tablet vs laptop

[MatildaLiv]

Hello all,

I am going to be starting my Masters in Mental Health Counseling this Fall and seeing as my Mac Book is on the verge of dying I figured it was a good time to invest in something new. I will be commuting [1 hour]  to school so having something light and with good battery life would be ideal, but given that I wont have access to my desktop, I also need something that can perform in terms of taking notes, reading PDFs, perhaps making power points. 

 

What would you say is the best combination for seamless, practical and productive use? 

- a desktop and a laptop 

- a desktop and a tablet 

and which ones.

 

Are Mac's compatible with the spss software for research and does this apply to tablets also?

 

Thank you for your time and advice

[juilletmercredi]

Yes, you can use SPSS on a Mac, but not on a tablet.

 

I think the answer to this depends on how you want to use it.  I currently have a MacBook Pro that I use as a desktop at home and an iPad Air.  Ever since Microsoft Office 360 came out with a good version for the iPad, I don't take my laptop out of the house that often - mostly I take it if I'm going on longer trips.  Otherwise, I use my iPad.  I bought a $30 Bluetooth keyboard from Amazon (Amazon Basics) and I take that with me to take notes and read PDFs on the go.  I also can make PowerPoint presentations on my iPad (and have done so before).  So I think I could get by with a desktop and a tablet.

 

I think my ideal setup would be a Mac mini (desktop), a MacBook Air (for longer-term travel) and an iPad Air (for every day commuting tasks).  Of course, that's an expensive setup.  If I had to choose any two, I would get a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro (with Retina) with a monitor + keyboard + mouse and an iPad Air.  But if you already have a desktop, I think a tablet might be a fine companion as long as you don't want to do any data analysis on the go.

[MatildaLiv]

Thank you Juillet! Sound advice

[victorydance]

I am a laptop enthusiast. I only have a laptop, it has enough power to do anything I want with regards to research, is great for my entertainment needs, and I just throw it in my backpack whenever I go somewhere.

 

Tablets for me, are useless. They can't analyze data, you can't store much of anything on their hard drives, and the applications you can run on them is pretty meek. 

 

But it all comes down to what you want it for. If portability is paramount to you, then a tablet may be desirable. But for me, there really isn't THAT much of a difference between carrying around a tablet + keyboard and a laptop.

[Applemiu]

Just lo let you guys know, there is a free version of SAS, SAS studio, that works also on the iPad. I don't work for SAS, I just really like SAS studio.

[C&C]

As much as I love my iPad Air, I don't think it's a necessity. I think having just one device allows for the best "seamless" experience. Personally, I think a Macbook Air (or a PC equivalent) meets all of your specifications.

 

However, if you're set on two devices, I second Juillet's advice. I use the latest MacBook Pro Retina and the iPad Air. No complaints with either device! 

[alaskagirl]

I just bought a MacBook Air since my old MacBook was slowing down to a snail's pace. I tried the iPad, but I never felt comfortable with the keyboard feature it came with - my fingers ached after using it for for half an hour which is nothing at my current position - so I gave it to family instead. 

 

Thus far, I love my Air, it's light, compact, and easy to use since I had a Mac before. If you're comfortable with Macs, then it's something you should look into.

[seeingeyeduck]

I do a lot of photo and video work so I have an iMac and we received an iPad mini for Xmas so I plan to use that for school along with my keyboard from the iMac. But that's because I don't need to run any special programs on it. I wouldn't use an iPad for school without a keyboard and if you have to carry that, you may as well just go with the smallest Air. I've seen people with the iPad in a keyboard case and it is just as big as a laptop, though probably lighter. You'll get more use out of the laptop.

[NavyMom]

I have a Lenovo Yoga, and I LOVE it.  It's a laptop AND a tablet, and I have SPSS on it and it works just fine.  I've had it a year, and I can honestly say it's the best laptop I have ever owned.  The functionality is endless, it's very light and compact, even the powerpack cord is small.

I have an external DVD writer I bought for it ($40), which is so thin and light you don't even notice it in your bag.  Next, I am going to get an external hard drive.  My laptop has a 256 SSD... it's great!

 

I recommend it as an option!

[Threeboysmom]

I have a laptop and a iPad.  The iPad would be lighter to carry around and probably more ideal for taking notes but I don't see myself investing another $100 in a keyboard for the already over priced iPad. 

[geographyrocks]

I've heard you can get a keyboard for the ipad for under $30 on Amazon. If I start taking notes on ths thing, that's probably what I'll do.

[Threeboysmom]

geographyrocks

 

That's good to know I will look around and see what I find. 

[abhishektripathi]

I have laptop which is essay to carry. I will suggest you to invest in laptop

[Dianali]

I use a 15.6 laptop as my desktop and recenly bought an Asus Transformer Book 32gb (I added a 32gb sd card). Mine came with a removable keyboard that has 500gb external memory. It's a full working tablet computer soI have windows 8 and I can install anything. I just installed the old CS6 Adobe Suite (Photoshop, illustrator....).

I got it for reading PDF's and working on things at school. School hasn't started yet so I can't tell you how it's working out in that aspect. But so far I like it and I feel it will work out.

The only come I see are:

1. Trying to get accustomed to such a small keyboard

2. Microsoft doesn't have a wide array of apps like Apple and Android

Edited July 30, 2014 by Dianali