Why so many people try to use iPad as laptop replacement?

[Mountainbikermark]

Not a pre windows user then?

Check out the specs for the onboard computers on the Apollo moon landings......then check out your phone specs, I think you'll be running far more computational power in your pocket than those guys who were a quarter of a million miles from earth.

Like I say, maybe it's my age, but I figure I know a computer when I see one even if it's not in a beige box.

The Archangel

Actually, yes, from the DOS/OS/2 era . You do understand that the Apollo onboard computers were not laptops nor PCs as the iPad is not a spacecraft computer? Even if there is enough horsepower in an iPad, it was not built to be a laptop/desktop computer... The word computer is mostly used to describe a laptop or a desktop, even if we all know that it is describing a device able to do computation. We can be picky on words meaning, and argue til the end of days about it.

thinking about it, i'm even a pre-DOS user... Started with a Timex Sinclair... Those were the days

VicoPad addict!

Commodore VIC20 with cassette tape drive , not a floppy,for me ad my first computer

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[DrHouse]

Commodore VIC20 with cassette tape drive , not a floppy,for me ad my first computer

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That's was my second computer, right after the Sinclair... And it was saving on a cassette recorder, the same one we used to tape our kid radio shows

VicoPad addict!

 

[Somerled]

You are arguing over vernacular and the laziness of not using proper terms by the majority of the populace.

The iPad is a computer.
A Laptop is a computer.
A Desktop is a computer.
A Server is a computer.
A Calculator is a computer. (wait, something that computes equations?)
A smartphone (any cell phone anymore) is a computer.

Do I need to go on? Really? It isn't the horsepower that dictates what a computer is. It doesn't matter.

Hmmm. So much truth and wisdom... By that logic, since a man is a mammal, thus an animal, thus a living being, therefor I am a fish, a bird, a plant... Come on, are you trying to "educate" the populace? Haven't you understood the intent of the OP when he said that the iPad is not a laptop? What is it that you must absolutely try to be right, up to the point of being out of the subject? Don't tell me that your last name is Spock!

All of this makes me remember people arguing over that the word Linux does not describe the OS but the kernel... Picky for the fun of it, bringing nothing to the discussion.

Darn, I'm being aggressive today, should start smoking again

VicoPad addict!

Wow, really? Try reading comprehension again... And, a few posts up, I said "All Laptops/Desktops are computers but not all computers are laptops/desktops. In the same way that all Squares are Rectangles but not all Rectangles are Squares."

But it doesn't matter, you are at the point, proven by your response, that logic escapes you right now. Go have your smoke, or drink or shooter and come back when your logic circuit turns back on.

BTW, All humans are animals, but not all animals are humans. All Fish are animals, but not all animals are Fish...

 

[info]

Technically, the iPad is a computer. But I would agree that the iPad is not a "computer" in the same way of using it like a laptop or a desktop... It's a functional difference between the iPad and any laptop/desktop.

There is no real multithread
It can only show one app at a time
All apps are displayed in fullscreen
You cannot format it and install another OS
It was meant as a mobile device and not a workstation...

If we consider a device with ram, CPU, internal storage, input and output. Then my Wii, my calculator, my DVD recorder are also computers...

VicoPad addict!

All it would take to have all of these on the iPad are some minor tweaks to iOS.

 

[SweetPoison]

Keep responses and discussions civil and respectful ~ not personal or this thread will be closed.

 

[hfw]

Well said.

It just depends on the usage as to what one needs. The iPad does just about everything I need and it's very compact which fits my life style better than my laptop.

Back to the original question... I came over to the dark (Apple) side with a MacBookPro in september 2010 after using every Windows version since before 3, DOS, C/PM, Tandy/RadioShack, and the Commodore Vic20 and 64. Oh, and an HP21(?) calculator that in 1970 had more power than a room of mainframes in the university computer lab, according to an accounting major friend. If I had my way, I'd use the iPad for everything, and come very close to doing just that. I was an encyclopedia junkie as a kid, and use the web for that now. With the iPad I can be practically anywhere when curiosity gets the better of me, take along reference books i'd like to have but don't want to carry, and write proposals, papers and sermons. Since I can do all that, I'd be thrilled to be able to set text in multiple languages, without having to transfer files. My MBPro is nice, but the battery life isn't wonderful, which means that if i'm going to be using it for more than a couple of hours, i'm glued to an outlet at some point, and then it's almost like being back at a desktop. The iPad is really a spoiler. I'm not planning to get a 2, so have pretty high expectations that by the 3, it may be able to be my only computer...

(by the way, I got the iPad for an online course, feeling a little guilty because of the expense and having no idea what else I'd be doing with it, but I seem to discover things every day. The first let me buy a 1000+ page textbook, used, chop off the spine, drill holes and then scan/OCR a couple chapters at a time (that part did require the laptop). Not only was my back happier for not having to carry/read such a weighty text, I was able to highlight, just like with a yellow highlighter, make margin notes and doodles, AND export the highlighted passages to an iPad word processing program, so I could have my own summary of the material!

 

[f4780y]

Use it as e-book reader, web browser and notepad and you have no problem. If one can't fathom the boundary between iPad and computer, soon s/he will hit brick wall.

I would strongly disagree with your definition of the limitations of an iPad. Whilst it may not be able to (nor should it) replace 100% of a laptops capabilities, it can do far more than be used as a browser and notepad.

I have successfully integrated it into my working practices and no longer require a laptop during my working day except in exceptional circumstances. For me, the iPad has worked as a replacement.
Not everyone uses a laptop in the same way, just as not everyone uses their iPad in the same way.

 

[Mountainbikermark]

When deciding on a book reader I tried a Kindle. I took it back and exchanged it for an iPad, fully thinking I'd still use my phone as my desktop replacement.
I'd pondered a laptop before deciding on a book reader instead but it would be overkill when I have a phone that does 99% of what my desktop does so I decided on a book reader instead to have a bigger screen than my phone.
That being said I've been using my iPad for more than a book reader since about the second week I had it. As I use it more I discover more that it will do, mostly via an app that I read about on this or other forums.
I still use my desktop on occasion to deposit data or sync the iPad . Only once since purchasing the iPad have I needed to full fledged browsing/ multitask capability of the desktop that neither my phone or iPad could handle. Since discovering icab and how to get the most of it it has been able to do a lot of heavy lifting I used to use my phone for and I get the benefit of a 10" screen vs a 3.7" screen. I still use my phone for Flash videos but Puffin does fine for lesser Flash sites.
At first my iPad was going to be a book reader and Tapatalk forums surfer and a place to show off pictures but it is daily being used a little differently than when I first got it.
If I was doing more heavy lifting computing I'd consider something else, maybe a laptop or netbook but I get the benefit of about 10 hours between charges as well without looking for electrical receptacles wherever I go.
Hope that helps


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[I_luv_Apple]

I use my iPad to write my dissertation as I find it far more portable than my laptop without the problems of Internet access and dongles etc when using it in libraries. I do have MacBooks and an iMac too but find I use my iPad more out of convenience and the lack of Microsoft isn't a problem as I tend to now use pages more.
I don't know about other people but love the fact that I have a device that is small enough to fit in my handbag which I can use to read books and magazines during my commute which also then permits me to write. I think it's down to personal preference how we use this device and shouldn't be judged for using an iPad in place of a laptop if we want to. I haven't used my laptop at all since purchasing the iPad.

 

[RNkitKat]

I purchased my iPad as a last resort while I waited for my laptop to be repaired. I needed something portable to take to lectures and clinical, as this semester I have many papers that have to be written at our clinical sites, and didn't want to have to buy a new laptop when I knew my old one was coming back soon. It WAS a more expensive route than I have gone before, but I have yet to regret it. I can take lecture notes, make clinical observations and journal entries required, as well as study material, read a book or play a game to take a break, and most important, I can Skype with my husband who is stationed in another state and it feels like he is sitting right next to me having a conversation. The iPad may not be a traditional laptop, but for me, it has become so much more.

 

[cypress]

although i dont see it as replacing my laptop, i see it as getting alot more use then it.

 

[Aladyleyna]

I think it depends on the person and what he or she uses a traditional desktop and laptop for. I admit, I'm an MMORPG gamer, and I can't play any of my favourite MMO games on the iPad, so I'm definitely one of those that needs a laptop still. Plus, while I do agree that the iPad is great for editing work, I tend to type and write faster on a laptop and notebook than on an iPad, so I would still prefer to use a laptop for work purposes.

That being said, I use the iPad for everything else, like reading, surfing the Internet (I do all my surfing on the iPad now), playing casual games, reading manga and magazines. Plus, it's portable and the battery life is amazing.

So I would say that while the iPad can't replace a laptop, it definitely is in a whole class of it's own.

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[SweetPoison]

while I do agree that the iPad is great for editing work, I tend to type and write faster on a laptop and notebook than on an iPad, so I would still prefer to use a laptop for work purposes.

That being said, I use the iPad for everything else, like reading, surfing the Internet (I do all my surfing on the iPad now), playing casual games, reading manga and magazines. Plus, it's portable and the battery life is amazing.

So I would say that while the iPad can't replace a laptop, it definitely is in a whole class of it's own.

This is me 100%. I agree totally!

 

[RAC]

iPad OS is a scaled up mobile OS version.

The question is whether iOS is really a suitable platform for a tablet, being originally targeted at the iPhone/iPod market?

I think that there is a problem. The iPad should be more than just a jumped up iPhone.

 

[f4780y]

The question is whether iOS id really a suitable platform for a tablet, being originally targeted at the iPhone/iPod market?

I think that there is a problem. The iPad should be more than just a jumped up iPhone.

I take your point, but disagree slightly.
It is exactly what the iPad should be. Scaled up from a phone, rather than scaled down from a laptop / desktop.
I believe its precisely the reason it has been such a success. For years Microsoft has tried to scale down it's desktop OS for smaller devices and wholly failed. It's only recently that things have started to change.
Apple did exactly the right thing, taking the iPhone OS which was touch based from the outset, and scale it up to the iPad. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it is absolutely the right route to launch their tablet revolution, rather than trying to take OSX and scale it down...