iPad vs. Mac laptop

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Since we are disPlaced for the next few months and because receiving and sending lengthy emails by phone is not ideal, I am considering purchasing either an iPad or
Mac laptop.

Aside from size and price, are there any real differences between them that would favor one over the other for portable online accessibility?

[emma1420]

If you only want it for email, I'd go for the iPad and buy yourself a keyboard.  It's much cheaper.  For home use I use my iPad almost exclusively.   If you want to do more than email and surf the internet then a laptop might be a better bet.   

[msventoux]

I prefer having a laptop, but rarely actually need one now that I'm not in school.  I have a couple of programs I use frequently that either aren't compatible with an iPad or have such limited functionality on the iPad that it's a pain to use.  If you weren't already used to using a laptop and will mostly need email and web access, I would probably go for the iPad.  You can get an external keyboard for it, and also a stylus if you want handwritten notes on it. 

[Ryan]

For me personally, if I were going to have 2 devices, I'd go with the phone (smartphone) and a laptop of some sort.  Personally, I have an iphone, ipad, and a macbook pro and I like them all and use them all quite a bit.  The ipad just comes in handy when you want to sit on your couch and easily browse through websites and not have to zoom in like crazy.  If I needed to drop one, it would easily be the ipad.  I'd just stick with the iphone for mobile computing and the laptop for other stuff. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I have an iPad, nd while it is fun to play on, if I need to write long emails or need to do searches, I go to my laptop.

i have a keyboard for my iPad.  Not impressed with it and it was not a cheap one.  I think it was about $100, and it no longer works.

[emma1420]

Jul 6, 2014 23:26:19 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I have an iPad, nd while it is fun to play on, if I need to write long emails or need to do searches, I go to my laptop.

i have a keyboard for my iPad.  Not impressed with it and it was not a cheap one.  I think it was about $100, and it no longer works.

The best keyboard I found was about $40.  I like it the best because it's a full sized keyboard, unlike many of the custom keyboard that are smaller.   I think the iPad + keyboard option can work, but I think it's good to try out several keyboards to make sure you find one that is comfortable.

I think iPads are great for email and web surfing and even some other activities.  But, if you need to run a lot of specialized programming or you are a heavy user of programs like word, excel, powerpoint, lightroom, etc., then a laptop is a better bet.