iPad or Chromebook?

JustAnotherSaver

My wifes iPad recently died. It was 2 years old and it just stopped turning on just like that one morning. iPad Gen 6.

She then bought a Samsung A7 Tab after having the A71 phone and being quite happy with the mid-range phone. Turns out mid-range tabs (if the A7 is mid range?) aren't the same. She couldn't get on with it. I tried it one time and i'm not a fan of tablets as it is but this thing was incredibly slow and laggy. Just awful. So she cashed in on it while she could recoup most of her spend and she's now using the laptop we have until she saves for another iPad.

She is now considering a Chromebook as an alternative to the iPad as she likes the physical keys of the laptop and wondered if a small Chromebook could be a good half-&-half (our 15" laptop is too large for her long term). Only thing is, neither of us know anything about a Chromebook at all.

She'd prefer the touch screen feature if that was possible, while also having the addition of a keyboard.

Since the iPad she'd be looking at is at least the £329 version: https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-ipad/ipad-10-2

And the cheaper Chromebooks are similar: https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/chromebooks/laptops/laptops/315_3226_30328_xx_ba00010671-bv00308571/xx-criteria.html

If you were in the market for one of these, why would you pick one over the other? Does one offer much that the other doesn't? She knows iPad's as she's had about 3 over the years but like i say, neither of us know anything about Chromebooks.

Tigsteroonie

Me, I'd take a Chromebook any day over an iPad - but then I'm not an Apple fan. I've had my current Acer Chromebook for five years, and this Christmas I'll be replacing it with the Lenovo Duet. I do like having a proper keyboard My documents and photos are all saved on the cloud with Google, so changing platform at this time would be quite some work; your wife might feel the same about moving away from Apple if she has much stored in their cloud system (dunno what it's called). 

daveyjp

If the ipad is only two years old contact apple online and try and find out why it isn't powering up.

JustAnotherSaver

Tigsteroonie said:

Me, I'd take a Chromebook any day over an iPad - but then I'm not an Apple fan. I've had my current Acer Chromebook for five years, and this Christmas I'll be replacing it with the Lenovo Duet. I do like having a proper keyboard My documents and photos are all saved on the cloud with Google, so changing platform at this time would be quite some work; your wife might feel the same about moving away from Apple if she has much stored in their cloud system (dunno what it's called). 

Neither of us are tied to any brand tbh. I know some are in to their Apple products or their Samsung products or whatever but the pair of us just have whatever works for us at that time.

She owns a Galaxy A71 phone but was a long time iPhone user.

She owned an iPad but only because aside from her very first tablet, they'd all been iPad's and they ticked the boxes at the time.

I'm aware you can get a physical keyboard for the iPad ... at cost.

All she really used the iPad for was Facebook, browsing, YouTube, Instagram - that kind of thing. Nothing intensive. No editing or anything like that. Basically just a big phone ... without being a phone. She didn't even really use the camera feature on it.

That's not me poo-pooing the iPad. Like i said, i personally don't really like all tablets. That's only because i prefer computer work to be done on a computer with a physical keyboard. I don't even particularly like laptops. I'm just saying what she actually used the iPad for so anyone with experience of both can offer insight.

daveyjp said:

If the ipad is only two years old contact apple online and try and find out why it isn't powering up.

Spent plenty of time in touch with Apple. What a mess about.

Told me that an approved repairer would do us a new battery for £99. Said repairer said no chance, it's £240+.

Apple said it could be sent in (bearing in mind we'd already established it wont turn on, wont connect to anything, it's permanently off).

Go through the steps ... oh if you could just turn off find my iPad they said.

Ok errrrr how would you suggest i do that then Einstein?

Oh yeah! Well go to iCloud and select erase iPad from there.

Yup, done that. It says next time it connects to the internet once it's fired up it'll erase but as it wont turn on it can't erase, right?!

Oh well in that case you'll need to go in store.

Ahh a 2 hour round trip when we're not supposed to be travelling anyway. Plus the original repairer is probably correct as i suspect it's not the battery at fault. I think something else is going on. Maybe the battery as well as but not just the battery. Would rather spend £329 on a brand spanking new unit than £245 or whatever it is breathing a bit of life in to a 2 year old unit.

debitcardmayhem

You can use almost any old bluetooth keyboard and mouse, the latest iPads will have iPados too and allows using USB storage (with an adaptor of course), i'm not a fan of chromebooks nor apple products but have to admit we both have last years iPad airs and I can't fault them .The 2020 iPads are alos equipped with a faster processor than the previous models

tempus_fugit

Personally I would say that if all it is used for is Facebook, browsing, YouTube and Instagram, then that is not “proper computer work”, and an iPad would suffice and also be more portable. So in that situation I’d choose the iPad. And as mentioned above, a Bluetooth keyboard can be used with it if anything more serious needs to be done.

BTW, I am not an Apple person, although I do use Macs, I just think iPads are the best tablets. My phone is Android and I have used Chromebooks in the past. All have different use cases.

Cash-Cows

I would still robustly fight this with the retailer you bought it from. The iPad has not lasted a reasonable period of time so you have rights. 

fred246

It's strange how people have different combinations of devices. Desktop PCs are the best and the cheapest to run long term. Absolutely unbeatable in every way apart from portability. Then we have a mobile phone for when we can't use the desktop. Seems to make sense. Never wanted anything else. Mobile phones probably last about 5 years. Desktops just evolve. These items always seem so expensive and so disposable.

Tigsteroonie

fred246 said:

Mobile phones probably last about 5 years. Desktops just evolve. These items always seem so expensive and so disposable.

I mentioned earlier that my Acer Chromebook - certainly not the most expensive or elaborate model - has lasted five years with no issues. That's not what I would call disposable.

Having a laptop or tablet enables me to browse the net whilst sat in the family room. If I were to use a desktop, I'd have to leave the family and go into the study.

bobfredbob

I'd buy the iPad since it is a third of the weight of some of those chromebooks you linked to, and far faster which will make browsing a pleasure.  I once made the mistake of buying a heavier device thinking "it's only a few hundred grams".

I think you were unlucky with the iPad breaking so fast, but in-store they are usually quite good and can fit a specialist diagnostic tool to say what is wrong, as long as you take it in fully charged.  I'd take it in and ask for a "trade in" price: it may be that getting repaired in-store costs £100 but will give you £125 off a new one.

For occasional typing, I'd buy a Bluetooth keyboard, and not spend on the Apple one.  You can even get cases with the keyboard built in.

Uptown_Boy

Is there not something with Chromebooks where they have an expiry date (or similar)? A quick search yielded the link below (I can't post working links yet):

laptopmag.com/uk/articles/chromebook-6-years-expiration