Please talk to me about iPads

[VoldemortsNipple]

We were considering buying a laptop for DS (9) for both social and educational use. DS is dyslexic and struggles quite a bit with a variety of issues. These include spelling, reading, processing and remembering information.

DS has asked for a tablet rather than a laptop, but this is mainly due to his friend telling him they're great.

However I am now wondering if the iPad may actually suit his needs more, as we can constantly update it with affordable apps.

So my questions are;

Laptop or iPad?

Are apps as cheap as on the iTouch/phone?

Does iPad have a usb port to connect to the printer?

Is the software for producing documents already on the iPad or do I need to spend out on the equivalent of Microsoft office?

TIA

iPads are great and I am using one right now but I think if I was a student again I would go for a laptop because you don't have the same microsoft packages like word and excel and laptops are just much more conducive for study as you can save files etc etc. iPads are great for Internet and some games and they can now connect to a printer but not all types you have to get a particular one. One compromise would be to get a laptop but think about getting an iPhone too as the iPad reminds me very much of a giant iPhone.

"Laptop or iPad?"

iPads are great for content consumption, browsing around the new and watching things, but they're not so hot for content creation. Yes you can type on them, but I wouldn't like to type a lot, they're certainly not as good as a proper keyboard (although you can buy keyboards for them) and being productive without a mouse is tricky.

Laptops on the other hand are great for content creation.

"Are apps as cheap as on the iTouch/phone?"

It depends on the app, they often are but some that are iPad only aren't, even without an iPad you can browse around the store and look at prices.

"Does iPad have a usb port to connect to the printer?"

No.

Some printers support something called AirPrint and they can work directly wirelessly from an iPad.

Otherwise you'll need some software to take the file to a PC and then print from there. There are apps that are meant to do this but I've never used one. Again it's that point about an iPad being geared up to consume things not create them.

"Is the software for producing documents already on the iPad or do I need to spend out on the equivalent of Microsoft office?"

You get some very basic note taking software with the iPad.

You can also buy Pages from the App Store for about £6 which is meant to be pretty good but Word compatibility is "limited".

There might also be some other apps but I couldn't comment on them.

So this one is iffy....

And in general you probably don't need to buy Word, there are plenty of free Word Processors out there for laptops that don't involve spending more of your money on them.

For educational purposes the iPad is great. In the most basic sense, if you wee to use it as an educational too, without needing to print then it's bloody brilliant.
The only issue I find (my eldest is 4) is that you cant use sites that require flash, such as reading eggs. But there is n app for everything you could possibly wish your nine year old to learn!

Thanks for all the replies, they're really helpful. I'm still no clearer in my mind which way to go but feel more knowledgeable.

So for producing documents, the iPad is not much use on a large scale, is that right. So I'm thinking how many projects will DS have to produce over the next 3 years before whatever I buy becomes redundant as technology moves forward. Going by what Ds2 has done, probably not much. The odd project maybe.

I suppose as badgerspaw put it, DS will consume more information than he will create.

Thanks, that gives me lots to think about.

It one of the criteria is to do homework then a tablet will be a terrible idea.

The word processors for tablets are very basic and they are an utter pain to type into.