Using an iPad instead of a laptop?
 

opinions please...

My high school son needs a portable and I have an unopened 32 gig iPad 1 that I was going to give him and buy a keyboard. He needs to surf, email, and do MS word docs.

He has an iMac at home to use.

Will the iPad be sufficient?

What is a good Microsoft word compatible app for the iPad?
What is the best external keyboard for the iPad 1?

Thanks, Mitch

Sell the ipad and get the kid a 400 dollar laptop. Thats going to be a major headache that also may lead to some compatibility issues down the road.

mobile devices are not laptops.

get a laptop if you need one, and get a touch device for mobility but nothing more.

Laptop still so much more functional.

I agree with all of the above posts. I got Vino the ipad2 because she thought she could use it as a "lightwieght laptop", but it really doesn't work like one, and she ended up still carrying her regular laptop. The only way it can work is if you use gotomypc to hook in with your home computer, and then you have to be online to do that, so....


.

If he's doing only those three things and has an iMac at home, I think he's fine with no laptop and an iPad. You can use Google Docs for MS Word stuff or just use the home computer. My iPad has completely replaced my laptop.

My laptop doesn't leave my desk these days. My Android Touchpad goes with me everywhere.

I am not limited by much. Just installed Photoshop Touch, so I'm even less limited.

the problem is working effectively. yes you can look at youtube and play angry birds, but are you trying to work?

mobile devices are not meant to handle multiple tasks at the same time, such as playing music and editing a doc and having browsers open...

if you want to do one thing and have to painfully tap between the two use pad, but if you want to work effectively and have multiple programs running and be online and multitasking, you need a laptop. simple as that

sold my Ipad and got me a monster PC for the money...don't know what came over me to buy one...must be jobs's magical marketing LOL

I would buy him a Macbook, not an Acer or anything like that. However, he just needs it for basic stuff right now. I was planning to get him a Macbook for college.

I figured and that will be the same for him. I know there is an App to make actual Word compatible docs too, right? Is Google docs Word compatible?

You can have multiple programs run on an iPad2 and swipe to them quite easily. The only bitch I have about an iPad or even a laptop is no dual screens. :)

What's wrong with ACER? Don't be a snob Mitch. :winkwink:

get him a laptop. I love my iPad but for mailing and browsing. I would hate to actually work on it. Yeah you can hook up a keyboard and stuff but that would basically make it a laptop.

Mitch:

This is the setup I have for my iPad1 .... and I love it!! The apple bluetooth wireless keyboard (it is cosmetically identical to the macbook/mbp keyboard ... so it looks good with the iPad!), and the InCase Orgami workstation for iPad:



As long as you are aware that an iPad is NOT a laptop, and does have a few limitations (although with the right apps, those limitations are negligible ..), you can be VERY productive on an iPad ... and the 10+ hour battery life cannot be beat!!

As far as word processing goes, spend the $16 to buy the Premium Documents To Go suite ... It is a very capable Office suite that does Word, Excel, and PowerPoint flawlessly. :thumbsup

I update 22 electronics and health blogs just fine with my iPad.

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I have a friend that is a technical writer and he does much of his work on an ipad. He has a keyboard and mouse for it and a case/stand that lets him stand it up like a regular monitor. He just uses MS Office online and does any work that needs Word right there. He can access his email and do just about everything he needs with it. The only potential pain in the ass is that every now and then he needs to download stuff and would like to be able to save it to a USB drive, but he says about 80% of the time he shows up at the clients job site with just his iPad and gets the job done just fine.

He said he needed it for mail, browsing and MS Word .. for those functions only, you'd really choose a laptop?

Besides, it's way easier to masturbate with an iPad.

Same deal with Android running version 3 and up.

Agreed.

I have them both, and use them both. I use the iPad when I want convenience and mobility for hit and run internet stuff. When I need to work out business emails, or do any sort of work I use the laptop (when not in office).

If the email can be a quick one liner, then I will use the iPad. Anything longer and I will wait until I get to a real computer to save myself the aggravation.

Winning!!! :thumbsup:1orglaugh:thumbsup

Yep and as said above same on Android but its just still not thd same ad laptop.ftping, coding sites, browsing net, icqing etc all same time right now from my phone lol but its much easier on laptop...

And posting on gfy and working on spreadsheey lol Barr near dead though rut roh

idiot+ipad=danger ,i suggest you a laptop

Battery mispell ftw

I have the Targus ipad2 keyboard case, not sure if they make a similar one for the ipad1 or not. I like it, it can be a little hard to get used to with some keys since it is smaller and a couple of characters are in different locations, but it seems to work well. The ipad is great for email, internet, etc. but I haven't tried doing any major word processing yet.

I jailbroke mine and now I use a bluetooth mouse with it. Comes in handy when connecting to my pc and need to click things that are pretty small.

I just got an ASUS Ultra Book laptop. It's damn near as thin as an ipad and it 1000 times better to get things done.

On short business trips I leave my laptop at home and use my iPad. It's great for browsing but it sucks when you have to answer longer emails or write a lot of text.

I think it's also annoying when you write something and do some more research on websites during drafting. You always have to switch between two apps - I have a different understanding of multitasking.

Get him a nice MacBook Air - my 2cents :)

And surely the most important thing for a 14 year old boy.... ;-)

You don't need to jailbreak it to use a mouse.

Buck up and get him an Air, Mitch, with all that $$$ you made in Vegas on the poker tables!:2 cents:

Macbook Air man.

The Acer runs Windows... forget it. The Mac OS rules.

Surf, email, yes. Ms word docs would be faster and simpler on a lappy.

How else do you get it to work with a mouse?

NETbook > Ipad

get a real laptop.,

no idevice can replace laptop

I saw the most pimp iPad case when I was in LA a few months ago. Stupid, I should of bought it but cant find it anywhere now :mad:

I was a hardshell type with a keyboard built in. Folded out to almost seem like a laptop, so you could put it on your lap and type! A-fucking-mazing! Had a nice little plastic cover over the keyboard so your slimey mits wouldnt smudge up your iPad and even folded into a few different positions.

Damnit, Im mad just thinking about not buying it

i love my ipad, but for some things, a laptop is more comfortable. for surfing the ipad is brilliant, but i don't like writting long emails and long texts on the ipad.

Sorry, I was wrong

:)