What Should I Buy? Laptop Or Tablet - Part 7

The Laptop Advantage - Storage

Buy a new laptop today, and you'll probably get a hard drive with 10 times more storage than an iPad. It's easy to add more storage, too. External hard disks are cheap, and you can buy portable versions which will slip into a bag.

The iPad has no way of adding storage, so you're effectively stuck with the capacity you buy. The smallest has 16GB, and the largest is currently 64GB. There are ways around this limit, but none are entirely satisfactory. You can sign up for a cloud storage service such as Dropbox, Google Drive or even Apple's own iCloud, but when files aren't stored locally on the iPad itself they can be slow to load or in the wrong format, so will need converting first.

In Part 8 we'll discuss 'The Laptop Advantage - File Formats'.

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Happy Thanksgiving

What Should I Buy? Laptop Or Tablet - Part 6

Tablets: The iPad Advantage - Apps

Apps is simply a new word for programs, and is short for applications. Built-in apps include a YouTube viewer, web browser, email, calendar, photo and video viewer, weather forecast, maps, notepad and reminders. Many apps, such as a calculator and timer, are freely available via the App Store.

What you don't get is a Microsoft-office equivalent, but you can download Pages (like Word), Numbers (like Excel) and Keynote (PowerPoint) for $9.99 each. Many apps, though, cost just a pound or two, including Apple's own iMovie which is great for editing videos you've taken on the built-in camera, and iPhoto, for editing photos you've taken.

There are hundreds of thousands of apps to choose between, and there's bound to be one that does the task you need. Apple's App Store is one of the most compelling reasons to choose the iPad over another tablet as developers tend to launch apps for the iPad first, then Android, and then the other operating systems. This is why it's not a great idea to buy a BlackBerry PlayBook if you like the sound of installing all these apps. Not only are they rather thin on the ground in the BlackBerry AppWorld, they're also more expensive.

In Part 7 we'll discuss 'The Laptop Advantage - Storage'.

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pcadvisor.co.uk

What Should I Buy? Laptop Or Tablet - Part 5

Tablets: The iPad Advantage - Touchscreen Interface

If you've not used a touchscreen much, you may well think that it can't replace a keyboard and mouse. There are certainly some elements where a keyboard and mouse are quicker, but you'd be surprised at how fast you can type on the iPad's virtual, on-screen keyboard.

If you make a mistake, the built-in auto-correct feature will likely put things right - it will even add punctuation for you. Buy the new iPad, and you'll get voice dictation so you needn't type much at all. The system doesn't require any training unlike older voice-recognition systems. You simply speak and the words (and punctuation if you dictate it) appear before your eyes. As long as you don't have a strong regional accent, accuracy is very good.

The iPad's interface is, in general, hugely intuitive. Aside from a few hidden options in apps, everything works as you expect it to, so it's easy to attach a photo you just took to an email or Facebook post, or upload a video to YouTube.

Of course some laptops come with touchscreens, but still relatively few (and in most cases you still require a keyboard and touchpad for most tasks).

In Part 6 we'll discuss 'Tablets: The iPad Advantage - Apps'.

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pcadvisor.co.uk

What Should I Buy? Laptop Or Tablet - Part 4

Tablets: The iPad Advantage - Instant On and Connected Standby

Yet another advantage is that an iPad doesn't take minutes to boot up: it's ready to go instantly, so it's quick to check email and Facebook, or the weather forecast or TV listings.

When you press the power button, it goes into standby, but remains connected to the internet so you'll hear alerts when you receive emails, Facebook messages or when other events happen. You don't have to turn it on to find out if you've missed something.

This is something that both Windows 8 and the latest Intel processors are addressing, so again the very latest, best Ultrabooks can offer something approaching the iPad's performance in this respect. But we really are talking about the exception rather than the laptop rule. 

In Part 5 we'll discuss 'Tablets: The iPad Advantage - Touchscreen Interface'.

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pcadvisor.co.uk

What Should I Buy? Laptop Or Tablet - Part 3

Tablets: The iPad Advantage - Portability and Comfort

A tablet is also much lighter and more portable than all but the most svelte (and expensive) laptop, so you really can take it everywhere with you. It's more comfortable to sit and use an iPad, it doesn't get too warm and there are no fans, unlike most laptops whose high-pitched fans can drive you to distraction.

In Part 4 we'll discuss 'Tablets: The iPad Advantage - Instant On and Connected Standby'.

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pcadvisor.co.uk

iPad Air Receiving Glowing Reviews

The first iPad Air reviews are in from The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, and others. And the reaction is overwhelmingly positive.

Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal says iPad Air is “raising the bar,” calling the redesign a “feat of design and engineering.” He notes the battery test “far exceeded Apple’s claim” and “blew me away.”

Ed Baig of USA Today declares iPad Air the best yet and “better than its already best of breed predecessors, superior still to each and every rival big screen slate that I’ve tested. Apple dominates the tablet apps ecosystem. Its tablet remains the easiest to use.”

Damon Darlin at The New York Times writes, “Compared with the other tablets on the market, Apple still holds the edge.” He highlights many of iPad Air’s key features including size, battery life, processing power, storage, and Wi-Fi with MIMO.

On his blog, David Pogue is impressed with the battery life, speed, and design of iPad Air, stating, “Somehow, Apple was able to put the iPad on such a radical diet without sacrificing any of its features.”

To learn more about the iPad Air click HERE.

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Apple.com/HotNews

What Should I Buy? Laptop Or Tablet - Part 2

Tablets: The iPad Advantage - Battery life

Chances are, your laptop needs to be plugged in most of the time as its battery lasts only an hour or two. With an iPad, you'll be freed from the mains all day, since it will last for at least eight (if not 10 or 12) hours of constant use. If you're considering an Android tablet, check the manufacturer's claimed battery life or our reviews as some tablets last for a much shorter time between charges.

There is one update to this - the latest generation of Intel 4th-generation Core processors offer much improved laptop battery life. So much so that a brand new Ultrabook could offer up to 14 hours of battery life. But this is very much the exception in the laptop world, and a new Ultrabook would likely set you back a lot more than would an iPad. See also: iPad mini vs Nexus 7 2 comparison review.

In Part 3 we'll discuss 'Tablets: The iPad Advantage - Portability and Comfort'.

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pcadvisor.co.uk

Apple Rolls Out iOS 7.0.4

Apple has released a minor update to software running on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices.

iOS 7.0.4 includes bug fixes, security patches, and a slew of new features and software improvements. The update also fixes a major problem for some, which caused FaceTime video calls to fail. iPods that are not able to upgrade to iOS 7 have their own version to upgrade to, iOS 6.1.5.

The new update improves iCloud Keychain, which was introduced in iOS 7.0.3, and the latest version of the desktop software, OS X Mavericks. The cloud-based technology keeps the Safari browser's passwords and credit card data in sync across all your Apple devices.

Secondly, in Spotlight, the device's internal search engine, Apple has brought back the ability to search Google and Wikipedia from the results. The two services were removed when iOS 7 was first released in mid-September. 

The software update applies to the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and the two new smartphones, the iPhone 5c and 5s. It's also available for the iPad 2, the third and fourth generation iPads, iPad Air, iPad mini, and iPad mini with Retina Display. Fourth and fifth generation iPod touch models also receive the update.

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ZDNet.com

What Should I Buy? Laptop Or Tablet - Part 1

It's a question that's often asked, "Should I buy a laptop or a tablet". Let's compare a tablet (especially iPad) to a laptop and try to help you buy the one that's right for you.

Can an iPad replace my old desktop PC or laptop? What are the limitations of the iPad? Should I consider another brand of tablet? Remember, just like laptops, not all tablets are equal.

The iPad is not a replacement for a laptop. Tablets are good at many things, but their abilities are a subset of a laptop's. You can't, for example, burn a music CD to listen to in the car, or a DVD of your latest home movie. It isn't particularly easy to print from an iPad, either, although it is possible in some apps (you can print an email, a document or a web page if you have a compatible printer).

In short, you may still need a laptop or a PC in your life as a backup in case you find you can't do something on your iPad. But if web browsing, watching movies and Facebook are your thing, you may be okay.

In Part 2 we'll discuss 'Tablets: The iPad Advantage - Battery Life'.

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pcadvisor.co.uk

Store Evacuated After Demo iPad 'Explosion'

A Vodafone retail store in Canberra, Australia was reportedly evacuated last week after an in-store demo iPad "exploded", filling the location with smoke and sparks, reports News.com.au. While no one was harmed during the incident, the iPad reportedly emitted the sparks from its charging port as firefighters were called to the scene to handle the situation. An Apple representative reportedly visited the scene afterwards to investigate the explosion, but Apple has not commented on the incident.

This is not the first time this year that an Apple product was accused of being a safety hazard, as a woman in China suffered eye injuries from her iPhone 5 after it exploded while she was on the phone this past August. Additionally, a Chinese man was left in a coma after receiving an electric shock while charging his iPhone 4 in July, which followed the death of a Chinese woman under similar circumstances.

Both latter incidents apparently involved the use of unauthorized third-party adapters, with Apple responding to the events by establishing an international third-party USB charger "Takeback Program" offering official replacement chargers for $10 to anyone who turns in a suspect adapter.

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macrumors.com

iPad Mini With Retina Display Now Available

Apple® announced iPad® mini with Retina® display is available starting today. The new iPad mini brings all the pixels from the 9.7-inch iPad to it's 7.9-inch screen, delivering razor sharp text and detail in an amazingly thin and light design.

It features the powerful and power-efficient Apple-designed A7 chip with 64-bit desktop-class architecture, ultrafast wireless with faster built-in Wi-Fi and expanded LTE cellular connectivity, iOS 7 featuring hundreds of great new features and access to all 475,000 apps designed specifically for iPad.

See pricing and the rest of the story ... HERE.