Laptop for university??

I will be studying philosophy, so not a tech-heavy course! I can't touch-type so will be handwriting all my lecture notes anyway. I thought I could take my iPad to type essays on because that is what I currently use for my school essays. So, do I really need a laptop in addition?

Hmmm… well… you could always use your iPad, but you should think about the practicality of typing so much content on a touchscreen device like an iPad! It might be a little too slow to be able to not get frustrated with. However, you could always fix this by getting a bluetooth keyboard! You could even buy a case that props your iPad up and type away without spending loads of money on a laptop.

If your own work fills that, then you're too good to ask advice here.

The things I'd worry about (speaking as a Luddite) are the storage of other documents or videos you might need in your research, and compatibility between your files and anyone you'd be working with. IIRC, Apple doesn't like using Word, so that might cause problems unless you've already figured out how to get around them. I'm thinking now about getting access to printers, doing group projects, sending stuff to a professor that he/she can't open, etc.

As for the keyboard, I just saw on Apple.com a case that had a rubber keyboard on the inside of one panel. No idea if it's easier than skating all over the screen, but potentially worth a look.

Would it be harder to access printers with an iPad than a laptop?

You can get printers which connect via wifi. My current one does, which means I can print from any device really. I've just got to download and install an app.

My first thought was storage.

Yes, my main concern is storage too. Would you say that 128GB is enough?

Storage is not a problem. Documents i.e essays are going to take up very little space I doubt they will amount to 2gb over three years.
The Uni will give you storage on its system plis you have whatever Apple give you in the cloud?

Its other forms of files such as mobies and photos that take up the space.

You can also buy an external hdd and get an extra 500gb, 1tb, 2tb, but check its compatible. Apple make it hard.

It's worth dropping an email to your university's IT department to ask if ipads are compatible with their system. In some places, you need windows/Internet Explorer to get onto the WiFi network or access intranet systems like moodle and blackboard.

Thank you. What are moodle and blackboard? Do you think I will need them for my course (philosophy)?

I don't think I'll be needing many photos for a philosophy course and not sure what a mobie is, sorry. Thank you though, it is comforting to hear that.

They're websites that are accessible only to students and staff members; some courses use them to upload lecture slides, assignments, reading lists, etc. You theoretically should be fine using Safari on an iPad, but a lot of these systems are quite old, and a few years ago my university was using a version that would only work with Internet Explorer 6! We also had an awful wifi network that required you to be running a particular set of encryption settings, so basically was limited only to laptops (you couldn't connect phones or tablets). However, the IT department will hopefully be able to tell you all of the specifics, and advise if a particular setup might cause difficulties. Things out to be a bit more modern now in any case!

ah another typo it was meant to be movies.

Ring fence your money, see what its like at uni and you can buy one if the Ipad isnt enough for you. Its what suits you which is most important.

I also suggest you to use laptop, it is more convenient for typing and no memory issues for storing large files. Tablets are good for quick surfing, reading and small typing work but not practical to type for hours.
I own a laptop and my Dual Screen Smartphone(Siam 7x) is good enough for web surfing fast and other works.
It provide kindle like e reader that I use for reading books.