<p>Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone got their high school kid an ipad for graduation. I hear it is a popular gift, but wondering if it is more of a gadget/toy than something they really would need in college…i.e. downloadable text books? If so, what kind did you get your child. Thanks:)</p>
<p>A laptop would be more practical.</p>
<p>It’s a toy, but it’s a really fun toy.</p>
<p>Well…if it were me…and I was going to pay for an “I” thing…I would buy my kid the IPhone and pay for the data plan. They can get apps for their Iphones too…and read email and the like. My son LOVES his IPhone. He would NOT have loved an IPad. He has an IPhone and a Mac laptop.</p>
<p>I got an Ipad this summer, and my 2 college kids haven’t even asked to look at it. I love it so far, and hope I can get good enough at the tech stuff so that I can use it for work. I already have my textbooks on it, but I think most college classes are not quite there yet in terms of using e-books. </p>
<p>I think a student could fall in love with a nice little netbook for use in school. Ipad battery life beats the netbook by a mile, but a netbook is easier to do more school things on, and could also be an e-reader. That said, my D wants her next laptop to be big enough to watch movies on, so a larger screen is in her future.</p>
<p>I have been using the iPad lately because the power cord for my iBook crapped out and I had to get another one. As much as I love the iPad for reading books, playing the occasional game, etc., I sure was glad to get my laptop power cord today. If you’re trying to choose between an iPad and a laptop, OP, I would definitely go with a laptop.</p>
<p>For everyday internet access,for whatever reason(email,surfing,reading,et al,) the IPAD is by far much better then a laptop,not even close…for computing,creating documents,etc, a laptop is your choice…i have used my laptop about 90% less since i got IPAD…and if you decide on a laptop,get a Mac…</p>
<p>And since this is for a HS grad, i am fairly certain they already own a laptop</p>
<p>For a fun gift she will probably love it. There have been schools that have used e-textbooks, but they were found to not be a useful as hardcopies, for many reasons. My S & I have Kindles but he still gets hard copies of any books he needs to read. So easy to write notes in margins, put in sticky notes, underline and dog ear pages. </p>
<p>Hev you asked her what she wants?</p>
<p>Okay, going the traditional route. I still have the watch my parents gave me 40 years ago.It’s not running presently but it’s in my jewelry box and I still admire it. I don’t think I’d admire a 40 year old IPad.
Gave my DD a necklace (she doesn’t wear jewelry much ) but she loved it, put it on and it hasn’t been off her neck since (5 years).
My DH still wears the tie tack his parents gave him.
Gave my son a watch (nice one–traditional with leather strap) and he loves it. He has a computer and most every techno thing there is but he asked for the watch.
Tuition is nice too though!</p>
<p>If I were her, I’d be happier with a Macbook Pro (Apple offers engraving on their products just for occasions -graduations - like these).</p>
<p>Either way, anything at all would be nice! I’m no ungrateful kid.</p>
<p>I am thinking it would make a better gift for a graduate of college, assuming their 4 year old lap tops are still working and grad school wouldn’t demand another lap top.</p>
<p>I was at the Apple store today researching iPads. I listened to an Apple dude giving a lecture on how to edit Word-like documents on an iPad, and it sounded like a torture. I’m not even talking about Excel and Powerpoint! Plus, typing on a touch screen more than just a page or two is painful. While many Mac fanatics say that there is a Skype app for iPad, the Apple dude says that it is actually an iPhone app, and the Skype window on the iPad screen will be the same size as an iPhone screen. Not very useful. Facewhatever app only works if both parties are using Apple products. iPad is great as an e-reader and e-viewer, but it lacks the capabilities of a laptop when it comes to content generation. Most college students will survive without one (both of my Macheads returned their iPads and got Mac laptops).</p>
<p>
But for that the iPad isn’t as good as a Kindle IMO - due to the weight, size, battery life, and screen and the Kindle is far less expensive as well.</p>
<p>They won’t need an iPad in college. They might want one though. It’s no replacement for a laptop for most users. A laptop is far more practical and flexible than an iPad. If this would be in addition to a laptop then I’m sure your kid wouldn’t mind having one but it would be an ‘extra’ - not something highly needed. It’s also one more thing to be concerned about theft with on a campus.</p>
<p>Tying into a couple of posters above - as someone who has both an iPhone, which has more functionality and portability than an iPad, a laptop (Windows) which has far more functionality than an iPad, and even a Kindle, which is a much better eReader than an iPad, I haven’t been able to come up with a good reason to get an iPad for myself (although I have one at work so I’m familiar with them).</p>
<p>I love my iPad as a reader. I know it “isn’t as good as Kindle”, but I don’t want to carry 15 devices with me on trips. With iPad I can watch TV shows (recorded or bought) on planes, read books or play games. After landing, I have internet access and can do anything on the internet and get email. It is NOT my main computer, but it gets me by on business trips and personal trips. </p>
<p>My son was given an iPad by a customer and his company let him keep it. He never thought he wanted one. He LOVES it- but he isn’t a student anymore and has a computer at work and home. He reads newspapers on it and loves all the apps. He also has an iPhone.</p>
<p>MOWC is correct----for those of us who travel, the IPAD is a wonder. You really don’t know that you want one until you have one.</p>
<p>MOWC - I use my iPhone for the more portable functions. The other day while I was wasting the day in a juror lounge, I didn’t bring the Kindle - I just used the Kindle app on my iPhone to read. The last time I flew cross-country I loaded my iPhone up with a bunch of movies and watched them on the plane. The display was actually fine for it. </p>
<p>The larger screen of the iPad would have been nicer but then it would have been just one more thing to bring since I already had my iPhone and I travel as lightly as possible.</p>
<p>I am so relieved to not have to carry my work laptop (on most trips) that the iPad/iPhone/Blackberry seem like nothing. Our laptops are NOT light, and that computer backpack got really heavy. Now I throw the iPad and my other plane toys in a large Vera Bradley tote and I look like a tourist instead of a business traveler!
The charger for the laptop alone was heavier than iPad!</p>
<p>^^ My D may replace her laptop soon (15.6") and is looking at the smaller, lighter laptops in the 3 pound range - the ones with about an 11.2" screen, a bit bigger and more powerful than a netbook but smaller and lighter than the standard laptop. It’s amazing how the weight and bulk of these things get heavier directly proportionally to the distance one has to lug them. </p>
<p>The advantage to the iPhone - it can do almost everything (but not creation/editing of docs from a practical perspective) and can fit in my pocket and I need it anyway to have a phone. </p>
<p>If having the iPad can make the difference between having to carry a heavier company laptop on a trip or not and the iPhone/smart phone isn’t a practical alternative based on what one needs then yes, an iPad would be nice to have.</p>
<p>I’m typing this on an iPad I’ve owned for all of 4 days! I own a laptop, a netbook, Droid smartphone and a Kindle. My initial assessment is the iPad is great for limited tasks such as:</p>
<p>-sitting on the kitchen counter so I can answer emails or surf the web as I cook
-using it sitting on the couch while hubby is watching a tv show I’m not interested in
-in bed at night to surf or check email
-throwing it in my purse to take when I want to kill time while out or on my lunch hour
-I usually carry a netbook and Kindle when we travel, the ipad will be a lot more convenient</p>
<p>I don’t yet see this as a substitute for my kindle and the keyboard and size makes it somewhat difficult to produce content. In terms of usefulness it falls somewhere between my netbook and smartphone.</p>
<p>If you are taking the Ipad with you on a trip as your only computer-- buy the wireless keyboard. It will make answering email a thousand times easier. When I bought mine, the apple tech said ‘you don’t need this, you’ll get used to the touch pad’, but I bought it anyway.</p>
<p>I have kindle on it, but I prefer the kindle on my Iphone, as I like carrying it in my pocket.</p>