iPad or Macbook Air for a student?

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Level 1

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iPad or Macbook Air for a student?

Hello all. I am a student who recently began my degree in the Norwegian equivalent of College. I was thinking of getting an Apple device primarily for lectures, but also for recreational purposes. Right now I have an iPhone 5, and a fairly powerful laptop, but a short- lived battery and the size of the laptop is a bit of an issue for lectures and packing. I also have a pretty large music library, and i stream a lot of movies/shows, as well as music.

My main purposes for the purchase will be note- taking and document managing, streaming/surfing and iTunes. I also want something with which I can entertain myself on travels and such. Let's assume I will get the next generation of whatever device, as I understand they are both around the corner.

Personally, I'm leaning towards an iPad with at least 32GB memory and a keyboard, considering I have a good Windows laptop. The price is also a little more manageable. The lack of HDMI output is a drawback though.

On a side note: how is managing documents on an apple device and synchronizing with a Windows device done? Any programs/apps I should know about?

Thanks in advance.

Posted on Sep 14, 2013 1:36 AM

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Answer 1

rccharles

Level 6

13,037 points

Sep 14, 2013 9:01 AM in response to Julianrk

Your iPad questions.

Use the Lightning Digital AV Adapte -- Lighting to HDMI

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD826ZM/A/lightning-digital-av-adapter

There are lots of ways of moving files.

A simple and popular way to copy files and share files amoung your devices.

https://www.dropbox.com/

Using iTures to transfer files:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4094?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

how is managing documents on an apple device

Each app has it own document management system.

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Answer 2

Sep 14, 2013 12:35 PM in response to Julianrk

Do a Google search using ipad vs macbook air college and you'll get some suggestions.

 Cheers, Tom 😉

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Answer 3

Sep 16, 2013 3:58 AM in response to Julianrk

There is not document management on the iPad. Each app knows which documents it can open and shows only those. You have no access to anything like a folder/document structure. In fact there's no concept of a folder on an iPad.

You use iTunes on your laptop to keep the iPad in synchrony with it. Changes on one are sent to the other each time you synchronise. You can, of course, continue to organise your documents on your laptop.

The iPad is a wonderful device -- slim, light, long battery life, fast. It's a great portable device. But it's not a fully-fledged computer. However, you say you already have a laptop, so it may be the thing for you.

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