Samsung Chrombook Or iPad For Older Relative?

An older relative needs something to do email, eBay, web searches etc to replace her old dial-up PC.
She is getting a FreedomPop wireless home router for her Internet access and will have a 5 or 10GB limit per month and then she will have to go a the library or McDonalds to use free public wifi if she runs out of data before the billing cycle is finished..

Which is easier and most intuitive to use and which will use the least bandwidth to do similar things?
For instance does the Chrome browser in a Chromebook use more bandwidth surfing the web than the browser in a iPad that may be loading mobile optimized sites?

Which will use the least amount of megabytes on periodic software updates?
Does the Chromebook warn you that updates are ready before it uses up your bandwidth downloading the update? It would be nice if she could go to a public hotspot to do updates instead of using up her limited bandwidth.

 

The iPad would be better by far.

It's absolutely more intuitive for someone who isn't super knowledgeable about computers. It will be easy for her to find apps to do various things (if she's interested in something like that, that is), like small, easy-to-play games, cooking, sports, reading, magazines, etc.

An iPad would also have a camera on it - both front and rear, and using it to take pictures or video chat with younger relatives can be very easy, especially if someone else has an OS X or iOS device and helps her set up a FaceTime account. Video chatting on the Chromebook isn't going to be as easy-going. You could also use the iPad to take various pictures - of whatever. I know people like to rag on tablet users for using them as cameras, but for a lot of people it's a great tool - and the large display makes it very easy to see what's going on.

Unless she watches a lot of online video - or ends up downloading tons and tons of apps, which seems unlikely - I don't think she'll come close to hitting 10GB of data. 5GB, maybe, if she has a bigger month, but you aren't going to get 10 gigs from browsing the web a little bit each day. And the iPad can definitely schedule updates whenever you want them to take place; system updates are very rare, though app updates are more common.

Anyway, I can't say enough about the iPad as a tool for older relatives looking for a new and easier computing device. We got one for my father-in-law, and he loves it to bits.

 

While 5GB is plenty for a smartphone especially when most people use their unlimited data home wifi from DSL or cable modem and work wifi for the majority of the day and only need to use their data plan when on the road. However, if the hotspot is your main source of data in a home, 5GB is not that generous. She is used to unlimited data slow dial-up and never had a reason to monitor data before.
5GB is about 166MB per day for a 30 day billing period. It doesn't seems like it would be that hard to go through 166MB per day just browsing graphic heavy websites for a few hours per day. If she even watches a few lite videos such as news videos on the CNN.com home page or gets a link to a Youtube video and then starts browsing Youtube other videos, it will be very easy to blow through 166MB in 24 hours.
So, we want to start her on 10GB the first month and she can downgrade to 5GB if she is comfortably under 5GB the first couple of months.

She has just started migrating from IE to Chrome on her IE PC, so I'm not convinced that an iPad will be easier.
The setup of an iPad seems more involved with creating an Apple ID and setting up things like iCloud settings and email. On the Chromebook all you have to do is just log in and create a Google account if she doesn't have it and start browsing with Chrome. Gmail will just work with no config. She will only have one login to worry about.

I'm not sure that downloading an updating apps on an iPad is easier than just using the browser on a Chromebook.
She could just use the Safari browser on an iPad except that she would then get confused when she stumbles onto sites that don't work on a mobile browser due to Flash or just bad site design.
She is used to a PC, so she would have a learning curve figuring out navigating between apps and using the touchscreen gestures. The Chromebook would have a more familiar keyboard and she can get a USB mouse if she can't deal with the touchpad.

The advantage I see to the the iPad is that other people around her would have seen it before and could provide assistance plus she can make an appointment at an Apple Store Genius bar for more help. Adding an Air Print printer is much easier to set up on an iPad than the hassle of steps you need to set up a Google Cloud Print printer for a Chromebook but I'm not sure that is enough to make the overall experience easier. She can print at the local library the few times per year she would need to print.
Once concern I have about the Chromebook is the amount of bandwidth it may use for frequent updates vs the amount of bandwidth an iPad uses for iOS updates. I'm pretty sure iOS gives you a notification that tells you when an update is available and then you can go to a public hotspot to download and install it. I think the Chromebook silently downloads the update files and doesn't notify you about it until it has already downloaded and cached to your system burning your bandwidth without your knowledge.

 

It does, which is what I said earlier on. The iPad is also lighter and easier to move around - both of you may think, "Oh, I won't be moving this around very much," but if she had an iPad, I bet she would. It's easy to bring into the kitchen while you cook or drink coffee, out on the porch, or over on the couch.

I'm not sure your point about it being more difficult to set up is valid - barring, perhaps, setting up her email. I'm assuming you or someone else will be helping out with this initial setup, and the Chromebook would be equally confusing at first glance.

Don't overlook the importance, as you suggested, of having a support network already in place for issues or accessories with the iPad.

Worst case scenario: buy one and see how she likes it; you'll have a 14-day return period. If everyone is really resistant to the experience, then try something else.

 

I don't know why you are mentioning portability as if the $249 Chromebook is a heavy burden to lift and carry around. There is not much of a size and weight difference between an 10 inch iPad and the 11 inch Samsung Chromebook.
It is actually easier to carry around. Just close the clamshell and take it and you don't need to get a stand to prop it up if you take it to the kitchen and you also don't need a case or anything else to protect the screen.
I don't see anything complicated about setting up a Chromebook. Turn on the power, join a wireless network, log in with your Google account, go through the trackpad tutorial screen and then open Chrome and use it like using Chrome on a PC.
Setting up an iPad, iCloud backup settings, Apple ID and configuring email account, calendar and contacts requires several more steps. Even if someone set it up for her, if it ever had to be reset, she would need help again and risks losing everything if she saves things on the iPad and the backup isn't configured properly. If a Chromebook ever has to be "reset," all the files and settings are back automatically other than joining a wifi network again. There is no "restore from iCloud" type procedure to go through.
She can already use Chrome on a PC, so there will be very little learning curve compared to learning about iOS and touch screen gestures and app downloads and updates. There is no fully automatic preconfigured email on an iPad like you get with a Chromebeook.
I don't like that Chromebook would burn the limited bandwidth she will have with its silent updates, but at least that makes it easier since it will require less user intervention to get the updates done. iOS 7 is coming soon and likely a couple patch updates shortly after that to fix the bugs that always happen on the new versions of iOS.
There will be much less to learn on a Chromebook since it is only a browser, so there is little reason why she would need help with anything other than creating a Google account if she doesn't already have one. Even though there is a Chrome web app store, she doesn't need to deal with it because she can just use Chrome as-is. She really doesn't have to do anything from then on except turn it on, open Chrome and start web surfing.
Moving from IE and Chrome on her old XP computer to an iPad with iOS interface and touchscreen seems like a much more drastic change and learning curve than moving from that same PC to using the Chrome browser on a Chromebook,

 

You've clearly made up your mind, so why did you bother asking the question in the first place? Instead of saying, hey thanks, but I think I'll go with a Chromebook, you're being combative when someone gives you the advice you were asking for.

 

I had not made up my mind yet, I posted in a Chromebook forum to see if there were any Chromebook users who had regrets on the purchase or had some usability issues to report that would make me remove it as an option and then I would probably go to the iPad by default. Instead, I get only one person replying who looks like they are just pushing iPads.
I am not being combative. I was only responding to the what you were saying and not agreeing that size and weight is an issue that would make an iPad any easier to carry than a Chromebook. Being able to set it down and prop it up without needing a stand or case, makes it easier to move around. It is not that much larger than an iPad.
Maybe if this was a person who had never used a PC before and would be using a "computing device" for the first time, I would choose the iPad first since it might possibly then be easier to use for someone with no PC experience. If she had been using an iPhone for a while and was already used to navigating around iOS, then I definitely would go for the iPad. But for someone who who has already been using a keyboard and mouse with XP for a few years and used the Google Chrome browser for a few weeks, the Chromebook looks like it should be easier and less of a shocking change.
Reason to move away from Windows is because she can't understand how to avoid getting malware/unwanted toolbars, trojans etc,, The Chromebook will be closest to what she is used to without the malware issues on confusion of dealing with so many menus and programs in Windows when all she needs to use is the browser The browser on a Chromebook will work more like the browser she used on her old PC than a browseri on an iPad is.,
I don't see how going to an iPad could possibly be easier fo her unless there were problems, crashing, reliability issues with the Chromebook and so far, no one has come forward to say their Chromebook is difficult to use.
The downsides I see the Chromebook are downsides that generally do not apply to this person (lack of software, apps, games, very small local storage etc).
I got a Chromebook and an iPad and reset both to factory settings and the Chromebook was easier to get set up and configured than the iPad.

 

The odd thing is that I recently dropped of a Samung Ativ S and Surface RT to an old couple... After 20 minutes they seemed to get Windows 8 and were happy. If they're going to have to learn something new then why not a Windows 8 machine?

 

Because all she needs to do is surf the web. A PC can install software and "software" includes viruses. She always accidentally installs malware and clicks on links that lead to spyware, adware and toolbars that easily install on Windows. Chromebook doesn't run Java or ActiveX and is not compatible with most ways viruses are installed. Even a Mac can get some malware and spyware, costs $1000 for the cheapest new laptop and is more complicated to learn than a Chromebook.
She can carry the the little 11 inch Chromebook around easily and run it off battery for 6-8 hours. A cheap $300 15 inch Windows 8 laptop will be much bigger and heavier and only last a couple hours or less on battery.
She does not need to install any software or apps. I am not going to even mention the Chrome app store to her.
It will be easiest for her if all she uses is the Chrome browser, saves some bookmarks to go back to previous web sites and has nothing else to worry about or remember other than how to turn it on and off, join a wireless network, log into Google and open the Chrome browser to get on the Internet.

 

iPad for sure. Much more convenient and user friendly.

 

Definitely the iPad!

 

vote for ipad

 

Learning curve, get her the chromebook