Apple’s iPad is a technological marvel that is extremely popular among the youth for the sheer advantages it provides over the laptop. A recent survey found that one out of five Americans teenage or older want an iPad. No wonder then Apple Inc is selling three million iPads a month. But then there’s a debate about which device is better - an iPad or a laptop?
The iPad is a super gadget, combining an e-reader, gaming device, digital photo frame and iPod, into one single device. It's great for e-mail and Web browsing and it can do all the You Tube and Facebook stuff just as readily as a laptop computer. The iPad is light and thin and has a long battery life. The device could potentially find significant adoption in many different segments, but it is unlikely to eat into the sales of traditional PCs and laptops. For example you can’t plug a scanner or backup hard drive into it.
But still most of you would opt for an iPad than a laptop, if you mostly use a laptop for three functions -- e-mail, social networking (through Facebook, for example) and Web browsing. Let’s take a look at the some of the pros and cons of iPad over laptop.
An extensive library of apps
To make iPad fun to use, there are lots and lots of applications which makes it quite amusing and entertaining. There are amazing apps in almost every category: games, lifestyle, social networking, and education, for starters. Many apps are even free. But on the other hand traditional software for laptop computers has been fairly expensive and consume a hefty amount of system resources, and can be somewhat of a pain to install. Moreover, if you already have apps for your iPhone or iPod touch, just sync them to iPad from your Mac or PC. They run in their original size or you can expand them to fill the iPad screen. And if you’re a Netflix member, then the iPad app lets you watch as many movies as you want streaming to the device giving you access to some 20,000+ movies and television shows.
The Size
The major advantage with an iPad is that it is lighter, thinner, and portable. Those who travel a lot will be all praise for the tablet as it is much easier to carry as compared to a laptop and you get through security checks on an airport a lot faster. The iPad weighs 1.5 pounds and the average laptop weighs around 6 to 8 pounds. An iPad can quickly boot and load and there is no need to unpack and repack a bag which you otherwise do while using a laptop.
The Battery Life
It is one such area where iPad comes extremely handy. A laptop consumes more power and can easily run out of power supply if used extensively for some time. While on the other hand iPad can easily go for up to 10 hours on a single charge. What’s more, an iPad can deliver this efficiency with a charger that can easily fit in a purse or pocket.
The Touch Screen
I must say using a touch screen is lot much easier than using a mouse. Moreover, the highly responsive screen of the slate is a great experience no matter how many times you use it. In an iPad, changing the size or orientation of an image is much simpler as just the swipe of fingers allows you to make proper adjustment. Another time-saving advantage is that you never have to wait for your tablet to boot up.
