Mac List

FIVE reasons why you shouldn’t buy an iPad

On the 28th May, Apple releases the new iPad in stores all across the United Kingdom. However, some people will dread this day and declare their hate for the new iPad, and several reasons as to why they may avoid the iPad like the plague are:

1. The battery. Despite an impressive 10 hours of battery life, (and 9 hours on the 3G models), some people cannot ignore the annoying story of how Apple like to make our lives harder by sealing the battery on the iPhone and iPad to make our lives harder so we cannot replace the battery ourselves and we have to send it to them to get it changed. This means a large cost to simply change the battery (it costs $99 in the US), but this may be justified as the iPad itself costs in excess of £500 but remember, the iPad will need to be sent in, and if you are an iPad lover, could you do without it for a week for the sake of a battery? It would be easier, cheaper and take no more than a minute to change the battery on a normal notebook.

2. No HDMI capability. So in the rush for HD, you’d expect the iPad to be with the times, however there is no HDMI so it will be a pain to watch videos in HD on your TV or desktop from your iPad. If you love your HD and boast about how you’ve bought a Blu-Ray player and LED HD TV, should you really bother with buying an iPad if you love HD?

3. No USB capability. This one’s annoying as I have loads of accessories which plug into USB connectors on my laptop like my wireless mouse, digital camera and printer. Apple have ’forgotten'to add USB ports and instead created little adapters to connect USBs and your digital cards to the iPad. Not only do you empty your bank account for the iPad but now you need to buy accessories and attachments which would have already been included on a laptop or computer as standard. Not to mention if the iPad conks out for some reason, instead of getting all the information I need off an external hard drive right away, I am stuck sending the thing off to data recovery London. Not stoked…

4. No widescreen. The iPad has a 4:3 screen which is pretty unacceptable as widescreens revolutionised our viewing over ten years ago (the same way HD changed the way we watched TV only a few years ago). Anyone with a HD TV will not go back to the old CRT TV, so why go back to a 4:3 screen from a widescreen 16:9?

5. As an Apple product, it will only run programmes from the Apps store. On a notebook, you can install whatever you want and need, and if you did chuck away your old work computer in favour of the iPad, thinking that there really is an app for anything, what if your boss sends you documents in MS Word? And Microsoft are declaring that they will not make an app for it either…

FIVE reasons to get an iPad

The iPad is to be released on the 28th May in the United Kingdom, from £429. While there has been a mixed reaction, with some people declaring they will not touch one with a bargepole, here are five reasons as to why you SHOULD buy an iPad from someone who specializes in Apple Mac Repair London!

1. We remember when the Macbook Air first came out, was uber thin at its time at 1.94cm and weighed about 3.0 pounds. However the iPad blasts these figures out of the ballpark, with a thickness of 0.5 inches and a weight of 1.5 pounds, smaller than a magazine, ultra portable compared to a laptop.

2. iPhone users across the world love their iPhone for the touchscreen internet. We’ve certainly never seen a viable laptop/notebook competitor with the same technology until the iPad. Get the same great iPhone style internet in a larger screen, so you can flick through windows, check your email or do some internet shopping all at your fingertips.

3. The battery life, need I say more? You get 10, count them, 10 hours of uninterrupted battery life on your iPad. The battery in the iPad was derived from the Macbook’s battery. The iPad 3G uses a little more battery, but you still get a good nine hours from it. The battery life, and its size and weight make the iPad perfect for flying commuters.

4. Choose from Wireless and 3G connectivity. The iPad can connect to the internet via built-in 802.11n for fast Wi-Fi connectivity, there are 3G models which also take advantage of 3G connectivity of up to 7.2Mbps and Bluetooth 2.1 to connect your devices wirelessly (did I mention the numerous accessories available which complement your iPad beautifully, like the Apple Wireless Keyboard)

5. This goes without saying, but it has to be mentioned. You can kit out your iPad just like your iPhone with millions of apps to do literally anything you want. Play Monopoly or Scrabble on your Ipad with no faffing around with board pieces, download and read books on your iPad, a new reading experience or simply browse Facebook and listen to some music on last.fm

The iPad is the new wave of technology and you would be mad not to buy it. It costs around £429 for the basic 16gb Wi-Fi model, there are other models available, just check out the iPad Apple store for more information.

The reason why you shouldn’t buy the iPhone

I like the iPhone, a very nifty phone, not just having a built in iPod, but revolutionising the mobile phone, the birth of apps, and a superb touch screen. However there are some reasons why an iPhone is not the type of phone you should buy. I’m not talking about the small things, the reasons you can’t really get over:

One of the reasons why I wouldn’t buy the iPhone is due to the battery. If your trusty Nokia or Sony Ericsson failed, or just wouldn’t hold a charge, you would simply go to a phone shop or on eBay, and buy a new battery. It would cost no more than £15, and would be rather quick to sort out. However if this happened on your iPhone, (with all the browsing and music taking its toll on it), you would have to participate in the “iPhone Out-of-Warranty Battery Replacement Program.”

Like the name suggests, the “iPhone Out-of-Warranty Battery Replacement Program.”is pretty complicated, you would have to take your iPhone to your local Apple Retail store, or contact Apple Technical support online, which will arrange for the iPhone to be shipped to them to replace the battery. To do so will cost £55.00 ( and £7.29 extra if done online), which is pretty expensive for a battery alone. It’s a bit hassling compared to just going to a shop, removing your back casing and changing the battery there and then, or at least just waiting a couple of days if you bought it online, and a whole lot cheaper.

The process would take five days, could you do without your phone for five days? Some people (including me) couldn’t go without their phone for five seconds! And I certainly wouldn’t feel safe sending such an expensive iPhone in the post to Apple in the first place, it could get lost, stolen or damaged, a topic concerned iPhone users have brought up in forums when they need a replacement. It is a bit funny though, because normally Apple products have such good long term care advice and support.

Plus any data like contacts, music, on the iPhone itself will be erased, so I just hope you backed up before sending off your iPhone…

It isn’t just occuring on the iPhone either, when the new iPad is to be released in the UK, Apple will probably unveil a similar scheme when the battery fails, costing $99 (approximately £65) and also having all the shortcomings of the iPhone’s scheme.

Some people decide to take matters into their own hands and do it themselves, buying their own replacement battery, opening up the iPhone and fit it themselves. Apparently there are ways to do this, but I probably wouldn’t recommend, and the battery costs nearly £40 itself.

To be honest, the iPhone is a great phone, but there would have to be other ways go get around the battery problem, as the battery is exhausted when used on the iPhone. Personally I would buy the iPhone, but not just yet, maybe if the repair programme was easier, and could do my phone quickly.