IPAD or iMAC Air - confused
 

I have taken up a new job that requires me to travel frequently. The duration of each stay could range from few days to few months. I was thinking of buying a Macbook Air to carry for personal use since I dont want to use my office PC for personal stuff. I am worried about carrying two laptops would make my baggage heavy and cause great discomfort. The IPAD is light to carry and can do most of what can be done on the Macbook however with some trade off like slowness, switching between apps, and I hate the touch keypad (think am getting older ;-)
I would like to get some opinions on which would be the right one and what you the smart travellers carry during business trips.. Thanks!!

For pleasure I like an IPAD but I would go with Air. If you are going to be writing/typing or need to create VPNS multiple browser screens at once an Imac Air just seems easier.

Although a lot of programs have been made available for IPAD it is nice to have a great keyboard etc. Yes I know you can get a keyboard for an IPAD and have multiple browsers, etc and VPN services, etc but I just like the Air. Besides you have USB port to charge something else like an Iphone with and Air

It all depends what you want to do and what use you'll get from the device when not travelling.

Just want to watch videos and surf - then an iPad or a Nexus 7 may be the ticket.

Need to do more with that needs a keyboard or additional storage - get a MacBook.

Travelling with two laptops can be a royal pain, especially at security checkpoints. And then there's the occasional issue of customs officials assuming one of your laptops will be staying in the country.

The best solution I found was to pack an SSD based Netbook (remember them?) in my checked in luggage but I wouldn't advocate doing this with something as expensive as a MacBook Air.

That said, it's all sometimes very necessary; especially on long trips where I need to do online banking. The company laptop is very secure from the perspective of my employer. I treat it as insecure from my own perspective.

If you've got a pc already, then iPad is plenty of firepower. Go to macworld.com, they have a couple of in depth reviews re difference btw macbook air and ipad [in terms of limitations for users].

I took a 3 wk biz trip in july and used only the iPad - first time and experiment. I'd say 90% success; only a few times I wish had access to my MacBook.

That's tough since you do have a laptop, just not one that you want to use. The latest iPad is pretty fast but I hate typing on it and those bluetooth keyboards don't seem very practical without a mouse or touchpad. Tablets are adjunct devices IMO which don't replace laptops. I own a MacBook Air but if I'm bringing my work laptop with me on a trip I leave the Air at home and bring my LTE iPad 3. My LTE iPad has the advantage of being usable everywhere, not just in locations with a wifi connection.

If any of the work you do requires Flash, that will exclude the iPad from consideration - that may not be an issue for you but might be worth keeping in mind.

I vote for BOTH !

a macbook air for real work , and a New iPad Mini when they come out next month ,

I like my netbook , and my Galaxy 7in , if I had to only take one it would be the netbook, but thats because it has a DVD player and there always seems to be DVDs available to buy or rent ,

I look like an electronics store when I go thru security :)

soarer

i cant justify "downgrading" to the ipad

my macbook air is so small, i actually zip it INSIDE a thin notepad "planner" , so i can handhold the thing onto planes, to meetings, etc
http://i.imgur.com/6v46V.jpg

and of course the difference is the full pledged OS that allows me to do much much more than just simply browsing or relying on mobile-oriented apps

at almost no cost to dimensional or mass advantage:
mba11: 300 x 192 x 3-17 mm ; 650g
ipad3: 240 x 186 x 9.5 mm ; 1.08g

buy a USB cellular stick, or tether it to the phone you already carry anyway

And what problem does that solve? When I carry my work laptop it's only on trips that i need access to the corporate software while away. It's too bulky to break out during the day to surf the net. The OP already said they dont want to do personal stuff on the work laptop. A USB stick and tethering plan both cost as much or more than a data plan on the iPad. Tethering on smart phones absolutely destroys the battery life which is a precious commodity when traveling.

it solves exactly the thing you implied - not having usability everywhere.
phone tethering is charged via usb cable. because with a laptop, you can do that.
neither the laptop nor the usb stick itself adds bulk so theres absolutely nothing to gain with ipad, but more to lose

It doesn't solve the OP's issue of not wanting to do personal stuff on their work laptop while traveling. The iPad is the opposite of bulky IMO and is very easy to travel with. I've never had to take it out of my bag at TSA checkpoints. Tethering a phone will drain the smartphone battery faster than the USB port on my Thinkpad can charge it.

I commonly travel with both. The Mac Air has terrible battery life unless you turn off backlighting and dim the screen. the ipad is harder to type on but i have edited word docs and typed 500-1000 words on an iPad with both the touch screen and a bluetooth keyboard for work documents. Short trip and not work intensive, iPad +/- bluetooth keyboard. Long trip, Mac Air or both. My last trip was Mac Air and Nexus 7 for on the plane consumption.

Get both. Use them at home. Switch off taking one of them on the road with you. After you figure it out you can give the one you don't use to a relative or sell it on eBay or Amazon.