Ipad for uni? Useful or not useful?

[mandystsai]

Hi guys,

Got the very exciting offer to Melbourne uni Biomedicine. Now I'm wondering about the textbooks (bulk/weight and cost). I've read posts at many forums about using ipads for textbooks, and I was just wondering about the practicality of it. The lowest cost for an ipad 2 at the moment is $398, plus the cost of textbook ebooks vs. the cost of print textbook copies.

Of course the main benefit of using an ipad to read textbooks is being able to carry all the textbooks with you on the go, but I'm not sure that it'll necessarily be cheaper than buying print copies.

Can you please share your experience with this?

[FlorianK]

I have an iPad and I haven't used it in lik a year, it is pretty unuseful besides playing games.
Buy a good netbook, like the new version of the Acer Aspire One.

[EvangelionZeta]

I have an iPad and swear by it - it's a very very good investment if you plan on reading lots of things on the go (not just textbooks, but also magazines, books, etc.). 

[Mr Keshy]

I have an iPad 3. If you're wanting to use it for reading textbooks like me, you really need to get the 3 instead. The screen is well worth it, text is very very clear. I've a few of my VCE books on it and it's really convenient!

[Russ]

You could have given me an ipad for free and I wouldn't have used it during Biomed, it just didn't fit the learning style I needed. Most other people felt the same, the tablet approach wasn't ideal for notetaking

As for textbooks, I didn't use them much. Borrow them from the library as you do, or just use wiki/the internet for help. Very rarely will you be needing to read a textbook at uni for class

[Mr Keshy]

You could have given me an ipad for free and I wouldn't have used it during Biomed, it just didn't fit the learning style I needed. Most other people felt the same, the tablet approach wasn't ideal for notetaking

As for textbooks, I didn't use them much. Borrow them from the library as you do, or just use wiki/the internet for help. Very rarely will you be needing to read a textbook at uni for class

When it comes to note taking, tablets have a long way to go. They'll have to be better than pen and paper for me to switch. But typing on one note on a regular laptop really suits me.

[EvangelionZeta]

I've actually found my iPad much better than my laptop for notetaking.  Two main reasons:

1. I have a keyboard integrated into my iPad case (which including the keyboard cost like $70), which allows me to basically use my iPad as a touchscreen laptop minus a mouse if I want.  This means I can use my iPad as a transformer of sorts, except that I don't need to physically detach the keyboard to use it as a tablet as well (I can just fold the keyboard behind the screen).  The keyboard is also detachable from the case, meaning that if I want to type from far away but can't be assed balancing a full laptop/iPad thing on my lap, I can do it!

2. I can use the iPDF app to open up PDF documents (ie. most of my readings in arts) and annotate on my iPad.  Hypothetically I could do this with SOME laptops, but the fact that the iPad is used as a tablet by default makes it much easier than clumsily doing it on a laptop touch screen.

It DOES come down to individual learning styles and preferences though - just make sure you also know what all of the options with the iPad are as well before you make the choice. 

[Mr Keshy]

I've actually found my iPad much better than my laptop for notetaking.  Two main reasons:

1. I have a keyboard integrated into my iPad case (which including the keyboard cost like $70), which allows me to basically use my iPad as a touchscreen laptop minus a mouse if I want.  This means I can use my iPad as a transformer of sorts, except that I don't need to physically detach the keyboard to use it as a tablet as well (I can just fold the keyboard behind the screen).  The keyboard is also detachable from the case, meaning that if I want to type from far away but can't be assed balancing a full laptop/iPad thing on my lap, I can do it!

Very neat feature

An awesome balance would be the Asus transformer perhaps. But droid devices in my opinion, lack the refinement of an iOS device, specifically, the iPad.

[mandystsai]

Thanks guys for your comments, it's really helpful for me to see everyone's suggestions.

I am not planning on taking much notes on the ipad, it's going to be mainly used for viewing documents and textbooks, as I already have a macbook. I was thinking that it'd be a good idea for lectures/tutorials when I need the textbooks for a brief reference. I am planning on taking notes on my laptop or bring some loose sheets of paper.

So I've thought about it some more, and I'd probably get the print copies of the textbooks as well. Does anyone know if the print copies of textbooks generally come with an ebook copy as well?

I think I'll get the ipad when the ipad 5 comes out, and see if the current one with retina display will go down a bit.
 

[mandystsai]

I have an iPad 3. If you're wanting to use it for reading textbooks like me, you really need to get the 3 instead. The screen is well worth it, text is very very clear. I've a few of my VCE books on it and it's really convenient!

Sounds so tempting! If the resolutions is a big difference, I guess I'll have to save up some more! 

[Mr Keshy]

Sounds so tempting! If the resolutions is a big difference, I guess I'll have to save up some more! 

It makes a very big difference actually .. If you're just viewing power points, it's not really beneficial. However if you're viewing small text, it's really in a level of it's own.

Definitely worth it over the iPad 2, there are upgrades behind the scenes too