Is an ipad for me or should i just get laptop

In_a_mess

I am looking to get a laptop but have also been looking at the Ipad/Ipad2. I basically want an Ipod and docking station for my music but now don't have a computer/laptop at all so need something to surf the internet.

My needs for a laptop are fairly basic and don't really need it for documents etc. I also like the idea of a docking station to play my music on (i see you can get these for IPAD). If I got a laptop I would then be saving for an Ipod to store my music and a docking station so wonder if the IPAD does eveything I need for less than the price of an IPOD and a laptop.

Need PC/IPAD for following:
* Surfing Internet
* Storing music (and hopefully playing it from that)
* Storing photos
* To be able to use Skype so that son can video call his dad

Thanks for any advice ??

System

i'm not the most knowledgeable on these but my 2p...
how much space do you require for photos/music - both devices can surf the web, but the ipad has a max of 64gb (the most expensive model)
a classic ipod is only 197 quid from apple and can hold 160gb!
i'm not sure if you can get an external storage drive for ipad (kinda defeats the purpose of it imo) but that would be an extra cost.
a basic netbook would do the job you want or if you prefer a bigger screen, a low end laptop, have a look in the sub -350 quid thread - if you had a laptop the music would be on that so you wouldn't have the need for a docking station to play the music

In_a_mess

Thanks.
I guess in terms of space - I already have an 80GB external hard drive with all songs/photos and some Nintendo DS games on that I am using for the time being and it is barely a quarter full.
If I went for a laptop or netbook what should I be looking for in terms of spec. Processor, RAM and Hard drive. I don't want it to take three weeks to buy something on Ebay because the system is so slow.(OK maybe an exaggeration but you get the idea)

buglawton

Ironically, you still need a real Windows or Apple computer in order to manage Apple's iDevices - e.g. to back up or restore your iThing photos/music and even to activate an iPhone.

So a household without one complete computer is still a no-no IMHO.

defairmans

Yeah, they don't tell you that you need to hook your IPad up to a PC before you can even use it.

I wouldn't be without my IPad now, though.

robmar0se

Agree with the last 2 paosters.

Have a look at the Toshiba nb550d and the Acer One d225, both come with Windows 7 starter, Intel Atom 1.5GHz (the tosh uses the AMD 1GHz cpu), 1gb RAM & 250gb hdd - disadantages of Netbooks is that you don't have a cd/dvd drive, but plenty of USB slots, sometimes you may need to get music off a cd/dvd, in which case you would need to supplemment the netbook with a USB dvd/cd drive, or get a friend to put it on a USB pen drive.

The other thing I am frustated about with netbooks, they nearly all come with 1gb RAM and only one Dimm slot, I have found it necessary to replace the RAM with the max 2gb RAM stick - however RAM is quite cheap at the moment. (circa £12)

The screen size is pretty much the same as the ipad.

In_a_mess

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far. So an IPAD is a waste of money unless I have a laptop as well. I will go on the hunt for a bargain netbook or laptop.

robt_2

buglawton wrote: »

Ironically, you still need a real Windows or Apple computer in order to manage Apple's iDevices - e.g. to back up or restore your iThing photos/music and even to activate an iPhone.

So a household without one complete computer is still a no-no IMHO.

You won't do within the next month when iOS5 is released.

Chorlie

An iPad is not a Laptop replacement, it's more of a companion.

If you haven't already got a Laptop / PC, you need to be buying a Laptop / PC (or maybe at a push a Netbook).

In_a_mess

Sorry - I don't even know what an iOS5 is and what it does.

Chorlie

In_a_mess wrote: »

Sorry - I don't even know what an iOS5 is and what it does.

iOS5 is going to be the new Apple (iPad/iPhone) operating system.

It's rumoured to be cloud based, so you can back-up and download from the cloud (cloud is just the Internet), but I still feel you'll only get the full use of a i-Device if you also have a Laptop / PC, that way you can copy your own music, photos, files etc.