Dear I Want Apples, can you say more about what those "few exceptions" are? What can't you do on the iPad that you would be able to do on a laptop? I already know you can't use discs at all because there is no disc drive. I am fine with that. What else would I not be able to do?
I am asking because this is Decision Week for me: deciding between a MacBookPro and no iPad, or an iMac with an iPad for portability. Any clues appreciated.
Hello,
I'm going to try and answer your question as best I can. For the most part, the iPad can do just about anything you can do on a computer. Of course, you won't be able to do flash, do anything with discs (as you mentioned) etc, but for the most part it does everything very well. As someone else mentioned, for word processing, the iPad isn't ideal. If you get a keyboard it would make it a little easier, but still, the lack of a mouse makes it hard. I love to use the iPad anytime I need to do some quick surfing, want to play games, watch movies, etc. it is perfect for all of that. I never turn my computer on over the weekend anymore and there are days I could get by without using the computer as well. After two or three days with using just the iPad, then I will usually turn on the computer to catch up on a few things I wasn't able to do with the iPad (there are a few sites I use that don't work as well on the iPad) and it is also just nice to have a computer for the ease of getting around. The iPad does what it is supposed to do as good as it possibly can. It is just some times I feel like having a real keyboard and mouse to get around, multi-task, etc. a lot easier.
If I were in your shoes and trying to make this decision, I definitely think I would go with the iMac/iPad option... actually, that is kind of what I'm thinking of doing myself since I already have part one complete
I have been a laptop user for many years, I always wanted the option to take my computer with me if I needed it, however, I realized that I didn't need to take it with me as often as I thought (especially with smartphones now) and more importantly, because I was using my laptop as a desktop replacement at home, it wasn't as portable as I would have liked. So, it usually ended up staying at home. After going through two laptops in a rather short period of time I have decided I'm done with them. They are nice, but I just didn't use them as I intended and to be honest, now that I have the iPad, what I would have used the laptop for really isn't necessary. As I mentioned, I still like the option of being able to get on a computer when I need to (I don't think I could live without one for very long... limited periods of time the iPad works great, but for too long I don't know if I could handle it) so the iMac is the best option for me. I bought a Netbook shortly before the iPad and I never use it now because there really is no reason to use it over the iPad and my laptops are so much bigger than there is no reason to use them. So personally, I feel the iPad/iMac option is the best just because you can have everything covered.
That being said, it will depend a lot on what you are wanting to use a laptop for. You need to look over your uses and decide what is going to work better. If you are going to do a lot of word processing, photo/video editing, need to view flash websites, will be building websites, etc. then the iPad may not be the best option. If the iPad can do everything you will be needing, then I think it will work best just because it can do so many things and be a productive item as well as a fun little toy
If you do decide to go with the iMac/iPad option, you will probably need a few accessories to make the iPad a little easier to use in place of a laptop. The two biggest, in my opinion, are a keyboard (you have the keyboard dock which is nice but kind of expensive since it only has one use, the regular apple keyboard, which you can get with the Mac and just use it for both products if that works for you, as well as third party options) and a really good case. I'm looking to get something like the ZooGue case just because it has so many different positions that I think I could set it up for any use and make it so it is just like a laptop. There are also some cases coming out with a keyboard built in, I have only read reviews on one and they weren't very good, so I don't know if better ones will be coming. But, that would be the most like a laptop for you, but I'm thinking, for myself, getting a keyboard and case separate I will have so many different options I should be able to figure out the best combo for me.
Hope this helps. Good luck with your decision and enjoy your new toys!!!
