<p>A MacBook Air (Late 2013) or the 8GB iPad 2 with blue tooth keyboard -- going into Poli Sci so the majority of the work will be word processing and minor presentations - nothing too intense. </p>
<p>Thoughts? </p>
<p>I have both a laptop and an iPad with bluetooth keyboard, but I would never recommend someone have solely an iPad as their main device, unless your okay with going to computer lab anytime you need a real computer. It’s just (to me) a very poor substitute for having an actual computer, but it depends on what you do with it, I guess. I took notes on my iPad during my classes, but there’s so much less you can do on an iPad when compared to a real computer. For one thing, my keyboard was very good but still was not the same as typing on a laptop (sometimes the connection was sketchy, occasional delay in typing). Word processing is not going to be as good (or in my opinion even similar) on an iPad as using actual microsoft word on an actual computer. There’s compatibility issues, and I’ve had problems opening different types of documents. Presenting with an iPad is different than presenting with a laptop, and I personally don’t really like it. It’s more difficult and less flexible, but I use me computer a lot so if you only want to do really basic things and aren’t planning on using it that much then it could be okay.</p>
<p>So I would recommend getting an actual laptop if it’s going to be your main computer. I would never recommend getting an iPad as your soul computer, unless you rarely ever use a computer, but that’s just my personal opinion. Consider what you do regularly on a computer and what you’re willing to tolerate. The limitations of an iPad would drive me insane if I didn’t have an actual computer, but they may not bother you at all.</p>
<p>You definitely want a computer. iPads are handy, but they lack power, full access, and file management. File management is the big thing. You want to be able to put stuff on flash drives, save files and email them, etc. Not sure why you jump to an over $1000 Macbook Air. Windows computers are extremely cheap nowadays, and they can do a lot of stuff. If price is not a big deal however, a Macbook Air would be a good purchase, because it will last you for a very long time.</p>
<p>Get a laptop, but not an overpriced piece of junk. Get a Windows laptop</p>
<p>Definitely the laptop. Tablets are soooo overrated…</p>
<p>Oh, just to clarify - I have both right now; I bought the MBA a few months ago and I just bought a bluetooth keyboard for my iPad today (on sale for 20 dollars) – if I brought one, I’d give the other to my dad. I’m currently using the MBA as my main device for school but thought that perhaps the iPad’s portability would be ideal for college.</p>
<p>Is bringing both too much of a hassle? </p>
<p>Maybe you should ask in the college life or college computers forum since we high schoolers won’t know much about it but if I were you I would take both.</p>
<p>I don’t think both would be much at all. But if you can only bring one, I would suggest bringing the Macbook. And especially since it’s an Air, it’s not much less portable than an iPad. And as myself someone who uses both a laptop and an iPad, I find myself using my laptop much more than I use my iPad. I only find myself using the iPad for watching movies and videos at night, and just general media consumption while I use my laptop for almost anything. I can’t imagine myself getting much work done with only an iPad, especially for college level stuff for example when you do research papers and have to go back and forth on multiple pages and windows.
But I think giving your dad the iPad would be the best option because if he’s anything like my mom, she only uses an iPad for everything she does, so it’ll probably be enough for him. And you can use the MBA for your college needs.</p>