<p>Was wondring if having a tablet would be an asset at school, downloading text books, internet, etc. If so which would be best, Kindle, Ipad, Nook, Galaxy?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>A tablet should not be your only computer. There are issues with printing, transferring files etc. That said, iPad is the class of the field by far and it is awesome. I love mine. It would be so much easier for a student to carry around than a laptop. However, iPhone and a good computer would also cover it all.</p>
<p>How about a tablet-pc? I use a Lenovo x220 and I just love it. It’s a tablet when I need it and a regular laptop as well. </p>
<p>Hope this helps =)</p>
<p>Tablet PCs are a dying technology. One of the biggest manufacturers, Toshiba, is discontinuing their tablet line. My D’s hs is dropping their requirement that incoming students buy tablet PCs.</p>
<p>Intel is talking about a new class of machine called the Ultrabook. The MacBook Air and Sony Vaio Z are examples. There are several other similar designs coming out this fall. Part of the idea of the Ultrabook would be the convertible notebook/tablet.</p>
<p>Ultrabooks (and UMPC’s) have been around since the clinton administration… The original Libretto by Toshiba, various Sony Vaios, and so on. UMPC’s made another push with Samsung UMPC a few years ago, cost killed them, and now we’re back. </p>
<p>They’re great for some uses, but not for everything. The cost is too high and the functionality too low for most users. A few are nice (MacBook Air, a new Asus, and a couple more) but the cost/benefit does not work out. </p>
<p>Current tablets (X220 for example) are great but I would like them to be a bit smaller to be truly usable. The size difference between a 12.5" and a 14" is not significant enough… In another year or two if Microsoft gets Windows 8 on Tablets, maybe…</p>
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<p>I think that Intel would like to define an Ultrabook with a Core i5
or i7. Far more compute horsepower than small computers in the past.</p>
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<p>I think that costs will improve this fall in that there will be
several models that don’t cost a fortune. The MacBook Airs are fairly
inexpensive and apparently will rely on the cloud for some of its
storage.</p>
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<p>Well, some want smaller, some larger - me, I want higher resolution.</p>
<p>I have to admit that the x220 is quite heavy. </p>
<p>I use it mainly at work and it’s nice for presentations b/c of the tablet feature. Also I can mark up documents and play sudoku lol</p>
<p>Like MOWC, I love love love my iPad, but for a student, it would really be a luxury rather than a necessity, and certainly couldn’t replace a real computer. It tends to get used as a “communal Internet” - that is, we’re all sitting around in the family room watching TV, someone wants to look something up and uses the iPad, as it’s not as intrusive as opening up a laptop.</p>
<p>I have a netbook and an IPad…works for me.</p>
<p>I have a pc, was just wondering if a tablet would be good for etextbooks and/or a plus to have in class.</p>
<p>Just wanted to point out, as you probably actually already know, Kindles and Nooks are not tablets and in my experience Kindles are quite limited to books (the internet is very clunky and experimental) and I assume it’s probably the same for Nooks.</p>
<p>The iPad (which I am typing on now) is an amazing device. One can make it work as a stand alone computer with the purchase of a Bluetooth keyboard for writing papers and the launch of iCloud this fall. However, I tend to agree that a computer such as a MacBook Air (new ones coming soon) would likely be a better choice for a college student.</p>
<p>How can you create fresh documents on an iPad? I think of it as a way to consume media, not create it as a student would have to do.</p>
<p>On the iPad there are downloadable versions of Pages which is Apple’s version of Microsoft Word.</p>
<p>How about Excel or Powerpoint? I rarely use Word.</p>
<p>Apple also has it’s own versions of powerpoint and excel (they’re called Numbers and Keynote) which you can download to the iPad. Any documents you make in pages, numbers, or keynote you can save in a microsoft office format and open with microsoft office (so if you make it on your iPad and then send it to your email, you can open it up within the equivalent office program), so conversion is not an issue. The iWork suite (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote; the Mac versions of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint) is also a lot cheaper both for the computer and the iPad than the Microsoft office suite. I’ve been using iWork for a while now and it works great and cost me a fraction of what Office would have. </p>
<p>I would not recommend having an iPad as your primary student computer. For one thing, it’s a high theft target. For another, I think the usability of textbooks on e-readers or tablets is still not quite there to the point where I would get it just for the textbook consumption feature. Also, there’s the major issue of storage of documents and music files. When iCloud rolls out this fall, that might be alleviated a little, but there is still not really enough storage on either an iPad or a Macbook air to handle most student’s needs with both work and media storage (most students’ computers, with hundreds of gigabytes of space, can’t even hold everything kids have these days. Almost everyone I knew in college had an additional external drive for media as well as backing up docs). </p>
<p>Finally, there will probably be times when having a CD drive is necessary and useful. I know a lot of students at my college used their computers not just for work but also as stand in TVs and DVD players, projectors, etc. </p>
<p>For college work, you’re going to want a full powered machine. If you’re going to spend 5 or 600 bucks, get a solid PC laptop for your kid, don’t waste it on something that is flashy, but is ultimately not going to completely serve.</p>
<p>agree with all. I use the iPad for fun and in fact am using it now however it doesn’t replace my laptop. No flash, and for some reason it won’t open my work email. A change was made to the server and the iPad isn’t compatible…or something like that. I haven’t bothered to figure it out. I use iPad at night on the couch or when traveling overnight. Combined with the blackberry for work email it’s fine.<br>
DS recently killed his laptop and can’t really afford to replace it. He is working with desktop and iPhone. Doesn’t seem to be a problem but he is not in school…working professional job so between the desktop a t work and at home and the iPhone he is fine.</p>
<p>For a new college student, I would have a great laptop, and then wait and see if there is a unmet need that you have that requires a tablet.</p>
<p>Tablets can be a major distraction during college classes. Too many students spend time surfing and gaming during classtime instead of absorbing the information.</p>
<p>Within a year, it is expected that tablets will be much much more useful in replacing college textbooks. They aren’t there yet.</p>
<p>The core benefit of an iPad I think would be the ability to have a dual screen – for example, at my work, I may work on my laptop but have my iPad open to a given web page or other document I need to reference.</p>