To start my blog discussion on smart devices, I guess I have to dive straight into the age-old argument of apple products versus everyone else. Initially, I will be comparing iMac and Surface laptop/tablets. Also, I am combining laptops and tablets because now there is not much difference between them. Now both typically contain the same capabilities; the only real difference is where the company wants to market the device to compete for the best in that category.
First up is the iMac. iMac offers three tablets in this category: iPad Pro, the iPad Air, and iPad Mini. The significant differences between these are screen size, processing/memory, and Camera options. For this blog, I will stick to comparing the iPad Pro since it is always best to compare the best a company has to offer. The iPad Pro starts at about $1200 unless you want one without WIFI capabilities, and let's be honest, in today's on the go business and learning, one without WIFI would be pointless. Now the tricky part with apple products is translating what its capabilities are in comparison to other products. Take, for example, the processor. The iPad Pro has an "A12Z Bionic chip with Neural Engine." So what does that mean? Most of us have become accustomed to hearing about how many-core processors the chip has. An A12Z has eight-core processors, making it one of the most advanced chips in tablets. This allows it to dedicate more processes to be completed at the same time without any lag in performance.
Next up is the Surface. The Surface does not offer a diverse selection when it comes to size. It has several names for its various models, all look similar, but have many different options for its capabilities. These internal capabilities affect the price. For this, we will compare Surface Pro 7 because it is the top model for Surface. It comes in at a much lower cost, starting at $800. The Surface Pro 7 has an I core 7 (i7) chip. This means it, too, operates on a chip with eight-core processors. However, its processing speed is slightly slower than the iPad Pro, but that is due to technology used to develop the chip.
As you can see, both are very similar in their technical capabilities. Both are capable of running most programs being offered, including Adobe Creative Cloud. The only real difference here will be your personal preference for the layout of the system's programs. The one advantage the Surface Pro 7 has is it can be configured any way the user wants and is only limited by the user's knowledge of computers. Apple products restrict this to better protect their systems from misuse and viruses.
Below I have included a link to an article explaining which computers are best for Adobe Creative Cloud, and one that takes you to a professional comparison of the two systems.
Article explain which computers are best for Adobe Creative Cloud
Article comparing the two systems
Mike,
ReplyDeleteThis is actually my second post to your blog, my first post got an error message. Anyway, looks like ours blogs are cousins! My blog is on e-Readers. My favorite E-Reader is the Kindle, but don’t tell the others I have favorites. I am an iPad user. I have used a Surface in the past but it came with some serious local memory limitations compared to the iPad. It seemed like Microsoft wanted me to buy cloud storage and were forcing it by not putting much memory on the device itself. Beyond, that both have a pretty good user experience overall. I like that the Surface is Windows based and the Office Suite of tools runs amazingly on it. However, the iPad is just the superior device. Turns out I am willing to give up Office suite functionality (I physically have Office for iPad, it just has less functionality) for the smoothness of the iPad. The longer I use it the less I miss Office. Additionally, I can use a Kindle app on both devices and the experience is seamless on both devices. I don’t really care for the price tag on either.
I recently added photoshop to my Adobe suite on my iPad. Time will tell how it treats me. The big challenge I see coming, no mouse. The lack of a mouse makes the LinkedIn course we recently viewed nearly worthless. Guess I will take a stroll over to YouTube University and learn from the what is likely hundreds to thousands of videos on how to use Photoshop on iPad.
I look forward to periodically swinging by your blog to see what’s new!
Mike
Mike,
DeleteYou have an awesome name in case no one has told you yet. I understand what you mean with the storage space. early models of surface did not offer much storage and with only one usb port you had to pick what was most important (a mouse, external drive, or something else). This has been fixed in later models and now you can get up to 1TB of storage. Now your base models are still coming with far less than Ipads but it is a move in the right direction. I personally like my surface and how easy it is to use with Microsoft, but I am an consistent iPhone user. Oh and I won't tell any of your devices you have a favorite.
I like how you start this blog off with the age-old argument of Mac vs. the rest of the world! I was purely a Mac junkie but have recently found that windows do have a lot to offer. I used Mac because its interface was easy to use for a tech challenged guy like myself. I have started to expand my knowledge of windows and find it enjoyable. I will never leave my iPhone though! This blog is nice for me as my knowledge of devices and their capabilities is not very extensive. I think the age of technology and the sheer amount of options for devices can help the instructional design field. The application options make it easy for the instructional designer to leverage devices like the surface pro and the iMac. The ease of access can help design all kinds of programs that can make things easier for the user. Everyday things like shopping and entertainment all become easier and help bridge the gap. I look forward to following your post and learning more about the world devices and their capabilities.
ReplyDeleteKev
Mike,
ReplyDeleteGreat point. Your post compares two types of commonly used smart devices (iPad Pro vs. Surface Pro). The information you provided is informative and will be helpful for those who are curious about two devices.
One thing that I found is a lot of K-12 schools are using ipads. My younger child is using ipad even in her kindergarten. She already knows how to use ipad, takes a picture and records videos and submits them to the canvas system. Her teacher also introduced a couple of apps (e.g., ABC mouse). This generation is simply using smart devices in their first school year. What a big change!
I am looking forward to reading more posts from you.
Mr. Cho,
DeleteI believe a lot of schools are going with iPad because apples software is very restrictive. It does not allow the user to make a lot of changes to the system. This is perfect for a school that is giving them to children. They don't have to worry about them making changes that prevent the system from working. Plus, I am not 100% sure but I believe Apple still has a lot of educational programs where they give schools computers, similar to when they first started with the desk top computers.
Mike, you have a way better grasp of these technologies than I do. I am curious to know which you use and prefer. I used to love apple products but when I had my phone it was during the time they were slowing down phones which made me a little less inclined to stick with apple. I ended up switching to a droid and never looked back. I look forward to seeing your next post.
ReplyDelete-Mandy
Mandy,
DeleteAfter the research I did for this I decided to get the Surface Pro 7. It is the most functional of the two with a lower price. Plus, I already have the docking station for the Surface Pro so when I am home I don't have to work off the small screen. I can use dual screens, full keyboard, and speakers. Giving me ease of a desktop, but the mobility of a laptop.
Mike
ReplyDeleteI am a PC person through and through but do use an I Pad for games and simple applications. I just like the way PC's are set up versus the Mac. We are a house divided here since the Hubby prefers Mac. I am pretty sure if I was a bit more technologically advanced I would swing for the mac but I like simplicity. Lookign forward for more of your blogs.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteGreat post and great article. I am glad I stopped by your blog before I went an purchased a new laptop to run creative cloud. After Andy and I found out we were not going to be able to get creative cloud loaded on our issued laptops, I decided to just go ahead and purchase creative cloud and load it on my laptop. I have a low dollar laptop, however, so when I went to install the software, of course, it would not load. I have never been much of a tech savvy guy or paid much attention to what was necessary to run particular programs. Personally, the only thing I have ever used computers for is to log onto the internet and check my e-mail. Prior to now, I really never had much use for anything else on a computer. Now that I do, I am learning a lot more about computers and their specifications than I ever did before. Now that I have visited your blog, I am looking forward to learning more. Frankly, I can even share what I learn with my wife as she is in a computer information system class and is learning for the first time what is meant when someone talks about processors, RAM, etc. Great post.
Anthony
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI am a windows person because of its ease of use and because you can basically customize it the way you want. Unlike Mac computers where it is almost impossible to upgrade easily. I have an IPAD and all I can do with it is play candy crush everything else I do on my windows computer because I am more familiar with buttons and the functionality of windows compared to Mac where I struggle with the way their controls are set up and safari just does not do it for me. However, in seeing your blog I am going to check out the surface seems like a pretty good computer for the price.
Alex