• NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.

In need of advice: laptop vs ipad for tabletop gaming!

As I have worked with iPADs, Droids and Windows 8; I like the iPAD but I would look at a Win8 tablet before a Droid, just more functional from a business and application point.

I've only barely touched a windows 8 tablet, have no idea how fully functional they are. If they're basically a PC in a tablet form factor, that could be pretty damn powerful.
 

log in or register to remove this ad

Definitely an iPad BUT only if you already own a computer. I own both and use them for different purposes. The iPad is more of a portable viewer (watching shows on my back, reading internet stuff), and the laptop is something that sits on a desk and has a keyboard (internet forums, personal work). You can find a decent laptop for $350 or so (save the gaming for the desktop!). Also, if you get an adapter, you can put your stuff on a flash drive from your desktop and borrow someone *else's* iPad! :D
 



I have been using an ipad for gaming since it first came out. and have been very happy with it. There are alot of apps that I have tried, some good and some great. As for memory, there are so many cloud storage options. Most cloud storage options will give you a couple of gig memory for free. sign up up for two or three and you should have more than enough. another solution was the pogoplug device that connects to your router. You connect a external drive to it.
In my case I have 1tb drive connected. as long as I have internet I can connect to it throu the free app.
but as a Dm you should go laptop first. Then get a ipad.

As for word and excel spreadsheets. check out the " Quickoffice pro hd" app.

As a player I'm using an Ipad2 or my ipad mini. with the ipad2 I also use the ultra thin logictech keyboard.
I like how it attaches to the ipad 2 like apple smart cover. I still have my orginal ipad at home that I use.
 
Last edited:

I have been using an ipad for gaming since it first came out. and have been very happy with it. There are alot of apps that I have tried, some good and some great.

Have you found any good character sheet apps for 4E besides i4e? I keep looking for one but can't find one that I like.
 


I have used laptops in the past and am using my iPad now for gaming and so far I've been preferring the iPad. I run and play Pathfinder, however, and not 4e so access to 4e-based tools isn't a factor for me. Paizo's progressive policy on open content and PDF sales has been a pretty big help because I can have all of the game rule PDFs on my iPad (whether or not a WiFi network is available) and access to sites like d20pfsrd.com (when I do have a network and have to look up content I don't have a book for). I don't know how helpful any of that would be for a typical 4e DM, though.
 

I'd say surface. Apple sucks.

That would be trolling.

If Apple sucks, then so would the iPad (which in the context of this thread is one and the same), if the iPad sucks, I would have failed to run my character on my ipad.

Since I was able to do so and was happier with it than on my Windows laptop, you have issued a false statement.

If you can't actually contribute to the conversation in a useful fashion, like recommending Surface Pro because it can run the full MS Office suite and the WotC web tools and be just as light as an iPad, then kindly bugger off.
 

Yes, that's exaclty what I was saying. Apple sucks, which means iPad sucks, which is what this thread is about, should I use an iPad or laptop.

A Surface would be better than a laptop because its more convenient at the table. An iPad wouldn't be better than a laptop (unless you're talking a Mac laptop) for the reason that Apple products are inferior.

Just because you can do it on an iPad doesn't mean you can't do it better on something else. But by all means, if you want to pay too much for a product with inferior performance, go ahead.

However, to anyone with an open mind who cares about the performance of the product and not getting on a brand band wagon, again I say, get a Surface, because Apple products suck. Apple computers have the performance of a PC 10 years ago, and the iPad can't compare with the Surface. Don't take my word for it, look at the specs.

Here's just one example. My laboratory had the misfortune of buying an Apple product to be able to photograph the microscope fields and put them on a monitor. My lab manager is one of those (many) people who have a blind devotion to the Apple brand. He buys Apple everything. So this product does not allow you to put the data on a flash drive (even though ANY similar PC product would have that capability). Instead you have to email the data to yourself. Also, we've only had it a week, and already the adaptor that connects the camera to the iPad is shorting out. Also, the product (of course) ONLY works with iPad (not PC or even Mac), forcing the lab to buy iPads.

Another example is Apple's notorious inability to run any Microsoft programs, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. Though they claim they run them, they invariably crash.
 
Last edited:

Into the Woods

Remove ads

Top