ipad, Mac orAir Product

[Grandsrspecial]

Maybe a redundant question but I would love to hear your input
I am a MeMe with two adorable grandchildren
I presently own an ipad2 and a Dell all in one computer at my home.
I do not download movies or play serious games fon iPad
Like to email, play bridge, solitaire type games, word, PDFs files, and listen to music on my iPad 2
When my all in one dies, I plan to use whatever I purchase as my main and travel computer. I do need to be able to print documents.

That being said, what Apple product would work for me?
Do I need an iPad, MacBook, or air products.
Money is an issue as I am retired
Are refurbished apple products a good buy or just trouble waiting to happen?

Thank you so very much in advance for your advice.

 

[giradman]

Hello MeMe - not an easy question to answer and budget will be important; also, I'm assuming that you want to go w/ Apple whether new or used/refurbished?

Since you mention the 'new' device would be used for travel, then an iPad or a Mac laptop would be your choices; all of your needs can be handled by any of these devices, but one consideration is email, i.e. if you do a LOT of typing then a keyboard (KB) might be your preference swaying you toward a laptop; however, KBs can be used w/ iPads (I have a Bluetooth KB that I use w/ my iPad Air 2). Also, keep in mind that the Mac computers use OS X, a different and more complex operating system vs. iOS, so there will be a learning curve. You will have to decide on the KB issue and also whether you want to learn another OS?

As to cost, the range for Apple products is wide - below from the Apple website are the current offerings of iPads and Mac laptops, and of course price will vary depending on their configurations - for an iPad, I would consider only a model w/ 32 GB of storage or more depending on your needs. Now, used or refurbished models will save you some money - take a look HERE for Apple's current refurb offerings which come w/ a 1-year warranty.

Let me stop there for you to respond - but if your budget is generous, an iPad Pro 12.9" screen w/ a KB would likely serve your needs, be portable, and eliminate the need to learn OS X - not a recommendation because there are many good choices. Dave
.

 

[Grandsrspecial]

Thank you for all this information.
I know that an iPad does not have ports. Do the iMac pro, air products and Mac book have ports?

Do the iMac pro and Mac book have all software installed?

Is there a difference between iMac air, pro and MacBook other than weight and size?
In your option is the cost of iMac air products justified by it being lighter?

How much memory and storage is recommended for iMac air and MacBook?

Thank you
MeMe

 

[Brian 244]

Thank you for all this information.
I know that an iPad does not have ports. Do the iMac pro, air products and Mac book have ports?

Do the iMac pro and Mac book have all software installed?

Is there a difference between iMac air, pro and MacBook other than weight and size?
In your option is the cost of iMac air products justified by it being lighter?

How much memory and storage is recommended for iMac air and MacBook?

Thank you
MeMe

Your best bet is to go to the Apple website and research the specs there. Then go to Youtube and search for reviews on these devices. All the information you seek is already out there tenfold, you just need to do a little bit of hunting.

 

[giradman]

Hello again MeMe - as suggested by Brian, you need to do some reading using the links I've given before and additional ones that I'll post below to briefly respond to your questions. You might want to also give us some idea what you budget may be? Some of the smaller capacity Wi-Fi only iPads are under $500, while the larger retina screen MBPros approach $2000, i.e. for new products.

Thank you for all this information.
I know that an iPad does not have ports. Do the iMac pro, air products and Mac book have ports?

The iPad has the charging dock (and the headphone jack) only but there are some 'hardware' products that will attach - many iPad features (e.g. backup, photo transfer, AirDrop, AirPlay, printing, etc.) use the 'wireless' technologies of the device. Check HERE and scroll down to see all of the specifications on the currently offered iPads - if you go that route, your fist decisions will be screen size (3 choices now), need for cellular, and storage (again I would recommend a minimum of 32 GB - if you will be storing a LOT of music, photos, movies, etc., then upping to at least 64 GB is suggested).

As to the laptops, look HERE - there you can select two laptops at a time, then compare - scroll down to see all of the specifications of these models and the upgrade options. The MacBook has just the USB-C Power Port - the Airs & Pros have multiple ports, so do some comparisons of various models.

Do the iMac pro and Mac book have all software installed?

YES - the current OS X is called El Capitan (v. 10.11.5) and comes w/ plenty of additional software (e.g. Photos, iMovie, GarageBand, Pages, Numbers, & Keynote). Plus, additional third party software may be free or bought at a nominal price. BUT, remember you will need to learn another operating system as complex as Windows.

Is there a difference between iMac air, pro and MacBook other than weight and size?
In your option is the cost of iMac air products justified by it being lighter?

YES - there are differences between these laptops (including the options for upgrading) - again, do some comparisons in the link given previously. I own two Apple laptops, a 3 y/o retina MBPro (8 GB RAM & 256 GB SSD) and a MBAir (both are 13" displays) - the Air is thinner & lighter and is the one I take 'on the road' - if possible, you might want to visit an Apple store or similar reputable Apple store in your area, and 'handle' these various iPads & Apple laptops.

How much memory and storage is recommended for iMac air and MacBook?

For RAM, I would suggest 8 GB minimum - the laptops all use SSDs (solid-state drives) for storage - I have 128 GB SSD on my Air (but store no music or photos); as above, I have double that capacity on my MBPro - I would recommended 256 GB if you plan to store a lot of music, photos, etc. Dave

 

[Diane B]

You've gotten lots of good advice so hardly need mine but..... I'm a very long time computer user, since the 80's. When Windows appeared I became a heavy Windows user. Bought my first Apple products for music uses, various Ipods and then Ipod Touch so when the Ipad was announced I preordered one. I've had several And now have an Ipad Pro 12.7"

I started to realize I preferred the Apple devices, have had several IPhones and last Fall bought (and switched entirely from Windows) a Macbook Pro 15". However I find I can do everything--including business needs (correspondence, billing, etc) on my Ipad--which has required me to research and try various apps and use them often in parallel. The new split screens make this so much easier than previously. I use an Apple BT keyboard when I'm doing a huge amount of typing, account entries, etc, print using Air Print to one of my printers in office upstairs,create and annotate PDFs--and so many non business and fun or creative things. IOW I've found a way to work with my Ipad instead of even booting my Macbook--and use it pretty much only for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom and access my harddrives with photo files going back to 1999. I believe it will be my last traditional computer--and I've found a wireless harddrive works quite well with my Ipad Pro for current harddrive needs. You will find an app or more than one for just about everything if you research.

I travel with my Ipad Pro which is cellular and Iphone 6sPlus, a BT keyboard and the Pencil which I find very useful for a number of things. If I could only have one device, it would be my Ipad Pro--but for the time being I still want to access old files on harddrives. If you don't need that harddrive backup (I use Dropbox for all other backup) then its entirely possible to use one of the Ipad versions as your only device--it might mean buying an Air Print (wireless) printer however if you don't have one since you say you need to print.

If I didn't need to use Photoshop and preferred a laptop i would probably buy a Macbook but I've learned i love touch so prefer to use an Ipad and augment it with a BT keyboard occasionally.

Diane

 

[giradman]

Well, our OP has not returned for 2 weeks despite our efforts - maybe Diane's post will bring her back - Dave

 

[Grandsrspecial]

Thank you so very much for all of your wonderful advice.
I will need some time to go through all of the data.
Thank you so very much for your help
I will get back in touch in a few days when I have had a chance to research everything

MeMe