IPads, Chromebooks or Windows: Which is best for your wallet?
Apple’s new iPad is targeted to students, with a light computing device, a battery that will last all day, a fantastic camera and a price tag that may be a challenge for school administrators.
At $299 for students, how does the new 9.7-inch iPad compare to competing products in the $300 range?
Windows laptops and hybrids and Google Chromebooks are the competition. These typically have more features, larger screens and are generally a better value.
Pros, cons of iPad:
❚ It works like an iPhone, so students are already familiar with it.
❚ Beautiful, high-resolution, 9.7-inch LED screen, great for watching YouTube and Netflix videos.
❚ Has built-in superior camera, the same one as in many iPhones, and it’s easier to shoot fellow students for videos than, say, holding up a laptop with a webcam. The cons:
❚ Apple iOS software is not compatible with many that schools use for learning.
❚ Doesn’t come with a physical keyboard.
❚ Has few ports to plug in, say, a projector via an HDMI port.
Here’s how it compares:
Apple iPad
Specs:
❚ Price: $299 for students
❚ Screen: 9.7 inch
❚ Storage: 32 GB
❚ Weight: 1.03 pounds
❚ Ports: Only one, Light- ning for re-charging.
The Chicago presentation was Apple’s attempt to beef up its educational presence, which long has been ceded to Google, which introduced super low-cost Chromebook laptops several years ago. The Chromebooks sell for as little as $200, and school administrators and parents have responded to the lower-priced computer by buying them in bulk. In years past, they might have bought Apple computers.
Chromebooks
There are many Google Chromebooks available in the
$200 to $300 range. Sample specs of the Acer Chromebook, for instance:
❚ Price: $197
❚ Screen: 15.6 inch
❚ Storage: 16 GB
❚ Weight: 6 pounds
❚ Battery: 12 hour
❚ Ports: HDMI, USB 3.0 The pitch for the Chromebook is you don’t need storage space, because everything on the computer is done online, using apps such as Google Docs or whatever’s available in the Google Play store. The choices are fewer than apps that can be downloaded directly to the machine, but the gap has closed. Apps that formerly weren’t available, such as Adobe’s Creative Cloud, are now, but only in limited, mobile versions.
Windows
Consider Lenovo’s 2-in-1
N24 combo laptop/tablet:
❚ Price: $279
❚ Storage: 64 GB
❚ Weight: 3 pounds
❚ Screen: 11.6 inches
❚ Ports: SD memory card reader, HDMI and USB 3.0.