Laptop, netbook or iPad?

[boomersmom]

Can someone help me? I am thinking of getting a laptop for my family for christmas. It would be used for searching the internet, emails and maybe some games. Which device do you recommend, a laptop, netbook or an iPad? Could you also explain some of the advantages of one over the other? Thanks.

 

[Pamlur]

I love my iPad, but right now it has a major disadvantage with some games. It doesn't have/use/whatever, "Flash". I'm completely uncertain as to what that means, but I know it's major. I don't think I can play on the pogo.com game site with it.

I have a group of friends who just got home from a cruise from Sydney to Aukland; two of them took their ipads and loved them. They sent "sea mail" complete with pictures.

 

[Myothername]

I just did a lot of research into this very thing and ordered a netbook. I mainly wanted it to search the web, email, facebook and maybe watch a movie or play a game and I wanted something light and portable. For the money the netbook was the best for me. I talked to a sales person at Best Buy and read some reviews and for me to have gotten a smaller laptop for the same amount of money I would have given up some on speed. She explained that the netbooks were designed for surfing the web and some light office work. A laptop costing the same would run slower because there are so many other things that run on a laptop at the same time. Netbooks run faster. There is no DVD player on a netbook because since they are so light they tend to get banged around a little more than a laptop. A DVD driver would break easily in that case. I am getting an external player so I can watch movies or play a game if I want. They cost about $50 for that. From what I read you can't watch movies on Ipad and they are just so darn expensive I did not see the advantage. I ended up getting a HP mini 110. I got a little discount through my work and upgraded the hard drive, got the 2 year tech support and virus protection. My total was about $400.

 

[LuvOrlando]

The Ipad is good but it has a number of annoying flaws such as no arrow keys which makes e-mail impossible, and an over aggressive spell-check. Supposedly, the arrow key issue and others will be fixed in the next generation which is coming out soon so I'd wait for that.

We are getting out daughter a cheap net-book for Christmas so she can surf the internet a bit but they can be easily compromised so if you get one make sure you have some kind of virus protection and maintenance on it for when a kid gets a virus or something, same goes for a laptop. My maintenance package is my DH

Overall I would stick with Apple products because they are superior in so many ways, more expensive but worth every dime.

Good luck with whatever you choose

PS- you can watch movies on the Ipad, I think there is an Itunes like service where you can download a movie to watch it, part of Itunes I think. My son used it when we were out of the country but not since then.

 

[Robinrs]

I have an android reader, a laptop AND a netbook. I use all three for different purposes. I use the netbook the most.

 

[Rora]

I would get a laptop.

 

[boomersmom]

Thanks everyone for your input! Now, does anyone have any recommendations for an inexpensive laptop or netbook?

 

[anna_chronistic]

I have the HP mini netbook 110, as well. I only use it for writing articles, websurfing, checking e-mail, and basic games (Spider Solitaire, Bejeweled, other games that came with it, etc. -- no games I installed or purchased and nothing complicated). Works just fine for me. I love that it is so light, portable, and has significantly better battery life than my old laptop.

I originally tested out an iPad (borrowed one from work for a week), but I decided against it. Although I love Mac products, this one was not for me. No usb ports, and although it's a light and portable, it's more about fun than function. In addition to the initial cost, I would've been paying monthly for 3G and I would've needed to shell out significantly more for either a wireless keyboard or a keyboard/charger attachment (I type so much I really need a keyboard -- touchscreen won't cut it for me), plus a cover. And since I use it on my lap, that could've been awkward and unwieldy. My phone does pretty much everything I would want an iPad to do, anyway.

There's no denying there are some fabulous iPad apps, but I needed something basic that would do what I want it to do without requiring anything "extra" (cords to create a usb port where none exist, external keyboard, additional monthly payment, etc.).

I guess my question is, what is NOT important to you? You can get something fully tricked out that you will never use, get a basic package and then purchase the extras, get the Cadillac of netbooks/iPads solely for a few uses but then play with the extras and discover they are perfect for you/your family, know you need (and thus only purchase) a basic netbook/laptop, etc. It just depends on what you need, how you'll use it, and what kind of techie you are.

 

[bicker]

If games is a priority, stick with a real laptop.

Don't go cheap - you may end up paying for it in the end, with more service issues and other annoyances.

Dell offers a good, inexpensive laptop in the Inspiron 15R, for $499. i3 processor, 15.6" HD screen, 3GB RAM, 320GB hard drive.

 

[Kimberly]

I would go for a small laptop over a netbook/ipad. If you want to ever use it for something else, at least you have the ability to, or even can more readily upgrade it.

 

[crazelion]

I have an android reader, a laptop AND a netbook. I use all three for different purposes. I use the netbook the most.

How is the the android reader working out. I am serious considering getting one these?

 

[sewer]

Unless you have some specific needs get the iPad. 8 to 12 hours of battery power games and apps by the thousands not to mention the portability.......