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

[Mallus]

There are a fair number of iPAD graphic design apps, if you have iTunes you can at least check them out for review and to see if it is useful to you. It may help make up your mind.

My wife is an artist, and she does all her digital art using Sketchbook Pro on an iPad (with a 3rd-party stylus).

I have the app, too. Sometimes I scrawl crude game maps with it!

 

[Radiating Gnome]

So, I'm doing a bunch of research for the Geekhackery article on Saturday -- finding some good stuff out there.

This one struck me as worth sharing here -- a good analysis across a variety of factors comparing the Surface Pro to the iPad 4 (Retina display).

http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/mobi...rosoft-surface-pro-vs-apple-ipad-4.htm?pgno=8

Their bottom line: despite the pure performance strength of the Surface's chipset, and the ability to run just about any windows software, the iPad still came in as a better value for the money.

-rg

 

[Janx]

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.

I'm afraid you didn't get the memo. If you can't participate in the discussion without blunting disparaging a company and fans of a product, then do not participate.

I am not an Apple fan-boy. I worked 13 years for one of the largest computer companies in the world. I'm not a fan of Mac OS, as it has morphed a lot since OS7 or so. But I do respect that the iOS devices generally have features I want, and lack features I can live without. I am extremely technical (i have a patent, I write software for a living, there's a picture of me taking a server apart and putting it back together blind folded at a trade show). Anything you can do, I've probably done as well. I also acknowledge that Apple products cost more. And I advise folks of that when they ask me which is better.

The OP asked about an iPad vs. using his laptop. Certainly, there are alternatives to an iPad that are cheaper, and just as functional. But that's just extra info for him to consider. We're not here to sway him from an iPad specifically or particularly because one of us doesn't like the brand/product.

It is possible to extol the virtues of Surface, without saying Apple Sucks. Which is frankly, trolling.

If Apple sucks, then why was my iPad with Numbers running my character sheet better than using my Win7 laptop with Excel 2010 on it? because it was a better form factor and had just enough features to do the job.

My outcome says Apple doesn't suck. That in turn doesn't mean that Apple is the BEST. it may be that Excel 2013 running on a Surface Pro which is about the same form factor as an iPad because Excel is more powerful than Numbers (which I did find some spreadsheet features missing when I imported my file).

An in turn, you can get the same quality of effect that I got on an Android device for less money.

That does not mean Apple Sucks.

Apple Sucks if the Numbers program fails to run my spreadsheet at all. If using it was clunkier than using my laptop was. Since the iPad succeeded and improved upon the overall experience compared to using my laptop, it did not fail.

Your discussion on the benefits of Surface are worthwhile. Your bashing of iPad in your opening statements is trolling and not productive to the conversation.

 

[innerdude]

I currently have both an iPad2 and a laptop.

As a player you could definitely just use an iPad and have everything you need. I play Pathfinder so I haven't gotten any of the apps for 4E, but I believe there are some decent ones available.

For running a game I think you would be much better off with a laptop instead of the iPad. Now their might be an app that makes it easy to run a 4E game from an iPad but I'm not sure about that.

Outside gaming I think you will get more out of a laptop as well.

What he said.

 

[GrahamWills]

I bought an iPad the day it came out and was running games off it in a week. I play a lot of systems and have 16 system books on it, every Living Forgotten Realms mod released, most dungeon and dragons when they were easily downloadable, 15 characters with an average of 5-8 different levels per character, a spreadsheet with XP and cash for all my LFR chararacters, pictures for all of the, and my campaign notes for the 3 campaigns I'm running.

I have not brought a gaming book with me to maybe the last 10 cons I've been to. For the last 4-5 it's just been dice and iPad, miniatures and maps.

Now I need the laptop at home as its faster to create on, and character tools are not available, but overall, it's great.

i will be at cod con tomorrow and all weekend. I have prepped 2 mods and will be playing two other games. I absolutely love having all the info I need on one very small, non-blocking machine. No Internet connection needed. Simple, easy clean.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

What spreadsheet do you use?

 

[GrahamWills]

I use Numbers; Pages for writing and handouts; Goodreader to manage PDFs. My wife uses i4e or some other dedicated character sheet program, but I prefer just to mark up the PDF.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

Okay, my column on Tablet Specs is up.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?772-Geekhackery-Tablet-Specs

Basically, I don't have any easy answers for you, though. I make a comparison of devices across essentially the same price band -- iOS/Android/Windows -- and unpack what you get. And there are links to a few other articles that discuss the comparisons.

Bottom line is, I think that what you need to do, and the availability of the tools on the devices, is the most important factor. Yes, for the same money you can get a bit more performance power out of an android device than an iOS device or a windows tablet, but that performance does not necessarily translate into a better, more satisfying experience.

Check it out, and let me know how wrong you think I am.

-rg

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I need to change my recommendation about i4e. I didn't put enough effort into making it work. It doesn't import your character perfectly but it's fairly easy to correct the minor mistakes on your iPod or through their website. Last night I used only my iPod for the entire session and I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I think I'll be going paperless from now on!

 

[Arravis]

Okay, my column on Tablet Specs is up.

Sir, that is damn useful to me... VERY nice job, well done!

-Arravis