The iPad is a consumption and connection device. With iPad you have easy access to internet, email, YouTube, games, Facebook and e-books this is where to start looking.

On the other side MacBook Air is a computer with really light weight and compactness. So, if you need a laptop the iPad in this case will not be fully useful. MacBook Air has a much better usability performance of iPad and it could be used for a few more things than iPad. iPad is good for reading books or light web surfing or sending emails. You don’t need a table to sit comfortably with it. It’s a luxury device in my opinion, but nevertheless, a luxury device that we would really love to have when we are watching TV and need to check something online at the same time, or need easy entertainment during commercials.

These two devices are not competing as their functions and usages are drastically different. I don’t see the two devices really competing for the same customer. However, the only time I really think that they would be head to head is someone considering buying a secondary device..

There is a opinion among a lot of analysts that in the next 5-7 years there is going to be a shift in the personal computing model where a household will have a single powerful desktop like what we had back in the late 1990′s and each family member will have a tablet style device for the majority of what the average user does on a regular basis.

I think the choice is really what you want it for. I am lazy and I will choose “sofa-device” as iPad as I already have laptop.

Anyway, if the price is part of your decision, according the apple website, the iPad starts at $499, while the MacBook Air (11 in, 64 GB) starts at $999.

Tags | Apple, comparison, Gadgets, iPad, MacBook Air, Tips and Tricks