What about an iPhone or iPad?

Apple�s mobile devices are designed to sync perfectly with your Mac

Both the iPhone and iPad have a touch screen, come with email and web-browsing applications and are capable of running third party apps that you can get from Apple�s App Store. But the iPad isn�t simply a bigger iPhone. The iPhone is first and foremost a phone, and like all mobile phones, unless you buy it on Pay as You Go (which makes the device itself much more expensive) you�re going to be tied into a phone contract.

If you want all the features of the iPhone but without the phone part, then consider getting an iPod touch instead. If you�re looking for a phone then you�ll find the iPhone is designed to cover all your data needs while you�re on the go, and fits in your pocket.

In contrast, the iPad is a device that sits somewhere between an iPhone and a Mac. It also comes with a 3G data contract option, but that doesn�t include phone calls. The only phone calls you can make with it will be digitally, using VoIP apps, such as Skype. While a lot of people find the iPhone perfectly acceptable for home use, if you just need to check your email or do a quick bit of web surfing, the iPad is positively designed to be used from your sofa. It has built-in Wi-Fi, which means you can check emails and browse the web on your wireless network at home. Here it would fulfill most functions of a laptop, but don�t fall into the trap of thinking of the iPad as a replacement for a home computer. It�s fundamentally designed to be an accessory. You�re meant to keep your data on your Mac and sync your iPad with it, not the other way around.

It does have some big advantages over a Mac laptop, though. For a start, because it uses solid-state memory it�s pretty-much instant on. There�s no waiting around for it to boot up. It�s also lightweight, extremely portable and the perfect size to be used as an eBook reader.

The iPhone currently comes in two versions, the 3GS and iPhone 4. The latest model, the iPhone 4, features a stunning new 960x640 high-resolution display, making it much easier to read on-screen text. The screen itself is now IPS (in plane switching) for great viewing angles. However you hold it, the colors won�t shift. There�s also a front-facing camera for video chat and HD video recording using the rear camera.

The iPad comes in three capacities, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB, and is available in Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + 3G versions. The 3G version costs �100 more initially and comes with data plans from either O2, Orange or Vodafone. Prices start at �429 for the 16GB Wi-Fi version, and go up to �699 for the top-of-the range 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPad.

�The iPad sits between an iPhone and a Mac. If you just need to check your email or do a quick bit of web surfing, the iPad is ideal�

Source of Information : Mac Format November 2010 (UK)