Ipad V laptop

NewKittenHelp

daisiegg wrote: »

He wouldn't be able to do homework (beyond browsing the web for research) on an iPad. I have an iPad and love it for browsing, email, Facebook, apps - but it's useless for anything beyond that. Do you have a family PC he can access for homework? I'm sure you have thought about it but I'd think carefully about a child of that age having their own Internet device...would you supervise all Internet access and not allow him to have it in his room at night etc?

Are you sure you have an iPad? I manage to work on mine perfectly well and it's a bit more advanced than some school homework. If typing on screen is a problem then you can buy a keyboard for it.

lostinrates

FATBALLZ wrote: »

An iPad is basically a laptop with far less functionality and a higher price tag. Although it is more fashionable which is the only reason anyone buys one.

It has certain beenfits for me, in that it is dramamtically lighter and more portable, which on my less mobile days really makes a huge dofference. It has become a valuable tool, but by no means an essential one.

We opted for this for me when our last laptop broke and we knew a desk top was increasing better for our needs and operations (business) and so i only really needed something to email from, surf and keep in touch. i have difficulty using mobiles sometimes, so email is more important to me than phoning, other wise a smart phone might have done. This is more comfortable for me than either a smart phone or a lap top.

I totally agree, for homework (and for me for work) an ipad is not the best solution my any means. Its a useful extra to a desk top, but a laptop would be my choice were i at school or heading to university or working in a more mobile situation. In fact, even though i love, love love my ipad, if i could only have one 'computer' it would be a laptop.

daisiegg

NewKittenHelp wrote: »

Are you sure you have an iPad? I manage to work on mine perfectly well and it's a bit more advanced than some school homework. If typing on screen is a problem then you can buy a keyboard for it.

No Microsoft Word or Powerpoint or Excel or anything? How can you print from it? No USB port to use a memory stick if transferring work between home and school, etc?

To be fair I have not tried to look further into using my iPad for those things as I have a desktop PC that I use for word processing etc...so it may be that it is capable of all sorts of things that I have no idea about...

*eta - and if you're buying a keyboard for it, why not just buy a laptop in the first place!

Threebabes

My kids have an ipad and a laptop. The ipad is used more for fun things, the laptop for school work. Out the two I would go for the laptop.

pinkshoes

The ipad is great fun, but gimmiky! You are just paying a high price tag for a fashion item!

What about a desktop PC with a touchscreen monitor?

SaliMali

daisiegg wrote: »

No Microsoft Word or Powerpoint or Excel or anything? How can you print from it? No USB port to use a memory stick if transferring work between home and school, etc?

To be fair I have not tried to look further into using my iPad for those things as I have a desktop PC that I use for word processing etc...so it may be that it is capable of all sorts of things that I have no idea about...

Pages, Keynote and Numbers are the Apple equivalent of the Microsoft Office Suite and make a better job of it than the bloated Microsoft offering. They're all available from the App Store for the iPad.

iCloud sync allows you to start documents on your iMac and then continue to edit them on your iPad and then cary on later on when you get home on the iMac again. So anything you need to print can be printed from home or you can print straight from the iPad if you have certain HP printers.


The downside if you don't have a Mac is that iCloud doesn't work Office stuff so you're back to square one, although you can use Dropbox. if you make sure you save your Pages file on the iPad in a Word format, you can stick it into Dropbox and then access it from your home PC, although it's a long winded way of doing it.

To answer the original question, it's horses for courses. I'd prefer to work on an iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard, but then our house is completely Appled up which makes getting documents off it much easier

A desktop PC with a touchscreen monitor is even more gimmicky, you pay through the nose for it and do you really want to be sitting that close to a large screen

lostinrates

daisiegg wrote: »

No Microsoft Word or Powerpoint or Excel or anything? How can you print from it? No USB port to use a memory stick if transferring work between home and school, etc?

To be fair I have not tried to look further into using my iPad for those things as I have a desktop PC that I use for word processing etc...so it may be that it is capable of all sorts of things that I have no idea about...

*eta - and if you're buying a keyboard for it, why not just buy a laptop in the first place!

For printing and saving i suppose you could use cloud storage if you also had access to a mac destop/ laptop. I have never tried, primarily because the functionality is not great for any other work stuff i need, bar email and photo sending via email.

I have a keyboard for mine, but i do not have any word processing function ( is there one? ) or the ability to tun some of the software i use. In fact, i am struggling to find a new software suitable for mac at all that does what i need it to do, while i still have a reasonable choice in this niche area for windows.

lostinrates

Wow, well. Sali ali has answered some of my questions, thanks!

Edit: can any other ipad users tell me how they have got round the 'flash' issue? Please!

NewKittenHelp

daisiegg wrote: »

No Microsoft Word or Powerpoint or Excel or anything?

iWork. I haven't used Microsoft Office in years unless forced - it's a horrible piece of over-complicated software. iWork documents can be converted into Office documents with one click, so no issues there either.

I use different software for most of my work though - one that syncs between all my devices so even if I just have my phone, I can still crack on.

daisiegg wrote: »

How can you print from it?

Wireless printer. Most are these days.

daisiegg wrote: »

No USB port to use a memory stick if transferring work between home and school, etc?

Email.

daisiegg wrote: »

To be fair I have not tried to look further into using my iPad for those things as I have a desktop PC that I use for word processing etc...so it may be that it is capable of all sorts of things that I have no idea about...

*eta - and if you're buying a keyboard for it, why not just buy a laptop in the first place!

I already have a macbook - it's easier to carry the iPad if on longer trips. No need for the charger either for a day or so, and I have full access to my macbook's hard drive through the iPad anyway so anything I need I can access on the move. It's easier to work on an iPad on the train too, especially if there's a lack of tables.

Welshwoofs

I have an iPad and a laptop (and desktop in fact) and I'm afraid that a iPad is no replacement for a laptop. It's great for browsing, casual gaming and the apps but if he has to write essays it's not ideal.

Where the iPad excels IMO is when travelling and that's certainly how I use it. I can plonk presentations into dropbox and run them from my iPad, pick up my email, read/play and keep up with stuff without lugging a laptop around the country. When at home for work however, it's back to the laptop and desktop and the iPad sits in a draw.