Would an iPad be good for me.?

[Palamino]

Would an iPad be good for me.?
I currently don't have a laptop, but i do have a desktop computer and an iPod touch. I have read a bunch of reviews, and most of them say that they barely use their laptops anymore. Most people say they just use their laptops to print, and write long documents. Printing is coming in ios 4.2, I wont be getting the iPad until Christmas, so it will already have multitasking and printing built in. I am currently in 9th grade, and i mainly use my moms laptop for reading articles online, and lite document typing. I would also get the Bluetooth keyboard for typing documents that i need. I would also take it to school for typing documents on the pages app during study hall. It would be much easier to carry around then a laptop being light and thin. I have also tried the virtual keyboard and I type pretty good on it, maybe a little bit slower then i would on a physical keyboard. Then at home, i can finish up the document on the Bluetooth keyboard. Does this sound better than a laptop. Lighter, smaller,almost the same typing speed, and quickly turning it on and off and opening different apps.

[vesseblah]

If you're fine with typing on the iPad or external keyboard, then yes, iPad is probably better for you than regular laptop for battery life and size/weight reasons. One important thing to keep in mind is that iPad is meant for reading and watching mainly, if you need computer for writing, there are better choices available.

It will have some downsides in school use like being unable to hook into external monitor/projector, possibly unable to access intranet pages that requires certain kind of browser and so on.

[Aminozuur]

Well do you want to play real games if you moving like you can only with a laptop?. Then get a laptop if your just Trolling on the internet and maybe typing something here and there get a ipad. Idk what study your doing but sometimes a virtual keyboard is not fast enough for typing (Atleast for me) and about the lighther well a laptop is more powerfull then a ipad, a laptop isnt that much bigger (you have 10 inch out there). For the quick turning on well those 5-10sec windows needs to start up out off standby isnt that much off a deal. Or get a macbook air small, light,fast boot, better speed, physical keyboard , but overpriced ( flamewar)

[Wardonis]

Its made by apple, it needs to be burned

User was infracted for this post.

[Badpaladin]

No, you don't need one if you're in the 9th grade. College is a completely different situation, but in 9th grade it's nothing but a novelty item. Get a cheapo laptop for now and wait until college to get a tablet (and by then they'll be RIDICULOUSLY good and nowhere near as limiting as they are now).

And for the record, most of those reviews are shamelessly fanboy reviews. It's aboslutely undeniable that Apple makes great products, and the iPad 2 is currently the best tablet out there, but the fanbase could definitely use some work.

[Brett Skullcrack]

It will have some downsides in school use like being unable to hook into external monitor/projector, possibly unable to access intranet pages that requires certain kind of browser and so on.

You can hook it into a monitor/projector. Anyone creating intranet pages that requires a certain kind of browser today needs to get fired.

Mod edit: Don't report your own posts and claim "copyright infringement". Anything you post on a public forum is public domain. On top of this, you have the right to edit your own text. - Cilraaz

[Fuzzykins]

You can hook it into a monitor/projector. Anyone creating intranet pages that requires a certain kind of browser today needs to get fired.

Oh really?
Can you grasp the time required in programming CSS because your potential traffic can't update their version of firefox?
I've recoded full websites because a single customer was still using IE6, just because my boss believed it was essential to better customer service. I don't code my websites to be mobile friendly, sorry.

[Brett Skullcrack]

Oh really?
Can you grasp the time required in programming CSS because your potential traffic can't update their version of firefox? I've recoded full websites because a single customer was still using IE6, just because my boss believed it was essential to better customer service. I don't code my websites to be mobile friendly, sorry.

Yes, really. You stick to a standard and it's not your problem someone is using a non-standard's compliant browser. If your boss decided to create a custom website just because one customer uses IE6 he should be fired too. He should have either told the idiots to upgrade to a browser that is not only standards compliant but also not riddles with security holes, or just dropped them since on the long run clueless customers like that will bleed you dry. Also, lulz @ you for thinking CSS is programming.

[Cptpoot]

Oh really?
Can you grasp the time required in programming CSS because your potential traffic can't update their version of firefox?
I've recoded full websites because a single customer was still using IE6, just because my boss believed it was essential to better customer service. I don't code my websites to be mobile friendly, sorry.

A few things to note here: the iPads browser is more like the desktop version of Safari than the phone version. The biggest major difference is obviously Flash, and using flash for a design element is, not common or good practice.

Coding to be "Mobile Friendly" and coding specifically for mobile are two different (yet very similar) things. You should always be sure a page you create runs well in a mobile browser, even if it isn't formatted specifically for a phone. That is, if it's consumer facing.

Anyways, my point is don't just neglect mobile. Mobile traffic is growing by staggering numbers year-over-year... wouldn't you rather be ahead of the curve anyways?

Answer to OP: If you are looking at 500 dollar netbook and a 500 dollar ipad, and don't require that much storage. I would go for it. The user experience is pretty great on the iPad and it does have a lot of sort of fun time-killing games... more than a netbook probably at this point... unless your into DOS emulation and stuff.

[ispano]

Yes, really. You stick to a standard and it's not your problem someone is using a non-standard's compliant browser. If your boss decided to create a custom website just because one customer uses IE6 he should be fired too. He should have either told the idiots to upgrade to a browser that is not only standards compliant but also not riddles with security holes, or just dropped them since on the long run clueless customers like that will bleed you dry. Also, lulz @ you for thinking CSS is programming.

One person I can agree. But try telling that to the MANY people/companies STILL using IE6.

[Deleted]

The iPad is convenient, but I honestly use my laptop way more.
The iPad is nice when you just want to couch-surf in the net, yet it's still fucking annoying that it doesn't support flash.
I still love my iPad, but if you're standing between getting a laptop or iPad, I'd get a laptop.

[Fuzzykins]

Until an easier standard comes out for mobile browsing, I'll continue to code explicitly for the latest browsers.
He's not creating a custom website.
Style sheets and websites are two full different things.

[AetherMcLoud]

Any sufficiently well developed CSS layout will display fine, with a few or major trade-offs (like no animations, no rounded edges, etc.), in IE6. Yes it's a bad browser, but it still can display basic CSS. If you website suddenly explodes, doesn't display any content at all, or stuff like that, the problem is not the clients' browser, the problem is your CSS/javascript code.

[llDemonll]

Why do you even need a laptop / tablet if you're in school? Schools always have computer labs you can work in, this sounds more like you want it as a fashion statement / cool device thing than a practical device. If you actually need it, get an iPad over the laptop and get a bluetooth keyboard for it, but I think it'll be more of a distraction than anything

[Trippny]

DO NOT GET IPAD 2

Ipad 3 coming out at the end of this year, save your money and get the upgrade...if you plan on getting one at all.

[Brayden]

Or just get a galaxy tab or better the xoom or wait for xoom 2 next month( i think i might be wrong). the Android browser is more compliant with html5 standards supports flash player.

[Aliessil]

If you've already got a desktop computer, I'd definitely recommend the iPad. If it's your sole computer, I'd probably go for the laptop.

As to the bluetooth keyboard - unless you're writing pages and pages of stuff at a time, I don't think it's necessary. The only time I'd bother was if I needed the screen space, or was writing enough that using the iPad for that length of time would hurt my neck.

[Spl4sh3r]

I don't see why you have to type at all with an iPad, isn't there an app where you can write with the touch thing directly, as if you were writing on a piece of paper? Atleast I saw one of my school mates do that during math class.

[Plasmon]

For the description of intended usage in the original post, I'd recommend a Netbook over a tablet. You can run any regular program on a netbook like a regular laptop, use the internet like a regular laptop (and with Flash [apple fail]), wifi and ethernet port, monitor out port (mine is VGA but newer ones might be HDMI) you've got a keyboard, 10 inch monitor, built in webcam and mic, ports for headphones and external mic, multiple USB ports, long battery life if you pick a model that has a decent battery, uses windows 7, can use office software and you can use it to do school powerpoint presentations, spreadsheet calculations, write reports or take notes easily, ability to print, can play casual (or old) games that work fine on integrated graphics, etc. It's basically a laptop lite, and they go for a great price ($250-$400 is the typical range). It doesn't really have many of the limitations of an iPad and it's not a whole lot bigger either, much more compact than a laptop.
My Netbook is a couple years old now, but I paid $330, it has windows 7 and all the things I described, and my battery lasts for over 9 hours. (MSI Wind with a 9-cell). I'd much rather have a netbook then to spend $500 on an iPad that can't do what my netbook can do. I don't care about these gimmicky "apps", and netbooks can run (FREE) PC versions of those things anyways as regular programs, browser extensions, windows 7 sidebar gadgets, etc

[Deleted]

DO NOT GET IPAD 2

Ipad 3 coming out at the end of this year, save your money and get the upgrade...if you plan on getting one at all.

Says your magic timemachine or what? Apple has given no such info, they didn't even release anything about an upcomming iPhone so stop spreading misinformation.