Should I get the iphone4s or ipad?

2 completely different devices designed to solve 2 different problems.

Your boyfriend is probably not going to pay $30/mo for 2 year data contract (iPhone) so keep that in mind.

If you don’t have a smartphone and want one, you’ll definitely want to wait until next month’s iPhone 5 announcement (if you’re leaning iOS).

My suggestion: get the $199 Nexus 7 now, and then decide on a smartphone next month once you’ve determined that you’re willing to pay $720 in data costs over the next 2 years. You’ll also have the time to figure out what your preference is (iOS or Android).

If you want to browse the internet and watch videos, you don’t need a $499 iPad. Note also that the smaller, cheaper iPad should also be announced next month. So if iOS is your thing, you could wait for that too rather than get the Nexus 7.

Yeah, if I get a new job then I will be able to afford the data plan. Do you think the iPhone 4s price will drop once the iPhone5 comes out? If so, when?

I also want to save for a new laptop. I am usually a PC person but I do like Apple and might make a change. Plus I get viruses easily from watching movies (not porn!) lol

Re: possible iPhone price drop. In my opinion, subsidized device costs are all essentially the same. The real cost of smartphone ownership comes with the monthly charges. If the iPhone 4s dropped by $50 or $100, I think it would be a bad buy. The iPhone 4s is already a very aged device. The form factor and screen size is stuck in 2007. It feels like a nearly-obsolete device already. I would not factor this into the decision to go iPhone 4s or the new iPhone 5. While I have not followed all of the rumors, it’s clear that Apple is going with a larger device (finally), will be 4g (much faster data), and will probably improve on its amazing camera. Don’t buy old tech for a minimal up-front savings. (Just my opinion.)

I’m not a big tech person so I don’t care about the latest. My boyfriend has the Iphone4 and still hasn’t updated it yet. I play on his phone all the time and use it when he’s around..and I am satisfied with it. So going from a crap phone to a 4s sounds like a big jump if you ask me haha.

If you’re going to get a 4s regardless of the decision, I’d ask for the iPad. Particularly as you’ve no “home” system and at least in terms of consumption the iPad fills that void nicely in my opinion. Plus, since the monthly cost of an iPhone is income dependent, getting an iPad now and delaying the 4s till next month (when the next gen is expected to be announced and the official pricing should change) gives you time to solidify your job situation before taking on the monthly fee.

I’d expect the 4s to drop to $99 for the 16GB based on their current tiers

We have both and in the end the iPad is basically an iPhone on steroids. They do the same things and have the same pros and cons. Of course the upside of the iPhone is that it is, well a phone. You can text with the iPad, but only using iMessage and with other iPad/iPhone users. I admit that I really love my iPhone and all the apps I can use. When it comes to real computing neither really does it for me. I have a little Acer laptop that I use for surfing the net, word processing, etc.

I have an iPhone and an iPad. I’m attached to my phone and never put it down. The iPad only comes out on airplanes. And the time I lost my iPhone.

Its the Iphone era. So take the iphone and you will get everything from it.

I have an iPhone and I love it, but it is not much good if you need to get onto the net for any reason. The screen is so small, it is hard to surf. I would love to have an iPad for that. You can’t make phone calls with an iPad but you can do most everything else. I would get an ordinary phone to actually make calls and an iPad for everything else.

I have a smartphone, a (wifi-only) tablet, a laptop, and a desktop system, and I use them all about equally often, yet for different things.

Only one of those things fits in my pocket; two require a bag while the last is immobile. It also has the tiniest screen (4.3” versus 7”, 13”, and 32”), but is the only one that can make calls easily, and the only one that offers me internet practically anywhere. A 3G iPad will have the same “internet everywhere” reception and data plan requirements as the iPhone, while the wifi-only iPad is relatively limited in connectivity but won’t incur monthly fees. Sometimes, I need more power than a 1GHz ARM5 can muster and/or Win7 compatibility that Android lacks, and can sacrifice mobility for power.

So tell me, what do you really want? What do you plan to do with it?

Now for a few semi-random-but-still-relevant thoughts;
– Flash is less and less relevant as time goes on and things shift to HTML5. For now, it’s a good idea if you can support Flash, but it may be irrelevant in a couple of years, tops.

- Apple gets viruses (a fact that they finally admitted even though I saw a Mac virus >20 years ago) whereas my PC hasn’t been nailed yet; they are easy enough to protect that those that get infected almost deserve it.

- Both devices have limited storage, and you will be amazed how quickly that fills up. A laptop is a nice way to store your media library and do cool things that your tablet/phone cannot, but don’t blow off the idea of getting a desktop system five times as powerful for the same price as a laptop.

- Regarding your cousin recommending the iPad because it costs more, all I can say is “gold digger”.

Lol, she’s not a gold digger. She was with someone for 3–4 years and he was dead broke. Her bf now is a good guy and they spoil each other with gifts. They make okay money. She’s good with her money, knows how to save, and she’s just stingy/greedy but she’s gotten a lot better now.

By the way I’m going with the iphone 4s! lol