I’m thinking about getting D1 a new computer setup for college.
I well remember in grad school everyone with laptops making sure they sat near an electrical outlet for every class, and having to carry around a few pounds too many of computer. So I’m thinking about getting her an ipad air 2 + waytools textblade setup.
Has anyone tried something like this (tablet + bluetooth keyboard) for college or grad school? Are there any clear advantages or disadvantages over a more traditional computer (i.e., the next 12" macbook air)?
Your daughter will most likely need to have access to the complete Office suite for her class assignments - my daughter has needed word, powerpoint, excel, publisher, and access at various points in her college career. Since she has a mac she used Access on the school’s network instead. Today’s laptops are light and they have a much longer battery life. I would stick to a real laptop not an ipad for college. I think students that use ipads use them in addition to their laptops.
What a nice gift to consider for your D! This is such an important and personal purchase - I hope you consider offering the gift, but shopping together to get the tech version that she prefers.
I would guess that overwhelmingly students will choose a laptop if they are going to have just one device. But again, I would not purchase this item without the student’s input.
I am going to second the opinion for a standard macbook. To reduce the weight, the air would be a great option. As a recent college grad with both a mac and an ipad, I couldn’t have imagined using an ipad for everything I needed in and out of class.
the new macbook is 2 lb., has 12" display, 9 hr. battery life, price starts at $1299. looks very nice.
ipad air 2 is half the weight (0.96 lb.)(the textblade bluetooth keyboard is another 1.5 oz., and modular, fits in your pocket), 9.7" screen (about 5% less screen resolution in total number of pixels), 10 hour battery life, less than half the price (starts at $499)(plus $100 for the keyboard).
they use different family processors so i’m not sure how performance compares directly, but presume the new product is faster/more capable.
what i’m trying to ask is whether anyone has used a tablet + bluetooth keyboard instead of a traditional laptop in real life, and how that worked out for you?
if you’ve tried both ways, and you still think the traditional laptop is clearly better, is it more than twice the price better?
I personally think iPad (and tablets in general) is good as read-only device. I have enough problem writing short email messages on iPad. If I had only one device, it’d NOT be an iPad.
Computing power is not the issue. My D mostly uses her MacBook as a terminal, logging in to the school’s computer system. But writing on an iPad is very frustrating at best, even with a separate keyboard. She uses her iPad mainly for reading.
Hi - I work in computing for a college and would say that the iPad Air, while nice, really doesn’t take the place of a laptop. What will her major be? I have faculty who use the tablet + keyboard and just don’t find it adequate for day to day computing - they’ve always ended up purchasing a laptop as their primary device.
There are two flavors of Mac laptops - the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. The Pro is a much more robust computer - it has a faster processor and you can upgrade RAM, etc. The Pro isn’t as light as an Air although it’s much lighter than it used to be. For college graduation, we just bought our son a 13" MacBook Pro retina display - he loves it.
I do think, though, it’s important to get an idea of what she’ll be doing with the computer. If she’ll just be writing, surfing, emailing then the Air would be adequate. If she’s doing anything more than that - thinking scientific applications, statistical applications, etc. - then I’d recommend the MacBook Pro with a 256 gb hard drive and minimum 8 gb RAM. I think it’s definitely worth the price. I’m afraid if you get the iPad and accessories, she’ll end up needing more at extra expense.
I’m agreeing with others to include your daughter in the decision. What a lovely gift!
I’d personally go with the notebook. I don’t feel nearly as comfortable doing office applications including word processing on tablets. One thing to keep in mind is tablets are still relatively limited and tend to go obsolete more quickly. The latter can be problematic if you’re stuck running an older version of IOS or Android which is no longer supported for further security updates and it isn’t possible or a good idea to upgrade to the latest version.
As for purchase…wait to see what educational pricing/discounts you/your child can take advantage of by virtue of her being a student. You can save much more going that route than purchasing it yourself.
Apple also has an annual promotion each summer where you get discounts towards apps if you purchase a macbook with another device through Apple’s education store.
Also, if she doesn’t yet know what school she’ll be attending, wait until she does. Some schools recommend certain types of computers over others, and she may want to go with the recommendation.
Consider her major. Some majors have different computing needs. Consider ease of printing with an iPad. Yes, access to the Office suite is important, and think about whether you’d want to type a research paper on a little Bluetooth keyboard. My daughter has an iPad (school provided it to all freshmen) that she uses to FaceTime. She uses her laptop for homework almost all of the time. I’m a Mac fan but wouldn’t sent my kid to college with just an iPad.
My thought was that a regular laptop would be both heavy and have short battery life, both of which would weigh against suitability for carrying around campus. I’d like to avoid saddling her with several pounds of hard drive and fan cooling. That’s why the “air” version either way.
Consensus seems to be that a tablet with a bluetooth keyboard seems unlikely to cut it for serious work.
We don’t know where she’s going yet. STEM major, so aside from general education requirements she won’t be writing too many term papers. We are aware of apple’s education discounts (an excellent marketing technique, I must say). She’ll probably be writing up homework problem sets, lab reports, possibly using it as terminal if she takes any CS classes; I assume any programming projects would be on the school’s computers, for uniformity.
Do they make anything with a back camera that will videorecord the lectures while you’re typing? I don’t see that on the macbooks, so that’s one tablet advantage.
I love my iPad, but it’s a toy - best for consuming media and “light” emails. I absolutely would not consider a tablet a substitute for a laptop of your choice. It’s an extra, not a necessity.
Unless she has some kind of disability preventing her from carrying things, any normal laptop will be perfectly fine to carry around campus. I’m over twice her age and I schlep my laptop all over the globe, just like tons of working people do. The air version is nice if you can afford it, but I wouldn’t lose sleep over trying to get it.
As a STEM major, I’d strongly recommend the 13" MacBook Pro. The MBP is not that much heavier vs. an Air but it has so much more as a computer. A lot of kids where I work do use their computers for their CS classes. You can use Facetime to record lectures (although she should check with the professor - some may not allow that). Our college uses a program called Camtasia Relay for that purpose which is a higher quality. Although I’m not sure you can type while recording - hmmmm
Edited to add - it might be worth your while to visit an Apple store and check out all the devices in person. Honestly, there’s not a big difference in weight. I just read a new MacBook Pro is being release that’s even lighter. That might be an option - or it also means that the existing model will eventually be reduced.
Our college doesn’t allow wireless printing so that’s something to check out too for the tablet.
Apple offers Applecare which extends the warranty from one to three years total. Just be aware that Apple’s warranty doesn’t cover anything accidental - so drops, spills, etc. wouldn’t be covered although likely a student insurer like College Student Insurance does cover accidental.
A student who begins as a non-STEM major could realize that she really wants to study science. I personally know one such case. Would you be willing to buy her a more powerful laptop when she discovers that the truncated version of Excel on iPad can’t run fancy Oracle plugins? Or when film editing on the Air becomes a real pain?
I had a macbook pro all through college, and it really wasn’t that bad to carry around, and I took it everywhere with me. That being said, if portability is really a huge issue, go for one of the macbook airs. I have one for work, and the 11 inch has a nice wide screen and is unbelievably light.
Hard drives weight nothing these days.
If you want to save money wait until your daughter gets setup with her college and gets her .edu email address. College IT departments usually offer various discounted ways to purchase hardware and software for students. Computer stores run sales in the Summer aimed at students too. We purchased MacBook Pro last Summer during the sale at Best Buy and downloaded Office for Mac for free through the school website. Note that memory and hard drive you can upgrade later if necessary so aim at the best processor and display you can afford.
It’s thoughtful of OP to give a computer as a gift to D. But may I suggest the OP consider an additional token graduation gift, even if the gift is modest? Something more lasting& sentimental than a computer which might be disarded in 5 years.
