instead.
Consider an anker keyboard for iPad.
I have one and its a nice piece of kit.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=...
Although I do want an ultrabook/pad too as I want a mini laptop for day to day use in my job as even now I find the macbook pro 13" a bit too big, plus thats my personal laptop, I want a mini work one I can throw around instead.
I've gone full circle now, pc to laptop, laptop to ipad and back to a pc again (Dell XPS27).
As backup I've got a cheapy Dell Win 8 laptop with Start8 and a 128g ssd, it's incredibly fast and versatile.
The iPad is currently gathering dust, although to be fair it's a 2nd generation and has got slower and slower with each ios update.
As backup I've got a cheapy Dell Win 8 laptop with Start8 and a 128g ssd, it's incredibly fast and versatile.
The iPad is currently gathering dust, although to be fair it's a 2nd generation and has got slower and slower with each ios update.
For use as a laptop replacement the lack of ability to use a mouse is a failing.
Apple allow for external keyboards, why not a mouse.
If you're after a tablet to replace a laptop then maybe take a look at an Android equivalent, especially the Galaxy 10.1 or 12.2 models. With these you can run an external keyboard and mouse.
For general duties, email, browsing, editting office documents etc then they could certainly replace a laptop.
Apple allow for external keyboards, why not a mouse.
If you're after a tablet to replace a laptop then maybe take a look at an Android equivalent, especially the Galaxy 10.1 or 12.2 models. With these you can run an external keyboard and mouse.
For general duties, email, browsing, editting office documents etc then they could certainly replace a laptop.
Even when Jobs first unveiled the iPad it was always positioned as the 'third device'. I read an interesting article on Linkedin this morning that actually covered this exact topic, including the statement that once you have one, you don't need or use it as much as you thought you would. That's certainly true in my case. It's also a bit of a faff keeping stuff synced across so many devices and I rarely use my tablet and if I do it's most likely to be for reading or incidental web-browsing rather than anything productive.
What's interesting is the rise of the 'phablet'. It offers everything your phone does with the larger screen of a tablet. I will ALWAYS have my phone with me but often leave the tablet at home; who wants to carry two devices? My phone now has a 5" screen and my tablet (Nexus 7) has a 7". The reality is that I can do everything on the phone that I can on the tablet, albeit with slightly less screen real estate. The sound quality of the phone is also superior to the N7 for multimedia use.
Apple sold 35.2m iPhones last quarter, an increase of 12%. In contrast, iPad sales are down and have been declining since Q1'14. The same period last year they sold 14.6m iPads compared with 13.3m this year. Android tablet sales are declining too, it's not just Apple.
I do wonder whether a 5-6" phablet is the sweet-spot - all the functions (including being connected, one of the frustrations with my N7 is having to either find wi-fi or use the hotspot on my phone....by which point I may as well have used the phone...) and none of the downsides.
As it was envisaged, tablets were never meant to replace laptops. However Microsoft's Surface might just be the 'dark horse' combining laptop functionality with tablet portability. Still not convinced on this 'one OS, all platforms' from an end-user perspective though, but I can see why it's appealing to developers. FWIW, I don't have a Microsoft phone or tablet and if I ever get to the point of wiping and reinstalling my laptop, I'll be downgrading to Windows 7 on it as 8 still does enough to annoy me (it's slowed down enormously since the early days on a machine with an i7-4700 with 12Gb of memory!).
What's interesting is the rise of the 'phablet'. It offers everything your phone does with the larger screen of a tablet. I will ALWAYS have my phone with me but often leave the tablet at home; who wants to carry two devices? My phone now has a 5" screen and my tablet (Nexus 7) has a 7". The reality is that I can do everything on the phone that I can on the tablet, albeit with slightly less screen real estate. The sound quality of the phone is also superior to the N7 for multimedia use.
Apple sold 35.2m iPhones last quarter, an increase of 12%. In contrast, iPad sales are down and have been declining since Q1'14. The same period last year they sold 14.6m iPads compared with 13.3m this year. Android tablet sales are declining too, it's not just Apple.
I do wonder whether a 5-6" phablet is the sweet-spot - all the functions (including being connected, one of the frustrations with my N7 is having to either find wi-fi or use the hotspot on my phone....by which point I may as well have used the phone...) and none of the downsides.
As it was envisaged, tablets were never meant to replace laptops. However Microsoft's Surface might just be the 'dark horse' combining laptop functionality with tablet portability. Still not convinced on this 'one OS, all platforms' from an end-user perspective though, but I can see why it's appealing to developers. FWIW, I don't have a Microsoft phone or tablet and if I ever get to the point of wiping and reinstalling my laptop, I'll be downgrading to Windows 7 on it as 8 still does enough to annoy me (it's slowed down enormously since the early days on a machine with an i7-4700 with 12Gb of memory!).
Funk said:
Apple sold 35.2m iPhones last quarter, an increase of 12%. In contrast, iPad sales are down and have been declining since Q1'14. The same period last year they sold 14.6m iPads compared with 13.3m this year. Android tablet sales are declining too, it's not just Apple.
Wouldn't you just put this down to market saturation? People are quite happy to change their phones often as the vast majority never foot the upfront cost due to taking out two year contracts. When the two years is up they 'upgrade' to the latest shiny must have phone for a small upfront outlay.
Tablets are a different market IMO. Splashing out £300/£400+ for a tablet and people are going to keep them until they are of no use, as they would a PC. I'm not surprised that sales are slowing to be honest.
See- now I am leaning more towards a Mac Air! Seems silly in a way and in another way makes perfect sense.
The Ipad appears to be a compromise but is just so much cheaper... I need to take a look a both of them. Don't really know whether a mac 'genius' could really help me any more than you guys have but I could always ask...
The Ipad appears to be a compromise but is just so much cheaper... I need to take a look a both of them. Don't really know whether a mac 'genius' could really help me any more than you guys have but I could always ask...
Leicesterdave said:
90% of my time is spent online. I spend the majority of my time on youtube, various motoring forums and replying to emails.
The other 10% is word processing- but I'm thinking I'd use my battered old laptop for that. I just hope in practice, an Ipad is as good as I hope it'll be.
Have you looked into chromebooks?The other 10% is word processing- but I'm thinking I'd use my battered old laptop for that. I just hope in practice, an Ipad is as good as I hope it'll be.
Much better suited for this imho.
Oh, don't get put off by the low price, they're great.
ZesPak said:
Have you looked into chromebooks?
Much better suited for this imho.
Oh, don't get put off by the low price, they're great.
My priority is something that works well, and is fast- doesn't get bogged down in a matter of weeks and needs binning after a year. Does a chromebook fit that criteria?Much better suited for this imho.
Oh, don't get put off by the low price, they're great.
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