Comments on: Better an iPad than an Ultrabook

By: Mofo

Mofo — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 06:55:00 +0000

I got every bloody type of device there is. Netbook, ultra book, android tablet, desktop 3 screen eyefinity, gaming laptop, server, and of course an iPad. I’ll tell you one thing for sure. I can get any amount of work done on any fucking device I choose including the iPad. The iPad is not a toy. It’s not the machine that matters it’s the warrior who wields it. If you can’t get work done on a tablet. Your just a baby who doesn’t know how to use it. The user is the greatest bottleneck of any system. Idiot. Long live the iPad and all other devices. Don’t discriminate.

By: Kabir Bogra

Kabir Bogra — Tue, 01 May 2012 07:12:00 +0000

Vincent is that what you have to say..seriously?. Quoting sales figures to highlight qualitative aspects of a product. You are just playing into the hands of the people bashing the article. To add my two bits..I think if the article is driving at tablets (irrespective of Ipad/Asus/etc) then it should say so and not just concentrate on the iPad. It would help if you guys just thought through what you wanted to write rather than just filling space.

By: jeff bellin

jeff bellin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:39:00 +0000

Thank you for saying that! The smallest laptop that makes sense for “real work” (which includes writing email, even blog posts!) is a 13″ form factor or, as Apple people know it, an MBA 13 or MBP 13! Anything smaller than that can’t fit full pages, much less multiple pages, on the screen. Likewise a keyboard made to fit into an iPad case is too small to type on, as the MBA 11′s is. Even for content consumption I don’t prefer a 9.7″ glossy tablet screen to a 13″ matte finished one. Tablets have their place: web browsing, reading, playing background music, watching movies on a plane or train. I can’t think of anything else I would consider using any tablet for if a 13″ laptop or Ultrabook was available – and the MBA IS an Ultrabook, by any other name – soon to be upstaged (if only momentarily!) by the new Asus UX31 Zenbook with 1080p resolution.

By: Ricardo Shiroma

Ricardo Shiroma — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:18:00 +0000

Not sure why people talk about Ultrabook as competitors of iPad. I am a product planner at Dell looking after Ultrabooks, in my perspective Ultrabook is a premium thin and light laptop, I believe the intent is really to bring all the resposivess of tablets and smartphones to laptops at lower price points, meaning that as more Ultrabooks come to the market and volume ramps, all the commodities that enable that SSD and Hybrid Drives, Polymer Batteries, Thinner ODD will have its price reduced.

As Chris Burns stated in the end, he continues using and carrying his laptops based on his needs. If I had to carry only 1 device other than my Smartphone, I would carry a laptop — Ultrabook or not — because that is still the one device that I can do all my work and personal stuff.

By: Asd

Asd — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:40:00 +0000

This is exactly the reason I won’t buy a ultrabook. 2 things need to happen:

1. Intel releases a x86 chip that can match or come close to ARM in power consumption(Haswell might be that chip next year)

2. The ultrabook comes in a tablet/netbook combo. Think Asus transformer prime running windows.

Only when these 2 things happen will I consider buy an ultrabook or a tablet for that matter. I’ve owned an iPad 3 for a week. Had to send it back. Not worth the price for what it’s capable of.

By: Rambo

Rambo — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:16:00 +0000

When many many many people are stupid eggheads, they…are still stupid eggheads :)

By: Rambo

Rambo — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:14:00 +0000

lol, they don’t accomplish work, they only cost money … tco m8 tco :D

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:09:00 +0000

Pretty one sided. You seem to ‘buy-down’ in the sense that you compare the Ultrabook with an iPad. Suppose you can replace both your iPad and MacBook for only one Ultrabook. The pricing ain’t an issue anymore.

Next, looking at myself – and I don’t think I”m special, I don’t buy an Ultrabook for three easy reasons. One being they don’t have Windows 8 (yet), two being they don’t have touch (yet), and three being that they don’t have 3rd generation 22nm Intel CPU’s (yet) which give them a week standby time and/or a full day of high performance work.

You see, I want only 1 PC not two or three. Be it an iPad or MacBook, laptop, or netbook (but those were just useless in the first place) and there’s more improvements I don’t talk about. For example 11-13″ internal display for on the move and being able to drive two high-res displays I already have today…

So here goes, 1st gen Ultrabooks are just…too early…that is, if you can afford to wait…

By: Chuck

Chuck — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:09:00 +0000

A nice Apple advertisement. Doesn’t need an ultrabook of course not if you own a MacBook Air 11″ screen. You can’t create much on the Ipad. I need something small on which to install Adobe Lightroom, Either an Ultrabook or an Macbook.

By: BpEAR96

BpEAR96 — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 23:30:00 +0000

Yes especially an arm based one with, tegra 3 or 4 (4 with 4 cortex a15 cores will be amazing!!) probably will be about $600

By: Edward Carey

Edward Carey — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 23:18:00 +0000

so says the android fanboy…
It remains to be seen if they are able to make windows 8 work well on a good platform with touchscreen hardware that’s cost effective.

By: droidman101

droidman101 — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 23:18:00 +0000

Once ASUS and others get one, the price will drop considerably.

By: Arvin

Arvin — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:23:00 +0000

Win 8 & touchscreen bumps the price up to $1900 as seen in Lenovo Yoga. I still might go for it though. At end of the day the ipad is nothing but a $500 facebook machine.

By: Ricardo Moura Rocha

Ricardo Moura Rocha — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:26:00 +0000

Because with an Asus transformer prime you have a great keyboard to work with, ridiculously good battery life and you can personalize as much as you want… I understand the complaints about the shortcomings of Android OS to tablets, but ICS has come a great way to fixing it. And the iOS still doesn’t offer true multitasking and in my way to see it it just looks like a giant iPhone – on the software side I mean – and if you have something you don’t quite like about it it’s not easy to alter at all…
I think the greatest advantage the iPad offers is the LTE or 3g connectivity but it’s not something I would use anyway because I wouldn’t want to pay another data plan just for my tablet and whenever I need internet in my tablet and can’t find wifi I just tether my phone connection…

By: Wouter

Wouter — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:06:00 +0000

You think consumption, not creation. It’s already hard enough getting something meaningful done on a laptop, let alone a tablet like the iPad. You asked – I rather have a portable laptop, because I can do serious work, communicate more easily with a real keyboard and use it for entertainment, while tablet devices fall more into a consumer entertainment device category (because of the limited OS, slow hardware and lack of a decent keyboard).

Let’s not fall for all this marketing segmentation crap – “ultrabooks” are portables, laptops if you prefer. I think desktop machines are way more threatened than laptops at this moment.

By: Ole_Rikard

Ole_Rikard — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:26:00 +0000

I have two takes on this article: it’s either click bait or blind Apple fanboism. Ultrabooks and the MBA are both great devices for mobile work. A tab is great for media consumption and not so great for doing serious work. The screen is simply to small for most people to consider using them for writing more than e.g. simple e-mails.

By: Tffsnyder

Tffsnyder — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:08:00 +0000

Why Asia tf over iPad? Not challenging you. Just curious.

By: AmiRami

AmiRami — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:47:00 +0000

Exactly!!!

By: AmiRami

AmiRami — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:25:00 +0000

I understand that completely, but why say “iPad” instead of “Tablet” and why not include the MacBook Air as also being overpriced for what some people want to do? Heck, for most tablet users, you can do the same thing with a kindle fire that you can with an iPad and save yourself 1/2 the cost if not more.

I can’t speak for anyone else but I am tired of people thinking iPad and Tablet are one and the same.

By: AmiRami

AmiRami — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:22:00 +0000

And the keyboard dock coupled with the transformer prime doubles the Transformer’s (AND iPad’s) batter life

By: AmiRami

AmiRami — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:12:00 +0000

ok, i would agree that for the people out there that use a device for mostly consumption rather than hardcore productivity, the iPad will do the trick for 2 reasons. 1) as you noted, the Ultrabook is wayyy more expensive and 2) the iPad does games and video better (only because they have the dedicated developers who are writing all the great apps for it)

But I want the Macbook Air included in the list of ultrabooks, not as a separate special magical device that spits out unicorns and rainbows on demand. That thing is almost the same exact machine as an ultrabook, both in specs and in price. If anything its a little worse because its hardware is becomming dated. I don’t know what is proven in the Air that isn’t for an Ultrabook. They are both Intel Based machines.

This shouldn’t be buy an iPad over an Ultrabook, it should be buy a Tablet (including the iPad) over an Ultrabook (including the Air). Stop always making this always the best Apple has vs. the worst/most expensive of the others. Its simply an unfair comparison!

By: mjw149

mjw149 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:57:00 +0000

That was a bit insensitive. Point is, why trash the ipad when it clearly has usefulness and it’s only $500? Clearly work isn’t the only thing people do, or we’d all have Red hat servers in our house serving dumb terminals to access Oracle databases.

By: mjw149

mjw149 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:49:00 +0000

What do people use their laptops for? Games, porn and facebook. Next question.

By: mjw149

mjw149 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:44:00 +0000

Why is it either/or? Are you horribly poor? Why wouldn’t you want a tablet AND a desktop? Post-PC isn’t anti-PC it’s “all of the above”. Windows PC, laptop, tablet, pmp, console, tv AND phone. Who doesn’t own like 6 things that would have qualified as ‘computers’ in the 90s?

I have a shuffle, an itouch, an android, a chromebook, a laptop, a desktop, a roku, an xbox and I had another laptop stolen. My wife has another ipod. We’re not early adopters by any stretch and are solidly middle class, she doesn’t even have a job.Desktop + tablet is the best arrangement. Laptops are stupid compromises now. I have a heavy thinkpad for work, and it’s useless without an outlet and a mouse and the screen is cramped, so it’s really just a small desktop, which means it should be redesigned.Wintel tablets will do very well in the enterprise … eventually.Tablets will eventually be it. They’ll log into servers/desktop PCs for heavy crunching/gaming, and dock with monitors with built-in GPUs and kbm for creative work. They’re already powering TVs in home use. That’s the future, and everyone knows it. Let’s see who gets there first.

By: RAD2

RAD2 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:16:00 +0000

so….you bought an ipad 1 and then an ipad2 (and no doubt accessories) whose total price is more than the single ultrabook that you say cost more than $300 than an ipad…hmmm. Do Ipads or Mac’s have a calculator app?

By: Andrewlh

Andrewlh — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:30:00 +0000

if you’re going to suggest that tablets can be a better buy for people, you really should mention the transformer line of tablets from Asus. iPad is great and all, but as a laptop replacement for people who do light things, the transformer really fits the bill better. iPad is great in addition to a laptop or desktop, but I would say is less able to potentially replace them.

By: iAndroid

iAndroid — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:42:00 +0000

So funny to read comments on here and see people letting their bias interfere with their understanding of this article. He’s not saying the iPad is a laptop replacement or similar to an ultra book. He’s saying the value for the money is better. All depends on what you want it for. I someone wants to do Hugh powered gaming then get a high end pc, for the money of an ultra book it’s not worth it. If you want mid range gaming, Internet, video, etc on the go get a tablet. That’s what this article is saying. Clearly the author has a thing for apple so he choose the iPad. Oh and for the ppl calling apple followers sheep, you do know Samsung is now the #1 cell phone company in he world! Who’s a sheep now?

By: iPad 2 accessories

iPad 2 accessories — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:48:00 +0000

Intel launch Apple’s demands for low power, as per its high performance system’s to market that to everyone. Good for computers in the terms of general way. Intel’s little bit of payback for Apple’s rude insistence on quality parts with good specs, is they will sell the quality parts to everyone else.

By: Nikos Sokolis

Nikos Sokolis — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:42:00 +0000

not yet anyway and not he iPad for sure.

By: Nikos Sokolis

Nikos Sokolis — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:41:00 +0000

if you have a gs2 and wan’t an iphone then you are a moron who cannot use it properly.

By: Simon Broenner

Simon Broenner — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:57:00 +0000

There’s another alternative too: Used business subnotebooks. 10 hour battery life, sunlight-readable displays and far better ergonomics… for the same price as an iPad.

Haven’t seen an Ultrabook I’d prefer over my Thinkpad X series devices yet… that might change when they start putting 1080p screens on ridiculously small diagonals though (like those new 11.6″ and 13″ ASUS Xenbooks – awesomeness!). Here’s hoping we get 1080p 12.5″ screens in the Thinkpad X240…

If you’re not completely annoyed by OSX, I’m sure the MBA would be a great alternative too – as long as you’re willing to pony up the extra dough. :)

By: Lloyd Bond

Lloyd Bond — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:29:00 +0000

Love my Ultrabook. Got a U460 and sometimes I wish it was a little more powerful, but then I remember how light it is and I suddenly don’t care. I’m buying a Lenovo Yoga when they release with Win8. I think that form factor is a long time coming.

By: droidman101

droidman101 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:31:00 +0000

You put windows 8 and a touchscreen on the ultrabook and no one would even be HAVING this argument unless they are a total idiot.

Oh wait, were talking about apple fanboys here… nevermind…

By: droidman101

droidman101 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:30:00 +0000

Or rather, how did the iPad do against laptop sales and other tablets in general? Because that’s essentially what this shitty article is all about.

By: droidman101

droidman101 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:28:00 +0000

Nah, its worse. Its BGR.

By: droidman101

droidman101 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:27:00 +0000

Not to mention the fact that the iPad’s multitasking is as rudimentary as a textbook.

By: droidman101

droidman101 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:26:00 +0000

If you jailbreak your iPad, then I am allowed to mention that Android custom roms practically make Apple products (yes, even jailbroken ones) look like a Volvo compared to a Lamborghini.

By: droidman101

droidman101 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:22:00 +0000

what happens when your friend needs to print off his thesis and his computer died and he has a USB stick with it? Or when you really want to play that new game coming out? too bad, you cant because you have a POS iPad which is not worth the money youre paying for it.

By: Stocklone

Stocklone — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:14:00 +0000

Tell ya what. Give me your MacBook Air. We’ll put it in the back of my closet for a couple months. Let’s say 6 months. I promise I won’t touch it.

Now use your iPad with your keyboard dock for everything or lug around your much heavier MacBook Pro. Then you can write a real article about which one is better. As far as I can tell you have zero experience living with the consequences of this choice you think others should make.

By: Mekhman Karimov

Mekhman Karimov — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:08:00 +0000

not for long, unfortunately, not more flash for android, well torrent will do