For more than a year, I regularly receive the question: it is worth buying an iPad tablet instead of a laptop? The answer to this question is very complicated and I will not take the approach of journalists who think they are so smart that they can tell the world what to do, but I will tell you what my opinion is on this subject and you, the consumers, will make up your own mind . I consider that a decision of this kind is extremely subjective and is based on everyone's needs, not on the recommendation of a website/blog, because no one knows better than you the reasons underlying the purchase of a product of this kind. In this idea, everything you will read below is a subjective approach to the problem and not an ode dedicated to the purchase of an iPad tablet instead of a laptop.
Returning to the subject, I will tell you that for me the iPad tablet is a mobile terminal that I use to surf the Internet, to play various games, to possibly watch a video clip or a movie, to read a book, to read emails and that's it. For me, the iPad tablet is the backup device I use to work, when the laptop runs out of battery or when I find myself in a situation where I can't use the laptop to write on the blog. I have never used the iPad tablet instead of the laptop and I will never use it if iOS remains its operating system.
The iPad tablet has a limited iOS that does not allow me to work as fast as a laptop, the iPad tablet has an iOS that does not have the same applications/functions as the operating system of a laptop and everyone knows this. The touchscreen will not, in my opinion, replace the mouse and replacing the functionality of a mouse with that of a touchscreen will halve anyone's productivity. If we also take into account the fact that in iOS you cannot open several windows at the same time and switching from one application to another requires either swipes or opening the task switcher, then the decision is clear. Should I bring up the fact that in iOS you can't open anything and in Safari you can only open a limited number of tabs?
The iPad tablet is a good device for those who surf the Internet, read a book, play games (in the case of regular users), but we must not forget that it has many applications in the educational field, in the business field, in the medical field or in the military field. Is the iPad tablet a laptop replacement? For me it will never be because it would mean giving up: a large screen, a comfortable keyboard, a useful mouse, an open operating system that provides me with everything I need immediately, the possibility of viewing anything kind of information, to the ability to transfer files at any time without problems, and the list can go on.
You will probably ask why the iPad tablet is selling so well and laptop sales are falling. Well, the answer is simple: consumers need a simple, portable device that can quickly perform simple functions. Most consumers do not want to download files from the web, edit pictures/videos, watch any kind of movies, or do complex things on an iPad tablet. Most users need a lightweight device that can quickly open their web pages, load their emails, play an Apple-approved movie and that's about it. Most users do not need a laptop if they do not use it to work on it, and in this case the iPad tablet is probably the device worth buying.
In my case, the iPad tablet does not offer everything I need to work in optimal conditions and therefore I will not choose it instead of a laptop, but for an ordinary user who does not work on a laptop, the situation is different. Is the iPad tablet a substitute for a laptop in your case? Only you can decide that. Based on what I presented above, you can do a short introspection, you can list the reasons why you need one of the two products, you can list the functions they will fulfill and you will be able to make an informed, probably correct, decision.
Noway...the laptop is for work, the iPad for relaxation...
I have an iPad, but in the coming days I will also buy a laptop, so for me, just a tablet is not enough 🙂
@dpetruneac: What advantage does the touchscreen offer over a mouse when it comes to iOS or another operating system. I'm not referring here to scrolling or other nonsense, but to normal work, working with files, etc.
I don't know what you work on your laptop, but I only need it for Adobe applications: Dreamweaver, Photoshop, etc. If it weren't for these, I wouldn't need a laptop, the Nexus 7 is fantastic for almost any other task.
I bought the iPad for portability. work forces me to read a lot and I can't afford downtime on trains and other places without outlets. at the same time, I can't carry 100 kg of laptop with me wherever I go. therefore, for reading, taking notes, etc., I need an iPad. but for writing (something that all my work requires) I need a notebook. the ipad works for emails and jotting down ideas. writing long documents in it is excruciating. in addition, the editing capabilities of the applications are limited at best.
for entertainment it's about the same. if you want a complex game you won't be able to find it on idevices. the most complicated game I've seen (graphics) on ios is infinity blade 2... but the way of construction, movement, etc. is more than boring and I suspect that these are the limitations given by the tablet's hardware and software
I would be curious how you could work on 3D modeling applications such as catia or proeee on the ipad.
I don't feel the need for a laptop, the ipad meets all my needs.
It's a shame that I have to connect to the desktop for photo music and updates.
for me personally the laptop is completely useless. To work, I need a powerhorse, a powerful desktop with at least 2 large monitors, so the laptop is out of the question. To make a power match between a laptop and a desktop, I would probably have to pay twice as much and I wouldn't even be able to bring them to the same performance (cpu, memory, hdd, displays). In this context, the iPad is absolutely perfect as a desktop companion.
I have a desktop and an iPad.
I needed something comfortable and I chose iPad over a Macbook Air.
I needed something that was very portable.
The desktop is for work, the iPad for relaxation.
@Msnkid40: you only need to connect it to the socket. You buy music from iTunes (or do you want to say that you pirate?), you update them OTA (over the air via wifi - if you don't have one, you buy a router because it's cheaper than a PC/Mac) and if you don't have access at least with wifi on the tablet... it's kind of useless 😉
6 months ago I bought an ipad 2, I want to say that in the first 2-3 months it just seemed phenomenal, in those 2-3 months I don't think I opened the laptop twice, I could do many things on it, it was portable, the battery lasted me 2-8 hours of continuous use, etc...
But slowly over time I realized that it cannot replace the laptop, when I stay at home I don't even go near the laptop anymore, only when I go to work or somewhere else I take my iPad with me.
Working on an iPad, at least in my opinion, becomes tiring with time, limitations, not-so-performing hardware, weak applications, etc.
Apart from writing emails, surfing the net, watching some videos and a few minutes of gaming on the iPad, you can't do more.
For example, when gaming, you can't play for more than, say, an hour, you simply get bored on a touch screen, here it's not necessarily about an iPad, but it can't be compared to a mouse and a keyboard. And examples like this can keep going.
I didn't think I'd go back to the laptop, I actually have one that's quite powerful, especially for gaming, but I was already thinking of selling it, now that I've changed my mind, I realize that I can't do without it, so in my opinion I think a tablet is only good to use when you don't have a PC or a laptop.
Howdy,
I have been the owner of an ipad2 tablet for more than a year. When I bought it, I thought it was an accessory that could replace the need for a laptop when you are away on vacation. All I needed was a device on which to read news to listen to music, socializing, gaming, etc. After a period of time I thought of putting it "to work" to see what I can do with it instead of a laptop. I downloaded all kinds of networking applications and I want to I say that at the moment, with the help of VPN clients, I administer 3 large networks from important points/institutions. I use it both for remote desktop sessions and SSH, FTP, etc, etc. The VNC is at a great height and it practically being one of the utilities I use most often. I came to the conclusion that 70% of the time I can work very casually on it. It's easy to take out of the bag.. it starts instantly when you press a button, applications start quickly and all these things you can do them at absolutely any time from absolutely any place where there is 3G connectivity (which, unfortunately, with vodafone, it totally disappoints me when I'm not in a city).
The rest of the time, namely the 30% in which I cannot use it, are the times when the network infrastructure does not allow me to connect via VPN or the equipment that I want to access can no longer be accessed via the network, requiring a direct connection to them .I was thinking that (I didn't search but it might exist) an adapter from the ipad plug to an RJ45 or RS232 port would be ideal and then I think that in 90% proportion for me it would replace the laptop successfully.
As a conclusion, I can rely on it in the moments when I have to intervene quickly on the equipment and when using the laptop would be too difficult.
God forbid Daniel to hack, hey, how can we do something like that, we're just apple users, right? Far from us this time, especially from you....
@dpetruneac: If he patents them, it doesn't mean he has a product for them. The touchscreen is currently not easy to use for long periods of time. Why do you think there are all kinds of iPad keyboards? That it is difficult to write with the virtual keyboard. If it would have been easy to connect a mouse, there would have been products and they would have sold like hot cakes.
Sorry for off topic, but have the dubbing issues been resolved yet? I notice that they still appear like this...
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/5565/img0383.png
Offtopic, but important for Vodafone subscribers:
- I just had the unpleasant surprise of finding out that I will be charged for roaming internet, even though I have activated the much-promoted Roaming per day option (€3.99/day), for the simple reason that my voice subscription has UNLIMITED internet attached! This information not being available anywhere for the information of subscribers. I found out by accident now when I called *222 for requests.
So Vodafone continues to work hard!
I'm a musician, and I bought an iPad to view sheet music with the app called 4score. It goes super well. Since then I don't use the laptop anymore (I also sold it). I have a normal PC, an iMac, and an iPad 2…..Apart from music, I use the iPad for Facebook, surfing the net, messenger, games…..so I use PC and Mac only for work….and I no longer get viruses on computer :))
For me the macbook is a kind of media storage+Sync and for hardcore gaming there are consoles.
Yes, a very real and interesting topic. I own an iPhone 4s, an iPad 2 and a laptop.
If there was no function in cydia called Upload enabler and icloud for photos and others……probably we would never buy an ipad.
Upload enabler because I post a lot of ads and I need to post pictures and iCloud because.... The pictures look great on the ipad, otherwise for documents and document editing...laptop.
Tablet is good when it comes to big things... Facebook, yahoo, one or more online newspapers... Or every now and then a small game (games have evolved enormously on tablets). But when it comes to editing... Text, video, photo or other keys, a laptop or even a PC is necessary
it's very true what you all say... it depends on everyone's needs... for example with the money from an ipad 3 you can buy a very good laptop. But the advantage when you get an iPad is that it doesn't devalue so quickly that you can sell your iPad at a reasonable price even after 2 years
No matter how much I like the touch (the ones from Apple in the first place) I can't say that it can take the place of the mouse. After 12 years of holding the mouse in hand...it's hard to give it up. As long as there are PC games, the mouse will remain above all inventions for a long time to come.
Probably many of you have played a shooter on the console... how is it? how crazy is the control from the analog buttons? does it compare to the mouse? never! and when it comes to gaming (at least shooters), the mouse is above everything else when it comes to control.
In conclusion: I think that as long as PC shooters are released, the mouse will exist. The current mouse technology will probably undergo changes, but it will remain an indispensable peripheral for the PC.
Hello everyone, I own an iPhone 4, the new iPad, a laptop and a desktop....since I got my iPad, the laptop sits more on the right because I use the iPad for browsing, movies (you can see the hell out of it on the retina) , music and I also use it at university (medicine applications) and I use the laptop to download music, movies and sometimes to surf the net when I keep the iPad charged. So in conclusion, it's good to have an iPad and a laptop or desktop if you don't have a laptop :d
The laptop is slowly becoming a useless device. Currently, the best combination is desktop and tablet. Why? Simple: on the desktop the performance is much better (I don't think I need to convince anyone that it is so) and the tablet is the device that helps us stay online when we are not close to the desktop (at home or work). Even from a financial point of view, the desktop + tablet combination works well, a laptop with the performance of a desktop is very expensive.
Tablet at home and PC at work. Point!
very good article zaone, congratulations
@Dpetruneac:
1. When you hold your hand on the mouse, or on a touchpad separate from the screen, your visual field is not obstructed;
2. To travel the distance between 2 opposite corners of the display, you make some effort with your hand, while with a mouse, you move your palm 2 cm...
3. I think that the future must bring out something more than that, maybe operating with the help of thought, holographic or something like that... the touchscreen seems like a kind of foundation to me, if we stay with our fingers on the screen and shake our hands...
Lol hardcore gaming on the console, hardcore only on the PC, the consoles have pulled down the games and their evolution. How old is ps3?
I have both a mac and an ipad, 80% of my time is on the ipad or iphone, on the mac only when something more work is needed, not just entertainment and safari...
It's good to have both, to be honest... But if you have to choose, it's up to you how much you need a tablet or a Mac...
@mihaic
for direct connection to devices such as routers, switches, firewalls (CISCO, Juniper, etc.) you can use getconsole. It costs you something, but if that's your thing, then it's worth it.
maybe someone can tell me why you buy all kinds of i-devices and a lot of other ones, one of each of these when in Romania about 55% of the population is on the verge of poverty. us ordinary people who don't and I allow all kinds of things because from the minimum for the economy or 1000 lei because most employers do not give more) we cannot afford such a thing. we want the solution to have so much money because we Romanians will not afford it from honest work not once in 1000 years.
@Mario: I think you meant an Apple laptop with desktop performance *. For 3000 lei you can find a laptop with i7 and everything you want, only good for video editing, games, etc.
What laptop do you use? Apple? Or?
I don't mind you, but all your arguments are worth 2 bucks, honestly!
I would never give up my laptop/desktop in front of an iPad. When I need the internet or something, my iPhone is always at my disposal. Otherwise, it just sits on the desk next to the laptop without me touching it. I feel much freer to work or play on a computer and I think this is a pretty good reason not to give it up.
@34.octavian: I even bought an iPhone and an iPad from honest work! In fact, not exactly when I wanted - I had to wait, to save. And, not that I want to brag, but I'm now also ready for the new iPhone (of course, if it's worth it...) - also, from honest work. It is important where and how you find this honest work, because there are a lot of Romanians who work on salaries that will seem exaggerated to you...
But I think that, before asking yourself where the money that goes on iDevices comes from, you should ask yourself about the latest models of cars, houses, villas and land, businesses, etc...very dubious, from Romania... The iDevice price -'s is insignificant compared to these! But that's another story...
Returning to the topic: iPad - mobility, entertainment and minimal work; laptop – normal thing. Naturally, at the moment the iPad does not replace a laptop, but it has its advantages, many of us know them!
I find the iPad heavy, uncomfortable for reading or browsing for a long time and holding it with one hand. And the position of the head when reading on the iPad seems uncomfortable to me, my neck hurts after a while because I'm bent over.
I have an MBAir 11, it's as mobile as an iPad, you do anything on it, I keep it on my stomach when I'm lying in bed and read or surf, you never need a mouse with that trackpad. The only problem is that the battery dies in 3 hours.
@danmihaisturz: I have a dell, but I'm waiting for a macbook pro.