Is the iPad a laptop replacement?

[kevbo]

A little background. I had a two year old Dell laptop that Dell couldn't fix, so they refunded me $1300. Thats the short version.

So I bought an iPad and decided I would spend 800-900 on another laptop. Im a student in college, although I'll be getting a job in about a year. I have been thinking more and more that I should just skip the laptop and build a desktop. The iPad does pretty much all of my mobile needs quite nicely, to the point where I cannot see myself lugging around a laptop next semester.

I am worried about iWork though. I want to be able to rely on it. The fact that Keynote can't export to .ppt is disturbing. I do PowerPoints for classes, which of course need to be done in Office. I don't know why Apple pretends they are the industry leader in office productivity and thus can use their proprietary format only. Pages seems to be fine.. I don't need to be able to use weird fonts. My papers are generally professional, APA style documents, maybe with a chart here or there.

I guess my question is, do you think i am limiting myself by not getting a laptop? Will there be unforeseen consequences? Is there as much missing from iWork as people say and will Apple/another company make the iPad more work friendly? I just can't see myself using a laptop anymore and a desktop would mean a 24/7 reliable, VNC-able, video streaming, print serving replacement. And I mean Windows, by the way. My work will be in Psychology. and also, I'm not swearing off laptops completely.. I'm just trying to avoid kicking myself for it in the near future.

 

[lifevicarious]

If you need a laptop, get a laptop. The iPad is not a laptop replacement. It will do 95% of what a laptop does but it sounds like you need that other 5%.

 

[gentlefury]

For me yes, it does everything. I use numbers for invoicing now. It is pretty perfect.

 

[pcimaging]

A little background. I had a two year old Dell laptop that Dell couldn't fix, so they refunded me $1300. Thats the short version.

So I bought an iPad and decided I would spend 800-900 on another laptop. Im a student in college, although I'll be getting a job in about a year. I have been thinking more and more that I should just skip the laptop and build a desktop. The iPad does pretty much all of my mobile needs quite nicely, to the point where I cannot see myself lugging around a laptop next semester.

I am worried about iWork though. I want to be able to rely on it. The fact that Keynote can't export to .ppt is disturbing. I do PowerPoints for classes, which of course need to be done in Office. I don't know why Apple pretends they are the industry leader in office productivity and thus can use their proprietary format only. Pages seems to be fine.. I don't need to be able to use weird fonts. My papers are generally professional, APA style documents, maybe with a chart here or there.

I guess my question is, do you think i am limiting myself by not getting a laptop? Will there be unforeseen consequences? Is there as much missing from iWork as people say and will Apple/another company make the iPad more work friendly? I just can't see myself using a laptop anymore and a desktop would mean a 24/7 reliable, VNC-able, video streaming, print serving replacement. And I mean Windows, by the way. My work will be in Psychology. and also, I'm not swearing off laptops completely.. I'm just trying to avoid kicking myself for it in the near future.

The iPad lacks some things you get from a laptop. You will not have a CD/DVD burner for one. There is something to be said for that built in keyboard on a laptop. It is an all in one package. If you think about it the keyboard display on out iPads is pretty touchy and a bit awkward to use . It is great for dimly lit rooms if one keys like I do. On the iPad you need to carry the extra keyboard somewhere if you want the hard keys as well as the camera connection kit.
For me, I spend most all of my time browsing the web and displaying photos for customers. The iPad with it's long battery life ( not ten hours in my case ) makes it a no brainer for me to grab. I always leave my laptop at home these days. I am hoping with some practice and more familiarity with the on screen keyboard, I will use it effectively.

 

[Bremen]

I am one of those that it is a laptop replacement. The 5% of things it can't do, I do on my desktop.

But, if I were a student, I would not have a desktop at all. I would have a laptop, and an iPad.... But.... That's me, not you.

 

[gentlefury]

A little background. I had a two year old Dell laptop that Dell couldn't fix, so they refunded me $1300. Thats the short version.

So I bought an iPad and decided I would spend 800-900 on another laptop. Im a student in college, although I'll be getting a job in about a year. I have been thinking more and more that I should just skip the laptop and build a desktop. The iPad does pretty much all of my mobile needs quite nicely, to the point where I cannot see myself lugging around a laptop next semester.

I am worried about iWork though. I want to be able to rely on it. The fact that Keynote can't export to .ppt is disturbing. I do PowerPoints for classes, which of course need to be done in Office. I don't know why Apple pretends they are the industry leader in office productivity and thus can use their proprietary format only. Pages seems to be fine.. I don't need to be able to use weird fonts. My papers are generally professional, APA style documents, maybe with a chart here or there.

I guess my question is, do you think i am limiting myself by not getting a laptop? Will there be unforeseen consequences? Is there as much missing from iWork as people say and will Apple/another company make the iPad more work friendly? I just can't see myself using a laptop anymore and a desktop would mean a 24/7 reliable, VNC-able, video streaming, print serving replacement. And I mean Windows, by the way. My work will be in Psychology. and also, I'm not swearing off laptops completely.. I'm just trying to avoid kicking myself for it in the near future.

I use vnc everyday to my desktop with iteleport, I can print just fine with air sharing hd and I video stream with air video

 

[ICONYK]

I bit the bullet and dropped my laptop when I got an iPad. The reason I did this though was because I found that for me the iPad does all the things I need to do with a laptop except graphic design which is what I do for a living.

However, because graphic design is so tedious about color and such I find doing this on a laptop is already a pain due to the viewing angles of laptops and the over all size of the screens. So I do all my graphic work on my desktop. I find I do not miss it at all!

Good luck in your decision. I feel your pain because it took me a long time to make my decision.

 

[dmittleman]

look ma, no laptop

I've had my iPad 3g for 10 days. I haven't touched my laptop in that time. Note that I do have a desktop and do use that regularly.

Right now I wish I hadn't spent $800 last fall on a new laptop; I don't anticipate using it much at all in the future.

As for no ppt in iWork, doesn't Keynote export to some other industry standard format that PPT will import from? (I don't know as I don't use iWork.)

 

[henry2]

i got rid of the laptop along with going to a desktop for use at the home ..i love the basic fuction of the ipad unit why it does about 90% of what i need done away iam away from the house ..

the desktop unit serves as a dual fuction unit of beening a computer along with the tv for the studio apt i live in ..plus i can print and burn cd/dvd from the desktop ..

 

[CPMS]

I was without my 17" mbp for most of last week and my iPad did an admirable job as a replacement. I did end up pulling out my old 15"mbp a couple of times but for the most part the iPad did the job. Love this thing for note taking in meetings (once everyone stops asking questions about it). I think if I can get one if the VPN services working for programs that can only reside on my mbp, I may be able to stop bringing the laptop to my office.

 

[Seadog]

Everyone is different. I would suggest that you consider a MacBook. You can get a refurbished unit for prices starting at $850. It will be a good substitute for a desktop and you can add components as you need to. A MacBook should give you at least five years of service.

 

[4phun]

YouTube - Can the iPad be a Laptop Replacement?
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[4phun]

Apple iPad: The Better Alternative To a Laptop

Apple iPad: The Better Alternative To a Laptop

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GzIFoqx288&feature=related"]YouTube - Apple iPad: The Better Alternative To a Laptop[/ame]
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:ipad-peacock:
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[Seadog]

There is a rumor out there that Microsoft is coming out with a iPad compatible version of word. Hope is that it is within the next quarter.

 

[Chrisman]

No, it is definitely not a replacement for a laptop.
it's great for multimedia, games, and surfing the net.
but it's not so convenient as far as downloading stuff and sending or receiving media via email, etc...