morning all,
my partner is thinking of getting a new machine, current 11-inch air is several years old. initially thinking of a new MacBook air, maybe 13-inch as it is reportedly not much bigger then her present 11-inch. last night her attention turned to an ipad pro. now trying to assess the pros and cons of each.
being an academic the main purpose is writing. lots of reading electronic documents, and a internet use. I think she videos herself for online units, and of course there is a ridiculous amount of email. portability is important, the lighter the better.
based on this use, which do people think would be better?
from what I hear, mouse is not so good on ipad? she hates the track pad on the air, so always uses an external mouse. at home the air is on a stand most of the time, with external keyboard.
thoughts?
cheers
As a main machine, I would say MBA definitely, especially if she’s an academic and writes a lot, and uses research plugins, like EndNote. iOS on the iPad is still not mature enough to be a main machine.
Having said this, if she really only does simple writing, reading and email, and iPad is sufficient.
oh good point, i’ll have to check whether endnote is used. papers are done in word with dropbox, but not sure what she does when writing book chapters or a full book (one apparently planned to commence next year).
The iPad Pro is close, and I am waiting for the day when it can replace a laptop for me (I am an academic).
It might be some of the things I do for work. With a keyboard an iPad works, though my experience with the integration with research apps (I use Bookends, not Endnote) is that they are not quite there yet.
i’m wondering how people find the set-up when working for long periods. she uses a stand and external keyboard to minimise the usual aches from being hunched over a laptop all day. can you do likewise with an ipad? whilst external monitor would be nice, due to tiny house the kitchen table is used a lot as a work space (has an imac in office on campus).
I work all day on my iPad Pro usually. Microsoft Office apps are fine for long form writing. Integration with O365 is great.
I’m beginning to think I should have gone the extra mile for the macbook air, rather than the ipad pro. Jury is sort of out at the moment but oh well, one makes one’s decisions.
I’d recommend the Air instead of the Pro… but if she goes the pro, don’t get the smart keyboard. I sent mine back, it was sorely lacking basic function keys and no backlighting. Picked up a Logitech from ebay for $185 and really like it.