133 replies to this topic

[JMichael]

Workaround:
A method for overcoming a problem or limitation in a program or system.

Evernote is still a workaround even on a desktop or a laptop because Evernote itself not a native feature of operating system, it is actually a method for overcoming a problem or limitation of the operating system.

That's really a stretch, and it doesn't even meet your own definition.
Most of all, it doesn't really address the main point.

By choosing an iPad you are imposing on yourself problems and constraints that you would not have with a MBA.
Choose the right tool for the job.

The iPad is a great device for viewing and reading. That's what I use it mostly for.
It is not so great for composing, particularly long, complex documents that need a variety of graphics, tables, etc.
It works OK for light typing of plain text, but not so much for moderate-heavy typing of rich text with complicated formats (numbered/bullet lists).

[May]

http://clamcase.com/for-professionals


'Nuff said.

yep, as I said

Besides, what's the point in merging those 2 devices and loosing the power of the macbook when you can just use the iPad with a keyboard and maybe a remote desktop app sometimes if you want to.

[heather]

Visuals help

Some people may not realize that, while the iPad isn't a laptop replacement - and I would never, ever, ever suggest anyone use one as such, you really can do a lot of laptop-y things on it.

[May]

By choosing an iPad you are imposing on yourself problems and constraints that you would not have with a MBA.

I could say the opposite, by choosing MBA you are imposing on yourself problems and constraints that you would not have with an iPad

lol

Seriosly though, it depends on the task. in my case 90% of the tasks are done conveniently on iPad, the rest could be done with the remote desktop app on iPad.

Sure if I wanted to create 3d models or whatever in Maya or 3dmax then iPad wouldn't work, but I personally don't need to do this at this point.

but you can do 2d drawings conveniently for example, so it really depends, I mean if you're a 2d artist then it's a different game. and etc.

[JMichael]

I could say the opposite, by choosing MBA you are imposing on yourself problems and constraints that you would not have with an iPad

OK. Let's go down that road. What examples do you have?

[May]

I could say the opposite, by choosing MBA you are imposing on yourself problems and constraints that you would not have with an iPad

OK. Let's go down that road. What examples do you have?

you want to browse the web on the go and do some mind mapping and reading and etc... you could use an MBA for this but it's not as convenient because of the form factor, weight and battery life.

sure if you're always sitting at the desk or something then that's not a problem but you can't use MBA on the go (in all cases conveniently)

[heather]

I cringe at the idea of an 11" screen and spreadsheets.

[May]

Visuals help

Some people may not realize that, while the iPad isn't a laptop replacement - and I would never, ever, ever suggest anyone use one as such, you really can do a lot of laptop-y things on it.

You could actually use 2 iPads at the same time as a single laptop, one as a monitor (logged in with a remote desktop app) and another one as a keyboard and touchpad. It's pretty cool, you get a dual touch screen laptop with great battery life.
There are windows dual touchscreen laptops but all have very poor battery life

[JMichael]

you want to browse the web on the go and do some mind mapping and reading and etc... you could use an MBA for this but it's not as convenient because of the form factor, weight and battery life.

That's it? These are the big benefits of the iPad over the MBA????

Analysis:

• There are no obstacles here, no "can't do" functions
• All of these functions can be done easily on the MBA
• Convenience: IMO, it is rare that you can comfortably use an iPad for any extended period for serious work that you could not also just as comfortably use a MBA.
• The form factor and weight are about the same
• The biggest advantage of the iPad is the battery life, and that is substantially reduced with the iPad 3
  
• This is only an issue if most of the time you don't have access to power
• The MBA-13 offers 7 hours of battery life
• How often are you stuck somewhere for more than 7 hours without an opportunity to recharge your battery?

I read a lot on both the iPad and MBA, mostly using the Kindle app.
Since I can set the background, font size and brightness on both devices, I can make it really confortable reading on both.
In some cases the iPad is easier to place/hold for reading.
In other cases the MBA is easier because I don't have to hold it, and I can adjust the screen to any angle.

So, I can see where some might *prefer* the iPad over the MBA, but I don't see any major advantages.

[May]

well what if you want to do drawings? what if you want to shoot HD video and edit it right away on the same device? What if you want to do mind mapping?

Task management is also much more convenient on iPad in Omnifocus app.
reading is more convenient.
Writing is as convenient as on the laptop with an external keyboard.
watching video is more convenient on the go.

What else do you need? you can read and write, draw, video calls, take pictures and videos, organize all information in your life and have everything accessible at all times on single portable light weight device with a great battery life.

you could use MBA but it's not anywhere near as convenient to use on the go because of the form factor and input method

editing Microsoft office documents is not convenient but I don't need this.

the main advantage is it's just more convenient. I agree there are no major advantages but there are no major disadvantages either. It's just a great device for regular daily tasks and it's convenient to use everywhere for both quick and long periods of time. MBA is convenient only when you are sitting somewhere for long periods of time.

[JMichael]

OK, so I get that, for you, some things are more convenient on the iPad.
That's fair. In fact, to some degree, that is one of the design goals of the iPad, to make things simpler, easier.

But "convenience" is a personal, relative, term.

I do like the iPad for some things, but *I* find the MBA, with the magic touchpad and/or mouse, to be much more convenient for most tasks. I never liked touchpads before, but when I got my first MBA I found it to work much better than any other I had used.

I guess I have a few points:

• Each of us may find one or the other device "more convenient".
• The MBA can generally provide all of the functionality available on the iPad
  
  • There may be a few very specialized apps on the iPad not available on the Mac
• There are many functions on the MBA that can not be done on the iPad
• Choosing an iPad over an MBA (or other Ultrabook) may self-impose some constraints and problems

For my use, lack of direct support for MS Office apps/docs is an iPad deal-breaker for me. I have used, and continue to use, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook for years. I have many colleagues and clients that use these, especially Excel. Microsoft has rewritten Office for Mac with ver 2011, and all of these apps are very snappy, and work very well on the Mac.

[JMichael]

MBA is convenient only when you are sitting somewhere for long periods of time.

Agreed. But then I do all of my work sitting.

Actually, it works great when you have only a few moments to sit.
Open the lid, instant on. When done, shut the lid, instant sleep.

[jbenson2]

Open the lid, instant on. When done, shut the lid, instant sleep.

Instant on. That is sweet. It is a feature that might make me switch from Windows.

[JMichael]

I guess I should add that my preference for the MBA is driven by my needs for trips (even short 1 day trips) and meeting support.

I tried really hard for over a year to make the iPad work (taking both my iPad and my Windows laptop) on trips. I would do my best to use only the iPad, but had to pull out the Win Laptop almost every time.

I was trying to use Evernote (or any other app) on the iPad to take meeting notes, but it just didn't work:

• Could not type fast enough with the virtual KB
• Hands quickly got tired holding my fingers just above the KB, waiting to type
• No support for rich text, especially lists (numbered and bullet)
• Much harder to quickly select text for formatting, copy, paste, etc

Evernote iPad has come a long way since then, but there are still a number of problems (lack of features, stability) that hinder using EN iPad for taking notes during a meeting.

I was just about to buy one of the KB/cases for the iPad when I discovered the MBA. After a long test drive at the Apple store, and reading a few reviews, I was sold. Bought my first Mac in 10 years. Best computer decision and best PC/Mac I have ever used.

[JMichael]

Apple must be doing something right with the iPad, just as it is, without KB, USB, Mouse, etc.

Quote from iPad lures first-time Apple customers
by Joel Mathis, Macworld.com Apr 26, 2012 1:00 pm

Apple reported Tuesday that it sold 11.8 million tablets during the fiscal second quarter—which included the new iPad launch—up from 151 percent in the year-ago period. Company officials on the earnings call noted the importance of new customers to that growth.

“The iPad continues to open new doors to customers with whom Apple had no previous relationship,” said chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer.

Cook said he believes the iPad can continue to drive the company’s growth.
“I think that the limit here is nowhere in sight,” he said Tuesday.

“We’ve now—through the last quarter, I should say, which is just two years after we shipped the initial iPad—we’ve sold 67 million. To put that in some context, it took us 24 years to sell that many Macs, and five years for that many iPods, and over three years for that many iPhones, and we were extremely happy with the trajectory on all of those products.”
It’s not just household consumer use, however, that will drive that adoption, Cook said. Enterprise use of the tablet is a major component of the iPad’s growth.

“I’m pleased to report that 94 percent of the Fortune 500 are testing or deploying iPads, and 75 precent of the Global 500 are testing or deploying iPads. These numbers are just off the charts for a product that’s only 24 months old,”

Cook said, and added: “It’s absolutely the most broad-base product I have ever seen in my whole career in terms of adoption rate into the enterprise.”

[GrumpyMonkey]

why ipad over mba?
1 price. 500 v 1000
2 handwriting.
3 reading.
4 battery life. 10 v 7
5 weight.
6 ease of use. you can use anywhere, even standing in line at the market.
7 best display available in the world.
8 indent in evernote
9 4g

i never said apple was doing anything "wrong" with its decisions. i'm part of
those sales numbers. i said tim was wrong about the tradeoffs. many things we associate with computers have been replicated or improved upon by jailbreakers and android. and, for this reason, i remain android curious. tim isn't taking it where i want to go, probably because he doesn't want to cannibalize the mba sales.

that's cool you like the mba. so do i. but, it's not a good fit for me. i don't want to see a frankenstein product. you do you. i'll do me. but, this time next year, "me" might have an android, because i think google and asus have a more compelling vision of future tablets.

[May]

GM, I still don't get what features exactly you want from iPad which are almost there on Android. Do you want mouse and usb ports?

iPad will get better with time. Android will get better with time. But since iPad is so far ahead initially and people at Apple aren't total idiots and most developers ignore Andoroid marketplace - it's just illogical to expect Android to become MUCH better than iPad in the near future. I don't get why you're so excited with Android and Asus. I'm just glad there's healthy competition but I don't expect Android and Asus to magically get ahead any time soon. Android and Asus might have the vision but do they have enough developers interested in making this vision come true? at this point - no.

Some convergence is happening all the time. You can do lots of laptop tasks on iPad already.

Maybe next year we will have file system and apps would share files. who knows. this seems like a common request, so why not. Maybe iCloud would get a lot better. Apple wouldn't just keep iOS stagnant, you know... It won't replace the macbook but it will still be getting better all the time.

the point Tim made was not about artificially limiting the tablet to keep selling the macbook. I think you've made wrong conclusion and misinterpreted his point.

[nova47]

So, for each task I pick the 'best' machine.

Exactly. I've got a lot of pots to choose from in the kitchen and a lot of Apples in the office. And I love all my "kids" the same because they are each successful as individuals.

[GrumpyMonkey]

GM, I still don't get what features exactly you want from iPad which are almost there on Android. Do you want mouse and usb ports?

iPad will get better with time. Android will get better with time. But since iPad is so far ahead initially and people at Apple aren't total idiots and most developers ignore Andoroid marketplace - it's just illogical to expect Android to become MUCH better than iPad in the near future. I don't get why you're so excited with Android and Asus. I'm just glad there's healthy competition but I don't expect Android and Asus to magically get ahead any time soon. Android and Asus might have the vision but do they have enough developers interested in making this vision come true? at this point - no.

Some convergence is happening all the time. You can do lots of laptop tasks on iPad already.

Maybe next year we will have file system and apps would share files. who knows. this seems like a common request, so why not. Maybe iCloud would get a lot better. Apple wouldn't just keep iOS stagnant, you know... It won't replace the macbook but it will still be getting better all the time.

the point Tim made was not about artificially limiting the tablet to keep selling the macbook. I think you've made wrong conclusion and misinterpreted his point.

a lot of little things already mentioned. how about the ability to use it without a computer!? you are
more optimistic about apple's willingness
to change course.

android? as stated, the hardware is not there yet. close, but not quite. concretely speaking, the transformer is one of those convergences, but asus bungled the wifi. if they get it right along with a retina-like display (as stated, in production now), then it will get interesting.

developers? fewer ***** apps, but plenty of everything else, at least, for my needs. i do, however, hope there will be more. it is a concern.

[May]

a lot of little things like usb ports and mouse? that's just 2 things which don't even matter.
Sure, ok, Android has those features. but what about essential things, e.g. good apps?

ability to use it without computer? My mum uses it without computer. I synced it for her initially and that was it.

I don't sync either. Sometimes I send all of the photos and videos from camera roll to itunes (with iphoto app) to archive them and backup on my computer. I do it on iPad with a remote desktop app without touching a computer. And that's not even essential and not for everyone, I mean you can just upload everything to Flickr or something. Flickr studio makes it easy to batch upload photos.

I actually don't need to touch my desktop or laptop at all. I can get away without using them because everything which can't be done on iPad natively could be done with remote desktop app. Jump desktop is a good app and it has no lag whatsoever on the local network.

I use the desktop to stream all my music and videos to iPad but that also doesn't require using the desktop itself directly.

***** apps. I'm not using them. But my top apps like iThoughtsHD, Omnifocus and etc. are not even available on Android.

So I still don't get why you're so excited about Android and how it's going to get ahead of iOS in the near future. Sure it will get close in terms of hardware, even though retina displays makes it pretty hard but that doesn't even really matter because apps and overall experience is what really matters. Hardware doesn't matter.

Can Android apps share files? i.e. can you edit Evernote attachments with different apps and then save them back to Evernote notes without generating new copies and etc.?