There was a time not too long ago when laptops seemed like the perfect tool for merging efficiency and mobility. But with the emergence of the iPad Air and other tablets, the age of the laptop for expeditious mobile computing appears to be over. Yet there are times when a laptop is undeniably better than a tablet. For example, music producers need the space a laptop offers to mix their next track, and graphic designers need their MacBook to run the many different applications needed to bring their creation to life. But there are other situations where a laptop simply doesn't make sense when a tablet can get the job done better. Here are some of those instances:
1. In the classroom
With most college students toting around back-breaking poundage to and from class, a laptop can be an unwelcome addition to a cumbersome load. Fortunately, the tablet is a lightweight alternative to the laptop, and its various functions make it better suited for classroom computing anyway. Indeed, the iPad Air presents a better alternative to the traditional notebook, with various note-taking apps making the pen and paper relics of the past. And if you simply can't acclimate to the onscreen keyboard the iPad offers, you still have options, including the iPad Pen, a wireless scribe that turns the iPad into a notebook without the extra weight and ink stains. But tablets aren't just good for students – teachers use and benefit from them as well. On its Education webpage, Apple features several testimonials from teachers who've used the iPad to enhance the classroom experience. One of them, high school English teacher Brandi McWilliams, used the iPad to make assignments more fun and interactive for her students. Instead of having them write a traditional report on the novel “Native Son,” McWilliams had them create songs on Garageband that reflected the thematic currents in the book. “It was a great exercise because it made them really think about what was going on in the story,” McWilliams said. “They needed to match the emotion and energy of the scenes — the rising action, the climax.”
2. On an expedition
Expeditions can take many forms, but the thing that unites them all is mobility. Whether you are an archeologist at a dig site or a marine biologist on the ocean floor, you're going to need technology that can keep up – wherever the trail may lead. Taking your laptop up a mountain could be a recipe for disaster. But you can safely take your iPad Air on such a journey without needing an iPad repair. That's because the iPad Air is designed to accommodate mobility and at the same time offer unparalleled functionality for professional and amateur adventurers alike. Professionals have been busy pushing the limits of the iPad, and have discovered there are none. Just ask Dr. Michael Berumen, who takes his iPad with him on deep-sea dives to research reefs. Perhaps submerging your iPad in water seems like a one-way ticket to an iPad repair. And that would be the case, if Berumen hadn't invented the iDive, a housing unit that enables the iPad to be submerged at highly pressurized depths and still have full functionality. For Berumen, that means he no longer has to labor away writing with underwater pencils and can instead categorize the fish he observes with his iPad, according to Apple. “The ocean is still the great unknown,” Berumen said, “but using the iPad with the iDive housing makes that unknown more accessible.” And Berumen isn't the only explorer for whom the iPad is a worthy partner. Filmmaker Josh Apter takes his iPad to whatever exotic locale he's training his lens on, including Iguazu Falls.
3. On the beach (or wherever your vacation leads you)
The tablet's portability makes it the ideal device to bring along on vacations. Sure, devices like the Kindle exist to make reading a paperless pleasure, but why add a machine to your arsenal when an iPad can carry out that same task? The iPad Air features a Retina display, which is the gold standard in screens. Retina offers pure picture, which means you won't have to worry about the glare of the Caribbean sun as you take in some beach reading. Do you like to listen to music when you read? The iPad makes that happen with ease. And if you get a SmartCover, then you can take your iPad to the beach without having to worry about getting into a situation that would require an iPad repair. An additional feature of the SmartCover is that it folds into a handy position to optimize reading. This is something a laptop could never provide.