Apple iPad ???

[WIP]

I'm not an Apple person. My daughter is graduating from high school this year and next year will be attending a college of cosmetology. They have indicated to her that she will require an iPad. Rather than fight with the compatibility issues with a PC system I figured I'd help her get tooled up.

I'm looking for suggestions regarding what to get.

I see they are available in many various sizes and types.
iPad Mini
iPad Mini with retina display (whatever that is)
iPad with retina display
iPad Air with retina display

Each of these come with Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi+cellular. Not sure what that means but I suspect the cellular version comes with phone capability?

And of course they come with a wide variety of memory from 16GB to 128GB. Are they memory hogs or ????

 

[TOG]

iPad Mini with retina display (whatever that is)

I had to look it up, but this is what I found...

Retina Display is a brand name used by Apple for liquid crystal displays that have a pixel density high enough that the human eye is unable to discern individual pixels at a typical viewing distance.
Source

The TOG​

 

[AIR]

I'm not an Apple person. My daughter is graduating from high school this year and next year will be attending a college of cosmetology. They have indicated to her that she will require an iPad. Rather than fight with the compatibility issues with a PC system I figured I'd help her get tooled up.

I'm looking for suggestions regarding what to get.

I see they are available in many various sizes and types.
iPad Mini
iPad Mini with retina display (whatever that is)
iPad with retina display
iPad Air with retina display

Each of these come with Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi+cellular. Not sure what that means but I suspect the cellular version comes with phone capability?

And of course they come with a wide variety of memory from 16GB to 128GB. Are they memory hogs or ????

I have an iPad Mini version which is pretty good. Why did I pick the mini instead of the regular size? Well, the screen is not much smaller than in the regular, it may look like but in the mini version there are no thick frames like in the regular size. It's much easier to carry with you as it's smaller and still it works the same as the regular size, even it was CHEAPER. I wouldn't buy an IPad with a retina display because it's more expensive and the differences are not important as a normal user, maybe it looks smoother if you watch from distance but why would you watch IPad from distance?

I don't have a cellular add on because I usually use WiFi and if I don't have a WiFi available, I always can open a WiFi on my smartphone so it works fine but I think you should get a cellular version because then she can use it outside of home or anywhere where are no wifi available.

Is she required to have exactly an iPad? I have an iPad, iPhone and I used to have iPod years ago but to be honest, I think I'd rather pick Samsung instead of Apple. Apple products are nicely designed, that's why it sells but there's a lot of problems in Apple, I don't have words to explain but if you're a long time user you'll find the errors. And Apple is expensive, you could get a cellular samsung tablet a lot of cheaper and honestly it works better.

 

[AIR]

And I have 16GB iPad and I think it's enough for me, because when I film and take photos, I always can transfer them to my computer but if I have had money I'd buy 32GB but I wouldn't buy with more than 32GB. If you have 64GB memory or 128GB it's just waste of money, even if you had filled all memory with application and photos, tablet wouldn't anymore work that fast. I'd say pick 32GB, that's enough

 

[AIR]

I think you should ask her that would she rather have an Apple or a Samsung. If she have used samsung before she might like samsung but if she liked apple then it's apple for sure, like it was for me

 

[AIR]

it's not that smaller, it might look like but regular size has very thick frames

 

[Danus]

I'm not an Apple person. My daughter is graduating from high school this year and next year will be attending a college of cosmetology. They have indicated to her that she will require an iPad. Rather than fight with the compatibility issues with a PC system I figured I'd help her get tooled up.

I'm looking for suggestions regarding what to get.

I see they are available in many various sizes and types.
iPad Mini
iPad Mini with retina display (whatever that is)
iPad with retina display
iPad Air with retina display

Each of these come with Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi+cellular. Not sure what that means but I suspect the cellular version comes with phone capability?

And of course they come with a wide variety of memory from 16GB to 128GB. Are they memory hogs or ????

Hi WIP. WI-Fi only receives WI-Fi signals, usually a defined area from an internet provider like the one you use in your home. If you had a router you could broadcast your own WI-Fi signal and pick it up on your devices, such as an iPad, wirelessly.

You know what cellular service is, so WI-Fi + Cellular allows connectivity either way, and gives you the widest range for being connected with your device. Most Schools, churches, restaurants, and many other public places do broadcast a WI-Fi single, so you don't really need cellular. Just make sure she has a WI-Fi signal at home. You may need to contact your internet provider, but you can get a router for $50 at hook it up to your internet provider. We use a ton of wireless devices in my house for movies and TV and stuff.

I have a 16G iPad, not the mini but the bigger one. I cant recall the size, but I'd recommend it. 16G is all you really need for school, but if she is going to be saving many documents or books and such, you might want to step up a bit more.

Personally, I like the iPad for reading, and I use it for a few bible classes. I find it difficult to write with (type) but it's adequate. I prefer a PC if I'm doing real work. I use mine to watch TV or the news. I read a lot with it, digital books and such, and look up things in the net, get my email, budget and stuff.

Incidentally, The Dish network for Sat TV has been offering a free iPad for anyone who signs up for 2 years. I don't know if you want to look into that, but it's not a bad deal. Basic package is about $35-$65/month and you get an iPad.

 

[tim-from-pa]

I'm not an Apple person. My daughter is graduating from high school this year and next year will be attending a college of cosmetology. They have indicated to her that she will require an iPad. Rather than fight with the compatibility issues with a PC system I figured I'd help her get tooled up.

I'm looking for suggestions regarding what to get.

I see they are available in many various sizes and types.
iPad Mini
iPad Mini with retina display (whatever that is)
iPad with retina display
iPad Air with retina display

Each of these come with Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi+cellular. Not sure what that means but I suspect the cellular version comes with phone capability?

And of course they come with a wide variety of memory from 16GB to 128GB. Are they memory hogs or ????

Not against ipads, but I'm just curious why she's required to have an ipad over some other personal device? Google chromebook, nexus pad, or even something with Linux? Is there some app that only Apple has that she needs? If that's the case, is screen size also an issue?

I got my wife an ipad mini, and she's glued to it -- she never was a desktop PC person, but she loves her iphone and ipad. These are very good devices, but also potentially expensive (although the ipad mini was not that bad). Also, you can get mobile (cellular like you stated) on an ipad as well as wifi (local wireless Internet) and bluetooth (communicates with a device such as a head-set, a monitoring bracelet, etc). I only got my wife with the wifi, but with mobile it would cost more. Also 16GB vs 128GB is just the amount of permanent memory it has, the chip equivalent of a Hard Drive on a desk top. The more the better, but also more expensive. An iphone and many pads have on the lower end, as does a Google Chromebook I believe is on the 16GB end (that's because most of the applications run "on the cloud" i.e. programs on a server somewhere via an Internet connection and your local computer does not need to store them). I can't answer what she'll need. You have to find out why they are set on ipads and what they intend the students to do with them.

An ipad is "just a big iphone" and works identically. The computer technology these days are getting such that everything's versatile and the functions overlap.

 

[WIP]

The school indicated all her text books would be electronic and they recommend iPad. I expect they will be using Apple apps. I'd be disappointed to get her something else and run into compatibility issues.

As far as memory is concerned I want to make sure she can use it for more than just her school work and more than just one year. She does like to take photos but she's not into gaming or downloading movies much.

 

[tim-from-pa]

The school indicated all her text books would be electronic and they recommend iPad. I expect they will be using Apple apps. I'd be disappointed to get her something else and run into compatibility issues.

As far as memory is concerned I want to make sure she can use it for more than just her school work and more than just one year. She does like to take photos but she's not into gaming or downloading movies much.

Oh, she'll use it for a lot of other things. An engineer at my work (Microelectronics industry) carries one around so we know it'll work there. My 55-year-old wife is hooked on candy crush and plays with her office friends, so it is versatile. It takes pictures and videos (like an iphone). With pictures, I can't imagine anything more than the mini, but again I don't know if screen size is an issue. It sounds to me like if it's mostly for text books and pictures (from the books) or even video's, the mini is just fine (16GB), and just WIFI for now. They go for about $300 range at the apple store. Then... you can connect it to an existing cell plan for just a few more dollars a month later on if you want.

And while you're at it, maybe even dad will like something like that instead of the clunky and virus-ridden Microsoft stuff I remember you having. You'll have very few problems ever again unlike the weekly Microsoft ordeals, and they can do what any computer does, and if there are problems usually an authorized apple dealer can fix it in no time, or recommend another, in which if you have an apple account, you can upload your data on the cloud and then just download it to a replacement device and pick up where you left off. I'm not an apple fan boy, but I must admit, the late Steve Jobs ran a very tight ship, and he has excellent products to prove it -- hope that trend continues.

You can almost tell a person experienced with Microsoft only by them worrying about "compatibility issues" and other such "computer problems" woes and worries. Not with these apple and similar devices I haven't heard such talk in the last few years.

 

[WIP]

Thanks for all your thoughts and help.