Please help; Can a iPad replace my MacBookPro?

[billwill]

I'm retired, handicapped and have a very limited income. The wonderful MacBookPro I bought over 6 years ago before losing my job is starting to make some sounds like the hard drive might be on its way out. Before my Applecare expired, the 250GB hard drive crashed and Apple replaced it with a 500GB and a new logic board but there's no Applecare left.

I have neither enough money nor credit rating to buy a new MacBook or MacBookPro. Basically all I do with the MacBookPro is surf the Internet, do quite a bit of emailing with friends, family and military buddies and look at daily newspapers and periodicals.

I don't know enough about the latest iPad's capabilities. What would I lose using it exclusively, other than slow typing?

Thank you very much for any assistance you can offer.

 

[giradman]

Hello - well I can start the discussion but you will likely receive a number of different suggestions. Also, I'm assuming that you have a home Wi-Fi network since you are 'surfing' the web; I have an iPad Air 2 and do most of my book and magazine reading on the device (the screen size is fine for me especially w/ the retina display); you can certainly do email on an iPad but typing is the main issue - the on-screen keyboard (KB) is a pain to use in my opinion - I take my iPad 'on the road' and bring along a BT (Bluetooth) Apple KB which mimics typing like on your laptop, however, there is a combination of typing and screen touching needed (not a big problem for me but a feature you need to adapt to).

The 3 iPads (and remember you could buy used or refurbished ones at a reduced price) that I would suggest considering are the iPad Air, iPad Air 2, or the about to be released iPad Pro w/ a larger screen - attached are some comparative specs for these three models - notice that the cost is quite variable depending on the amount of storage you want & whether you need cellular service (w/ data plan)? As to KBs, you can obtain those made by Apple or third-party suppliers (plenty of choices for covers, keyboards, etc.). For the iPad Pro, Apple will be offering a new KB-cover described below (Source) along w/ a pic, and will sell for about $169, I believe.

Let me stop there and allow you to respond, especially regarding your budget - Dave

The Smart Connector supplies power to the keyboard, so it contains no batteries, and provides a data connection, so it doesn’t need to be paired via Bluetooth. I hope to see this connector extended to other iOS devices in the future–I’m sure accessory developers would embrace it.

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[billwill]

Thank you very much for a prompt and very informative reply! I need to mull over the different iPads (both new and refurbished). I live in Winston-Salem, NC. The nearest Apple Store is in Greensboro, NC, about 35 miles from me. However, our local mall has a "Simply Mac" (formerly MacAuthority) store that handles all Mac products at the same pricing as the Apple Store. I'll wait until my MacBookPro takes its last spin, then will have to make a decision on what I'll do.

Again, thank you for such great information! Hope you're having a very nice weekend.

 

[giradman]

Thank you very much for a prompt and very informative reply! I need to mull over the different iPads (both new and refurbished). I live in Winston-Salem, NC. The nearest Apple Store is in Greensboro, NC, about 35 miles from me. However, our local mall has a "Simply Mac" (formerly MacAuthority) store that handles all Mac products at the same pricing as the Apple Store. I'll wait until my MacBookPro takes its last spin, then will have to make a decision on what I'll do.

Hi again - a small world, i.e. I live in Winston-Salem (just off Peace Haven Road in Old Sherwood Forest). I bought my iMac & an Apple AirPort Extreme router from now 'Simply Mac' in early 2013 - our iPads & my MBPro were purchased from Apple online, and wife's iPhone 6 from the Verizon store on Robinhood Rd., so you have plenty of purchase options - refurbished iPads can be bought from Apple directly w/ a one-year warranty (HERE).

But from your last statement above concerning 'until my MBPro takes its last spin', do you have data/files that you might want on the iPad, e.g. photos, music, etc.? Are these 'files' backed up in some fashion (external HD, online, or other means)? Keep in mind that a standard USB external HD cannot be attached to an iPad to transfer files, but there are other options - let us know. Dave

 

[superfish]

Just to stick my two cents in here:
1--If your fiances are limited, I think it would be a whole lot cheaper to replace the hard drive. Especially if the rest of your Mac is working properly.
2--If you think your HDD is failing be sure to move your important data to some where else Like icloud.

I'm thinking that the "Simply Mac" store could do all that for you at a cost way less than a new iPad.

 

[superfish]

HEHE giradman types faster than I do.

 

[billwill]

Thanks, Dave. I have a My Passport for Mac external drive that I back up on about every 10 days. When my MacBookPro does die, I'll take it around to the Mac shops here in town and get guesstimates on replacing the hard drive (or whatever it dies from).

Question about your Apple Airport Extreme router; is that what you use for WiFi? I ask because for years I had a D-Link router that did fine but it died about a year ago. Not getting out much, I bit for the router from Time-Warner which is my ISP. I think I pay about $8 a month for it. Would I save money buying the Airport Extreme router? Thanks again.

 

[billwill]

Thanks, Superfish. I will check around for repair/replacement when I need it. There seems to be several "Mac authorized" service places in my small town.

 

[giradman]

Just to stick my two cents in here:
1--If your fiances are limited, I think it would be a whole lot cheaper to replace the hard drive. Especially if the rest of your Mac is working properly.
2--If you think your HDD is failing be sure to move your important data to some where else Like icloud.

I'm thinking that the "Simply Mac" store could do all that for you at a cost way less than a new iPad.

Hi Superfish - I think that our OP needs to provide some more specific information on his MBPro which is at least 6 years old (maybe more?) - the details can be checked at Every Mac, and the current OS X installed might be helpful - replacing the HD w/ a SSD would be a better option (if possible on his laptop?) and RAM may need to be added if a newer OS X is installed, so could run into more $$ than just a new HD - don't know? Dave

 

[billwill]

My MacBookPro is a 13 inch, mid-2010 with 8GB memory running Yosemite. I think it's maxed out on 8GB.

 

[billwill]

Hi Dave. I forgot to ask: do you recommend any particular Mac repair places in town? Thanks again.

 

[giradman]

Thanks, Dave. I have a My Passport for Mac external drive that I back up on about every 10 days. When my MacBookPro does die, I'll take it around to the Mac shops here in town and get guesstimates on replacing the hard drive (or whatever it dies from).

Question about your Apple Airport Extreme router; is that what you use for WiFi? I ask because for years I had a D-Link router that did fine but it died about a year ago. Not getting out much, I bit for the router from Time-Warner which is my ISP. I think I pay about $8 a month for it. Would I save money buying the Airport Extreme router? Thanks again.

Hi again Billwill - just curious about your external HD - are you just dragging desired files to the drive or are you using Time Machine? Not sure which OS X you have installed but check my most recent previous post w/ a link to a site - try to match up your laptop and provide that information along w/ the Mac OS X on your MBPro - might help.

Concerning the Apple AirPort Extreme router, I own the previous 'flat' model which is 802.11 b/g/n - the newer ones are faster (adding the 'ac' protocol) and have other updated features - attached is a pic of the three models offered by Apple ($99 for the Express, $199 for the Extreme, and then more if you want to add HD storage to the router) - this is my 4th home router - my previous Cisco 802.11 b/g/n just did not work well w/ our new 2013 iMac, the reason for my purchase - there are much cheaper 'other brand' routers on the market.

As to your TW, I also use them and rent their cable modem which is attached to my Extreme router and provides the Wi-Fi network for our home. I'm assuming that the $8/month is the TW fee for renting their modem-router combo, unless you just have their modem and have your laptop cabled - my 2013 MBPro has no ethernet cable, although I do have a USB-Ethernet adapter, if needed. But again let us know which model/year laptop you own. Dave
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[billwill]

Thanks again! Yes, I use Time Machine with the external drive. I'm currently waiting a reply from customer service at Western Digital; after I upgraded to Yosemite, I stopped receiving notices saying, "It has been 10 days since your last backup." I don't know if that notice came from Time Machine or the external drive's software. The guy at Western Digital is tracking it down. Time Machine saved my butt when my first hard drive crashed. When I received it back from AppleCare, Time Machine brought me right up to date!

 

[giradman]

My MacBookPro is a 13 inch, mid-2010 with 8GB memory running Yosemite. I think it's maxed out on 8GB.

Well, you beat me to the post - not sure which CPU is in your laptop, but the pic of the machine attached likely is a close match to what you own, and Apple was still including an ethernet port then - so is your TW device just a modem cabled into your MBPro, a combo modem-router, or do you have a separate router? For the TW cable service, you need a modem, either one rented from them or one that you buy and install - the router is yet another device that for me sits between my TW modem and my wife's iMac cabled via ethernet; the router creates the Wi-Fi network which we connect to w/ our other devices (two iPads, one iPhone, my MBPro, Roku x 2, HDTV, Blu-ray player, and an old iPod Touch - may have left a few out - ). Most ISP services these days can offer a 'combo' single box that is a modem & a router.

Hi Dave. I forgot to ask: do you recommend any particular Mac repair places in town? Thanks again.

Fortunately, I've had no major issues w/ our Apple products - but I would use either the place at the mall locally (they did help me w/ a frayed charging cord on my MBPro earlier this year - still had some AppleCare time left and received a free replacement) or make an appointment at the Genius Bar of the Apple Store in Greensboro; as to other Apple places in Winston-Salem, I'd want an authorized and recommended one which I cannot provide at the moment. Dave
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[giradman]

Thanks again! Yes, I use Time Machine with the external drive. I'm currently waiting a reply from customer service at Western Digital; after I upgraded to Yosemite, I stopped receiving notices saying, "It has been 10 days since your last backup." I don't know if that notice came from Time Machine or the external drive's software. The guy at Western Digital is tracking it down. Time Machine saved my butt when my first hard drive crashed. When I received it back from AppleCare, Time Machine brought me right up to date!

Great! I was going to suggest using Time Machine (TM), but you are already setup w/ the app. I use two different external HDs to do TM backups (I'm into redundancy - also use CCC, i.e. Carbon Copy Cloner, x 2 for a bootable clone of our Macs). Our machines have Yosemite installed - I have 2 external HDs plugged into my iMac, but do TM & CCC backups weekly (on the weekend) on my laptop so those drives are intermittently plugged in to USB - I still see the 10 days backup notification if I've been away and missed a weekly session - checked in System Preferences, both TM & Notifications, but could not find a way to enable the backup notification - believe that it is built into the Apple OS and/or its apps and likely has nothing to do w/ you external HD. Dave