Laptop or ipad?

[Rctintin]

[B]Laptop or ipad? [/B]
[INDENT]Guys, the better half has asked me to get her and the kids a laptop to use as i dominate this one for my heli addiction.

Bearing in mind, my eldest girl is nearly 5, she needs something to learn on and to play games on. The wife needs just the Internet for faceache book and shopping.

So, do I get them an ipad, or a notebook/laptop? And why?

Thanks, Rob. [/INDENT]

[Jamin_00]

Since i got the ipad it has not been put down.

It is so handy to use for the internet and i use it 99% of the time when browsing at home.

It gets used for games and lots of music gets played over the sound dock most nights.

I use it with apple tv also for a number of things.

Its just easier and even the missus loves it now where as at first she did not.

But they are not cheap unfortunatly but sooo worth it :)

[maderdog_1024]

There is an iPad 2 due out soon but i dont know if it will support flash or not.

Laptop wins every time for me, you can pick a decent one up new for not much money and you have full browsing and not restricted by the availability of applications.

[Mark_T]

If you can only afford one or the other then I'd say get the laptop.

I love my iPad but I wouldn't want it as my only device.

[Disc]

If you already have a computer in the house then the ipad is an ideal device...

It allows you to Just pick up and surf/email/watch videos etc etc You can do a lot with one thats for sure.

You have to understand it cannot replace a laptop though and no flash may be an issue...

As long as you do not mind the following

1. being Tied into iTunes
2. You do need a decent laptop/base computer to sync with music/videos/Apps for backing up.
3. You accept it does have some short comings

As above wait within the next week expect iPad 2... Camera/Multi Tasking and more
it'll be worth it as normal.

Avoid the 16GB version its not big enough jump for a 32 or 64gig one!

[Mark_T]

I think the lack of Flash is probably a key point as others have mentioned so I'd still say Laptop given what you have described as your planned use.

The only point that I'd say was in the iPads favour is that it is pretty robust due to the lack of moving parts so it is harder for a 5 year old to damage.

[Klaus]

Idd go hands down iPad for a kid. Several of my friends use iPads for their kids as there are quite a bit childfriendly stuff for it.

And ofc if the iPad2 gets an USB port like rumors say it might even be used for my vbar at the field :)

[rhysduk]

Apple will not be supporting Flash for the iPad2. I really cannot see it!!
(although, everything atm is rumour - maybe wait until something is confirmed by apple)
And to be perfectly honest, I haven't run in to ANY problems with the iPad's lack of support for Flash. It's been a joy since the day I had it.

If you have a pc in the house already, get an iPad. Just get case to protect it a bit ;)

[DaveG]

For your stated requirements i'd probably go for a Laptop, it will serve you better as the kids will be able to learn on it and utilise it for doing school work on it etc...etc....

The iPad is great for a quick surf of the net or Numptybook but its not very friendly when it comes to shopping online, so for the wife i would say a laptop would also be the better choice!

Laptops are cheap as chips these days and good deals can be had at various places like PCworld etc...etc...

You would probably find that if you got an iPad that everybody would still be fighting for the Laptop/PC you have at the moment!!

[Rsformatc]

For general browsing and games an ipad for the wife and kids is ideal. As others have said as long as you have a pc in the house for the times you want to use flash other non-ipad supported programs then you'll be fine. I will be getting an ipad 2 which, if the rumours are correct, will have a forward and rear camera making it perfect for Skype etc.

[Rsformatc]

[quote=SynergyMAN;618786]You would probably find that if you got an iPad that everybody would still be fighting for the Laptop/PC you have at the moment!![/quote]

Speaking to all my friends the opposite is more common and are considering having 2 ipads in the house.

[jamiem]

I bought my missus an ipad for Xmas, and she loves it. We still have a laptop, but tbh, it always the ipad that gets used. The battery life is far superior to any laptop I've used, there's no moving parts, so less to break through wear and tear, virtually no heat from it, and the "instant on" is awesome - just press the home button, unlock and your ready. Whenever our nieces come over they grab the ipad and sit there happily for hours playing one of the many games they downloaded on it!

As you already have a laptop, which no doubt can be used by everyone, then get the ipad. If there's something your missus can't do on the ipad she can use the laptop, and I'm sure you will be more than happy using the ipad for browsing the net.

[vtrnutter]

Buy a netbook, these trump iPad's handsdown, except maybe for prettyness. Why? You can run all of your standard applications, plug in USB devices, plug in memory cards, easily transfer files off network / internet / other computers, they have amazing battery life (if you get the right one), you are not restricted to Apple's proprietary file formats, blah blah blah.

I have nothing against Apple (in my house we have various iphones and ipods), it's just the lack of mainstream connectivity is an issue. For me, it's unforgivable that you cannot easily move data between the iPad and PC without syncing via iTunes, or using other crap software transfer techniques.

I have a Dell netbook (model 1012) which has 2gb RAM, 250Gb hard disk, running Windows 7 Ultimate (not the crappy basic version), MS Office professional 2010, as well as all the other mainstream software that we like to use. Ok, it's no good for games (I do occasionally run Phoenix on it with all the graphics options turned down, and it plays ok), but is great for internet, email, video conferencing, media playback etc. Battery life is about 7 hours, slightly less if hammered by video. You can even run OS X on it if you fancy a bit of a challenge.

Nothing against the Ipad, I just think they are overpriced and underspecced for what you get.

My netbook cost me £250 which would leave about the same for heli spares compared to an Ipad.

[challis349]

Why don't you take the wife and kids too comet or currys or somewhere like that, and let them have a play, and see which they prefer

[Streetluge Chris]

[quote=SynergyMAN;618786]For your stated requirements i'd probably go for a Laptop, it will serve you better as the kids will be able to learn on it and utilise it for doing school work on it etc...etc....

The iPad is great for a quick surf of the net or Numptybook but its not very friendly when it comes to shopping online, so for the wife i would say a laptop would also be the better choice!

Laptops are cheap as chips these days and good deals can be had at various places like PCworld etc...etc...

You would probably find that if you got an iPad that everybody would still be fighting for the Laptop/PC you have at the moment!![/quote]
My little girl is 3 and she's a wizz on a laptop or pc think laptop best as gives kids the pc skills they will need can't see the schools replacing everything with iPad.