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The iPad has made more strives into the market than many other tablet computers. For college students the tablet computer might be on the shopping list. But is a iPad a decent investment for students? To the naked eye it has many features that could prove valuable to a college student. The ability to have a large stack of books be electronically available without the burden of carrying around the extra weight, the media capabilities, and internet are all nice qualities that come with a iPad. On the other hand an iPad will have drawbacks as well as bonuses.
Bonuses:
- Lightweight. Traveling from classroom to classroom with a stack of text books that are a mile high can be a bit of a hassle. With the iPad forget about textbooks, e-books are available so that your books are with you – even if they aren’t actually with you.
- Storage. The iPad, unlike e-readers like the kindle or nook, can store text files, video, audio files from class recordings, and more.
- Applications. The same style of aps that are available on the iPhone are also available on the iPad, some are free others cost a little bit but they can both be useful.
Drawbacks:
- Cost. iPads are not cheap they range from $400 – $900 after tax.
- Limitations. The best thing about the iPad is the ability to access eBooks, however, not all books are available as eBooks so even with the iPad students might still be carrying a few books around.
- Not as Handy as a Laptop. The iPad is designed to be a tablet computer, however the keyboard is only sold separately, and it doesn’t have the same ports that most computers are equipped with – so USB drives or devices wont generally work.
Students thinking about buying an iPad for school should definitely research before buying.
