Face Time And Isight Cameras Enhance Learning
Other not so traditional ways the new iPad can help you study include using the built-in FaceTime and iSight cameras. With the FaceTime camera you can do more than take photos. You can chat with classmates or teachers with the help of the Face Time app or Skype. That means if leaving the house to study with friends isnt really in the cards for whatever reason, you could always meet up with your study-buddy, each from the comfort of your own homes. You can also show the project youre working on and ask questions, or take photos of your artwork to send to teachers for advice. The 5Mp iSight camera on the new iPad comes in handy for taking higher resolution photos and recording 1080p high-def video.
Ipad Pro Vs Macbook Air: Ports
If youre wondering if youll be able to listen to music on your iPad Pro then we have some bad news for you you cant. At least not through wired headphones. Sure, you could buy some AirPods but then youre having to fork out more money again. The only port youll find on the iPad Pro is a USB-C port.
The MacBook Air is the clear winner when it comes to ports. It features two Thunderbolt ports and a headphone jack which will come in handy if youre listening to a lecture in the library whilst you study.
What Ipads Get Right
The iPads appeal starts with portability. Most weigh about 1 pound. The slimmest new MacBook is 2.75 pounds.
And then theres price: Compare the $500 iPad Air plus $160 keyboard offer to Apples entry-level laptop, the $1,100 MacBook Air. You could spend hundreds less on a Chromebook or Windows laptop, but for many students a cheaper Apple computer that automatically syncs up with an iPhone is a draw.
For the Ohio and Kentucky officials who are going all-in on iPads, there was another important appeal: technology that a wide range of students already know how to use. Everyone is already expert in operating a touch-screen smartphone. The iPad levels the playing field, Kirsten Turner, Kentuckys associate provost for academic and student affairs, told me. This is how our students interact and acquire information.
For the past few years, the albatross around the iPads neck has been software that treated a powerful device like an oversized iPhone. iPadOS breaking off from iOS signals an important fork in the road. It comes with a zillion tweaks: a spot for informational widgets on the home screen, a keyboard you can resize and move around, and support for custom fonts.
A few of these changes raised the bar for the kind of work I could get done with my iPad:
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Tie Up Loose Ends With Easy Bib Free
When youre assigned a paper, its likely that the thing you dread the most is creating the bibliography. Gathering all of the identifying information for your references and formatting it properly are extremely tedious parts of an already time-consuming and challenging task. You may never fear the bibliography again, however, once you sign on to Easy Bib. This app allows you to snap a picture of the bar code for your reference material and it then magically creates a full bibliographic reference. You choose the format, selecting from MLA, APA or Chicago. E-mail the finished product to yourself, paste it into your masterpiece, and youre good to go.
The Importance Of Choosing The Right Device
You want to be sure you get the best one that meets the needs of your online courses. With most iPads, you can do basic things like read documents, browse the internet, and stream videos. But iPads that are more premium or premium-like after a 5th generation will do a lot more.
For example, notes are saved systemwide with Quick Notes, a fast and easy way to take notes anywhere across the system. Also, Focus, which is a new feature that filters notifications based on what a user is doing. Buying a 7th or 8th generation iPad will cost more and wont be as versatile as a previous generation device since it doesnt have the same features, so you want to be sure to go with a high-quality and powerful device that will meet your needs.
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Macbook Is A Powerful Portable Computer For Business People
MacBook suits people who have to work with papers and spend a lot of time on the Internet. This device has a keyboard backlight, large, high-quality touchpad with a vibrating response. It weighs 1.5 kg and has a 13-inch screen.
If you need a fully functional gadget for college paper writing and having an easy typing MacBook is perfect for you. But it wont be able to cope with programs taking up a lot of computer memory because of simple characteristics and a lack of cooling.
Write Well With Smart Writing Tool 7notes Hd Premium $799
This app features the most advanced handwriting recognition technology available, and also indulges your creative side with multicolor text and illustration. Take hand written notes on your iPad with a stylus, your finger or whatever catches your fancy. Smart Writing Tool 7notes HD Premium instantly converts your scribblings to text and gives you a variety of export methods, including Dropbox and Evernote. You can also easily post your notes to Twitter and Facebook. Its no problem to mix and match hand written and digital text to customize and personalize each note. The app not only recognizes and converts your handwriting, but also includes a state-of-the-art predictive engine to dramatically increase note taking speed. If typing seems bland and gets you down, this is the answer.
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Why You Should Trust Me
Ive been testing, reviewing, and otherwise writing about PCs and other gadgets for AnandTech, Ars Technica, and Wirecutter since 2011. Ive been building, upgrading, and fixing PCs for more than 15 years I spent five of those years in IT departments buying and repairing laptops and desktops and helping people buy the best tech for their needs. Ive also used every iPad that Apple has ever released, nearly every Surface device that Microsoft has ever released, and dozens of other tablets besides.
Our Pick: Apple Ipad Pro
The Apple iPad Pro is great if you primarily intend to use your tablet for tablet-y things like watching videos, drawing, or playing games but you also want to open a document or spreadsheet to get some work done sometimes. We like the 11-inch Pro specifically because of its fast Apple M1 chip and its smooth-scrolling screen, but all iPads have a huge library of finger-friendly tablet apps, including lots of options for drawing with the Apple Pencil, for writing, or for editing photos, audio, and video. Apple has improved the iPads keyboard and trackpad support significantly in recent years, and iPadOS is easy to use and simple to update, back up, and restore. But Apples Smart Keyboard Folio isnt as pleasant to type on as the Microsoft Type Cover, and the superior Magic Keyboard costs a lot of money. In addition, iPadOS and its apps impose limitations on the use of external monitors and other accessories.
The iPad Pro has a large, bright, sharp screen with accurate color and support for the DCI-P3 color gamut, making it ideal for photographers or designers. Its screen also refreshes 120 times per second, twice as fast as the 60-times-per-second rate thats common in less-expensive iPads and most Windows tablets. This makes scrolling through web pages and documents and transitioning between apps look smooth and fluid. Its not essential for getting work done, but it looks great.
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Price Of Tablets For College Students
Inexpensive: Between $50 and $200, youll find entry-level and mid-range Android tablets. Screen sizes tend to be smaller, although there are a few ten-inch options that are worthwhile. When it comes to tablets, inexpensive doesnt mean cheap, so if youre looking for a moderately powerful tablet thats good as a secondary device, you dont have to spend a lot.
Mid-range: Between $200 and $500, youll see tablets that are plenty fast and have big, beautiful screens. Models in this price range are a little fancier and come with nicer finishes. Some models even include LTE connectivity, so you can get web access without WiFi . If youre looking for a tablet that will last several years and has a high-quality screen, this is the price range to keep in mind.
Expensive: Between $500 and $1,400 are the tablets that strive to be laptop replacements. Models in this price range pull out all the stops: tons of onboard storage, enormous 13-inch screens, and ten-hour battery life all cost at least this much. If youre looking for a tablet that can act as your main machine for your entire college career, this is how much youll need to spend.
Maintain Your Sanity And Never Miss A Beat With Istudiez Pro $299
This app is a true one-stop shop for the college student. An excellent scheduler, this tool will help you manage time better than ever before. A single calendar and task list to track classes, meetings, assignments, grades and social events will keep you on-task no matter how busy you become. Simple syncing across platforms keeps you organized and ready for anything using your iPad, iPhone and Mac.
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Our Pick: Lenovo Thinkpad X12 Detachable
| Weight : | 2.4 pounds |
If youre thinking of buying a Surface Pro, you should get the Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable insteadit has a newer, faster processor, better battery life, and a more comfortable keyboard cover, all of which make it a better Surface than the Surface right now. The X12 Detachable is essentially a great ultrabook with a kickstand and touchscreen. It runs Windows 10 and decades worth of desktop apps, including full-featured web browsers and the full versions of professional standbys like Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, and Illustrator. Unlike Microsoft, which sells its Type Cover separately for Surface tablets, Lenovo includes a keyboard cover with the ThinkPad X12 at no extra charge, and its better to type on than Apples Smart Keyboard Folio case and more pleasantly firm to type on than Microsofts keyboard covers. Windows is better at handling external accessories than iPadOS, but relatively few Windows apps are designed for tablets, making the ThinkPad X12 a worse choice when you want to put the keyboard away and hold the tablet in your hands to read or to play a game. Windows is more complicated to use and maintain, as well, and the ThinkPad X12 tablet itself is heavier than even the 12.9-inch iPad Pro .
What’s Your College’s Policy On Required Equipment
Most colleges art and design colleges being an obvious exception won’t force students to purchase computers as a requirement to attend, but most do require students to be able to follow expected rules. Every college will require students to be able to access their email on a daily basis, which either a Mac or an iPad could easily do.
Some colleges require students to access a course management system, like Canvas. Some of these course management systems have apps that allow students to read and submit assignments, though it’s best to check with your academic advisor on what they recommend.
Typically, most course management systems recommend any tests or quizzes be taken on a physical computer. However, as many colleges still offer freely available computers to use in dorms, public computer labs, libraries, and student union buildings, this might not be that big of a deal, either. Only needing to swing by a computer lab a couple times a semester may be enough of a reason to stick with an iPad over a Mac.
If you are a student who is enrolled in online courses, it’s probably a better idea to get yourself a Mac, as you may not have access to a computer lab easily. This allows you to make sure you always have the tools available to you to complete any assignment your professor gives you, and you’ll never have to worry about running into a file type the iPad can’t handle.
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Whats Common In Ipad And Macbook
Whatever device you choose, it will need protection as its easy to damage your gadget in the crazy rhythm of modern life. There are several categories of protective accessories for Apple laptops:
Tablet cases for iPad can protect your tablet from scratches and chips on the screen and case. You can choose the most suitable protective accessories among the following ones:
Is It Worth Getting An Ipad For College
As mentioned above, even if the addition of the Apple pencil is super helpful, the lack of a mouse that we have all been used to is a disadvantage of the iPads comfortability when coping with advanced sheets, researching online, and writing at the same time. T
he good news is that you can grab a bluetooth wireless mouse to connect to your iPad.
Multitasking is essential for you as a student, and it will take someone who knows how to use an iPad for complicated functions.
Keep in mind that you should feel comfortable while using a device as you might spend a lot of hours in front of it during college. This many-hour occupation with your computer is why some students support that it will be annoying to have a smaller than 15 screen as your main display for college.
Some claim they would never have an iPad as their main device but having both an iPad and a laptop is super useful. If you are going to have both youll likely decide on a MacBook first, mostly for compatibility reasons, as using iTunes or opening all types of files easily without converting them are more straightforward on a laptop.
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Large High Resolution Screen
First, we need to talk about those screens on the iPad Pro. I mean really, have you ever seen a better looking screen? The iPad Pro comes in two sizes, a 10.5-inch and a 12.9-inch screen. That means that these are the largest iPads ever made. While they may seem a bit too big, when you are using them all day long as your primary machine they dont seem that way. These screens are bright, crisp and clear and feature 4k resolutions on their Retina displays. If screen quality is one of your major selling points, then look no further than an iPad Pro. Truly these displays are hard to beat.
It’s A Status Symbol Plain And Simple
Like any gadget, the iPad is a status symbol. Like any Apple gadget, it’s an expensive status symbol. It’s something we’ve been trained by society and lifestyle magazines to want, simply because it’s a luxury — and if we can be the first to have it, somehow, we “win.” To combat this, you can earnestly tell your kids that they don’t need things to make them popular with their classmates. Then explain to them that laughing at you, when you’re trying to be serious, isn’t helping their cause.
Be warned, though, that this is a slightly dangerous reason to give your kids for not getting the iPad, as it all but ensures that you can’t buy one for yourself.
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Surface Vs Ipad: Battery Life
Check out the Verges review of the iPad Air above.
Apple states that you can surf the web on an iPad Air for between nine and ten hours on a single charge, depending on whether youre using Wi-Fi or cellular data. The Surface Pro 3 is fairly comparable, with Microsoft stating the Surface Pro 3 has up to nine hours of battery life. A recent update to the Surface Pro 3 improved battery consumption.
Ipad Pro Vs Macbook Air: Ipados Vs Macos
This is the biggest difference between the iPad Pro and the MacBook Air. The iPad Pro runs iPadOS, which is a touch-first operating system that now supports cursor input across the OS. You can now easily select text using a Bluetooth mouse, external trackpad or Apple’s own Magic Keyboard with trackpad, as well as perform various gestures, such as flicking with three fingers up to see all of your open apps.
iPadOS continues to support multitasking features like Slide Over and Split View , and the customizable Today Screen gives you helpful widgets to stay on top of your day. Plus, only iPadOS supports Apple Pencil for drawing, note-taking and marking up documents.
macOS provides a more traditional desktop experience. The Dock is always visible, and you get more robust desktop applications. For example, the Chrome browser on macOS has a bookmarks bar, something the iPadOS version lacks. You also have a lot more choice in terms of software and what you can download on macOS, whether you choose to go through the Mac App Store or the web.
That said, macOS Big Sur added the ability to run iOS and iPadOS apps, provided your computer is running on an Apple Silicon processor.
Winner: Draw
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