ipad or 11 inch macbook air

[Anonymous]

i have a desktop at home that i use + an 8 year old laptop that is not particularly functional at this point. was thinking of an ipad as a second device for email/pictures/web primarily. just saw the macbook air though and now rethinking since i can also really do work on that as well. also won't have to pay $20/month for the ipad although i suppose i then have the same issue of needing to find a wireless connection when i'm not home. have an elementary age son who would use it too.

anyone have the tiny macbook air?

[Anonymous]

I would get an iPad for a child but it being mine for the apps/games and for reading/fun but I find ours real pain for email, message boards and major typing. Its probably a learned skill and I don't have it. I'd get a Mac Book Pro - we have two and love them. I wanted an Air but the store said the Pro was a better value when you look at the price/specs. I also like a 13 inch. 11 inch is too small and 15 inch too big.

[Anonymous]

Oh, you can set the iPad to your internet and not pay the plan. We got the ATT iPad so if we travel or the internet is down, you can buy it for a month but the cost vs. download time is very limited and you go through it very quickly. Its worth it for a quick email check but that's about it.

[Anonymous]

penguinsix wrote:If this is a second machine and you don't envision using it much for 'creating' content than I'd steer you to the cheaper iPad over the MBA. The MBA is a very incredible device, but it's probably overkill for picture browsing, web, email. It's definitely overkill for your son who will probably end up breaking a few keys or scratching it in the course of normal wear and tear.

I don't have the 3G option for my iPad because it's really not worth it. Not only am I normally near a wifi (or can find an open wifi) but if worse comes to worse I just tether to my iPhone via the network sharing. Not sure how much that costs in the US as an option but most iPhone / Android phones now have that capability.

I have and LOVE my macbook air. I also have an ipad. I use the ipad maybe 2x a week. The macbook air is actually lighter and sturdier. I am okay with the touchscreen keyboard but if I were using my ipad for email all of the time i'd go nuts. The ipad is nice and I know there are productivity aps (I use some of them) but I just don't think it is a computer replacement. BTW, the macbook pro vs. the ipad for sturdyness? MBA wins this hands down. the ipad is like a giant glass knick-knack waiting to shatter. A colleague of mine basically set hers down too hard and broke it. And it had a cover, too.

I like both devices, but I LOVE my macbook Air. I have never regretted getting it.

[Anonymous]

I agonized over that same decision for months. I ultimately decided to go with the 11 inch MBA because overall it seemed more practical, and I wanted full word processing capabilities. My view at the time was that the iPad was really primarily for entertainment purposes and I really couldn't justify buying myself another toy. Once I received my MBA, I was very pleased with it, and I still am. It is so small, weighs next to nothing, and starts up amazingly fast - literally in seconds!

BUT ... One thing that I did not realize (notwithstanding all of my research) is that the App store for the iPad and the one for the MAC are NOT the same. I realize that I should have been able to figure this out beforehand ... but I didn't. Plus the number and variety of Apps available for Mac vs iPad just doesn't compare. One day I am sure the Mac store will catch up, but it is not there yet.

So fast forward a wee bit and I ended up buying an iPad. Turns out I really did want all of those entertainment features after all. Plus, there were lots of educational and fun kid apps that my son had been exposed to through another family member, and having those available made our frequent travel much more pleasant.

I use both devices fairly frequently, but I have logged more hours on the iPad the past few weeks. I only have WiFi, but it hasn't been a problem - even internationally. And I don't have an extra keyboard for the iPad. I have gotten very comfortable with the touch screen keyboard. And that is the device that I am using now to type this. On our recent vacation, I took both devices. They are both so easy to travel with that it was no burden at all to do so. I took the MBA because I needed to be able to do some work and log into my work network, and I also have an air card that could be used when necessary.

Bottom line: Obviously, I did not really need to have both of them, but I truly love having both of them. If the MBA app store had been the equal of the one for iPad, I would never have considered getting the second device. But now that I do have it, I see that it has lots of bells and whistles that make it worthwhile, and both devices excel in different areas. They can also both fit in my purse - at the same time!