I've got an old Macbook that I'm keen to update with something lighter as I have to carry my computer around almost everyday... I'd been thinking that I'd get myself a Macbook Air as my next computer, but then it occurred to me that maybe an iPad plus Dropbox could be a solution for me?
I have an iMac, Macbook and iPhone at home with a Mac Mini at the office. I have quite a lot of word and excel docs that I sync between my iMac & Macbook with Chronosync... but if I put those docs on Dropbox I could access & edit them from the iPad? I also use Things, but the iPad implementation for that looks awesome so that wouldnt be an issue
The main appeal is that the iPad would be way cheaper than a Macbook Air, and given that I spend a lot of time browsing etc it might not be a bad fit, perhaps... or maybe its folly and I should go the Macbook Air path. How is Dropbox for iPad for file management? Anyone replaced their Macbook with an iPad? Love to know how people are going if they have!
Discussion about
Macbook Air vs iPad + Dropbox?
The file-management is actually terrible right now, but livable. If you want to get docs on the iPad then Dropbox or Memeo connect is the way to go. The only problem is getting them off the iPad, which results in either a connect to a computer with iTunes or emailing them to yourself. If you want to understand how the iPad file system works, just think of the iPhone's photo application, but with each app having it's own, separate library. For instances, you can import files from mail, Dropbox, Safari, etc. into something like Pages, but unless the application has the ability to export the file via the OS's primary export/import method you can't just send the file back to the Dropbox app.
Do you need to do a lot of heavy editing on iPad?
The Dropbox app is pretty nice, and when you star a document in it, it pins that document down to the iPad so that you can access it offline. If you use Google Docs a lot, be warned, you can't edit Google Docs on the iPad (yes, I know you can technically edit spreadsheets, but it isn't good). I've been using Office2 ($8) to edit my Google Docs, but it is still pretty buggy.
The Dropbox app is pretty nice, and when you star a document in it, it pins that document down to the iPad so that you can access it offline. If you use Google Docs a lot, be warned, you can't edit Google Docs on the iPad (yes, I know you can technically edit spreadsheets, but it isn't good). I've been using Office2 ($8) to edit my Google Docs, but it is still pretty buggy.
You can't edit files with Dropbox, but you can't open the files in Dropbox with other apps. For example, when I tap the upper-right corner I have the option to open in Office2 or GoodReader. Here's a review of Dropbox for iPad: www.macstories.net/ipad/dropbox-for-ipad-available...
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